At Harry Meade’s Yard there are many days where Harry leaves in the lorry in the early hours, or later in the day in which case he begins riding at first light, however, this blog provides an insight into an average day of exercising and training from home.

Each horse is individual

Harry’s ethos is to treat each horse as an individual, so rather than having jumping days or dressage days, there is a bespoke programme for each and every horse. This means that each day contains a variety of training with some horses doing dressage, others test riding, show jumping, slow and steady work on the hills to build strength, or fast work on the gallops.

Each horse’s training schedule is worked out by Harry in advance and sent to the whole team the night before. This way, everybody is in the loop with who’s doing what and the horses can be ready on time, wearing the right kit.

Harry gets on his first horse between 8am and 8:30, having run through his daily pre-riding exercise routine. He does the lion’s share of the riding, working between eight and twelve horses a day, so having an efficient system of feeding horses in to him is essential. There is a team on the ground tacking horses up and dealing with the ones who have worked, and two riders warming horses up and down. Just before a bridle is put on, each horse is given a scoop of chaff which lightly lines the stomach before exercise, helping to prevent gastric ulcers. Horses doing dressage or jumping go for a short hack before work and again after.

We’re very fortunate to have extensive access to the rolling Cotswold hills, quiet country lanes and acres of old turf – the ideal place to train horses.

Back on the yard

Once they’ve been untacked, they’re hot clothed with warm water containing a dash of Dettol liquid and baby oil, to remove any sweat from their coat and keep their skin healthy. If a horse has been doing fast work, their legs are iced straight after to aid the circulation around the tendons and ligaments. To do this, their tendons are wrapped with a wet jay cloth to prevent the ice from blistering the legs, before wrapping ice cube bags on and securing with bandages. We keep enough ice bags in the freezer to build an igloo!

The horses have their lunch feeds and haylage at staggered times, depending on when they worked, and the staff also have a staggered lunch break whilst Harry continues with his riding. Lunchtime for Harry usually involves eating on the hoof or during a break to teach the pupils on the yard.

There are frequently visitors to the yard, often owners coming to see their horses work or groups attending an open day organised through Harry’s sponsorship or charitable work.

The yard and its routine are designed to provide the very best for the horses – not only the ridden work but the turnout, nutrition, physio exercises and the like. The stables are large and airy and the Caviera Bedding is dust extracted. In an attempt to identify the best bedding for his horses going forwards, Harry researched the various types of bedding available and ordered a shortlist of five different brands. Together, he and his yard staff concluded that the best for horse wellbeing, as well as ease of mucking out, was Caviera.