There's a particular moment every autumn that most horse owners know well. You finish work, drive to the yard and realise the light has already gone. In the UK and Ireland the clocks go back on the last Sunday in October, which this year is 25 October, and overnight the evening routine you've followed all summer stops working.

A little planning now makes the next few months easier for you and your horse. Here are the practical changes worth making this week.

Rethink turnout and bringing in

Horses like routine, and a sudden shift of an hour can unsettle some of them, especially if they're used to being fed or brought in at a set time. A few ideas:

• Move times gradually. If you can, shift feeds and bringing in by ten or fifteen minutes a day in the run-up to the change, rather than all at once.

• Bring in before dusk where possible. Catching a horse in a dark, muddy field is harder and riskier than doing it in fading daylight. If your work hours make that impossible, talk to your yard about whether someone can bring yours in with theirs.

• Agree a winter turnout plan. Many yards start restricting turnout as fields get wet. Find out now what your yard's rules will be so you're not caught out on the first wet week.

If you're on DIY or part livery and the dark evenings are going to stretch you, it may be worth looking at whether a different livery package suits the winter better. You can compare livery yards and stables on EquiMarket.

Light up the yard

Good lighting is one of the simplest safety improvements you can make, and it's worth checking before you need it.

• Walk round the yard at dusk and note the dark spots: the route to the muck heap, the hay store, the gateway to the field.

• Check that existing lights work and that switches are where you need them, not at the far end of the barn.

• A head torch keeps both hands free for leading, mucking out and picking feet. Keep a spare in your grooming kit and check the batteries regularly.

• Ask the yard owner before fitting anything new, particularly anything that needs mains power near stables.

Hacking in low light

Many of us ride after work, and from late October that often means riding in dusk or under grey skies. Low light makes horses and riders much harder for drivers to see.

• Be seen. The Highway Code advises riders to wear light-coloured or fluorescent clothing in daylight and reflective clothing in poor light. Hi-vis for the horse too, such as a tabard for you plus leg bands, an exercise sheet or a browband, makes a real difference from a distance.

• Avoid riding on the roads in the dark. If the light is going, it's better to cut a hack short or switch to schooling in a lit arena.

• Tell someone your route and roughly when you expect to be back, and take a charged phone.

• Pick quieter routes. If a road is fine at midday but busy at rush hour, save it for weekends.

If your hi-vis has faded or the reflective strips are cracking, now is a good time to replace it before the darkest weeks.

Make the most of the weekends

With weekday daylight in short supply, weekends become your main riding time. It helps to plan them a little more carefully:

• Book lessons, clinics or arena hire early, because winter slots fill up.

• Batch jobs that need daylight, such as checking fencing, poo-picking paddocks, cleaning tack and checking rugs for tears, into one weekend session.

• If you compete, look at the winter fixtures and work back from them so your weekday sessions have a purpose, even if they're short.

Short weekday sessions still count

A dark evening doesn't have to mean no work. Short, focused sessions can be very useful:

• Groundwork and lunging in a lit arena.

• Polework on the ground to keep your horse thinking and using their body.

• Long, thorough grooming, which is also a good chance to check legs, hooves and skin, and to spot early signs of mud fever as the fields get wetter.

Keep a simple diary of what you've done each week. It makes it easier to see that the work is adding up, and it's useful if you need to tell your vet or instructor how your horse has been.

Check your kit before winter properly arrives

The change of the clocks is a natural reminder to go through your kit:

• Rugs: are they clean, waterproof and the right size? Do the straps and fastenings still work?

• Head collars and lead ropes: anything frayed or worn should be replaced.

• Your own clothing: warm gloves, waterproof boots and a coat with reflective detail.

• Torches, spare batteries and a small first-aid kit in the tack room.

Many owners find they have kit that no longer fits, from a rug for a horse that's moved on to boots they've never got on with. Selling it on frees up space and puts some money towards what you actually need.

A gentle reset for the season

The first fortnight after the clocks change is often the hardest, but most horses and owners settle into the winter rhythm quickly. Plan your turnout, light up the yard, make yourself visible on the roads and use your weekends well, and the darker months become much more manageable.

Browse, buy and sell on EquiMarket

Browse listings on EquiMarket for horses, tack, services and yards across the UK, Ireland and Europe. If you've got kit to clear out, listing it is free, and you can use code EQUIPLUS3 for three months of Plus free to give your adverts extra reach.

By EquiMarket Team