and mostly, people appear concerned that they may be 'over-doing' it
I find it fascinating that people feel guilty if they don't walk their dog every day
but also feel guilty if they do exercise their horse every day
as a general rule, I would suggest that
very few horses kept for recreation, pleasure, or even competition, are over worked
indeed I would suggest that many, many horses
do not do sufficient exercise to keep both their body and their mind healthy and active
and with horses, the devil generally finds work for idle hooves to do
as bored horses frequently invent 'games' to keep them occupied
such games include :
- (not) catch
- (not) put bridle on
- push and barge
- etc....
I find
the more my horses are worked,
the happier they are,
and the easier they are to handle
horses are, after all, creatures who thrive on routine and habit
in general, as long as the horse is fit and healthy,
I believe you should aim to exercise the horse at least 3 times per week
and there is no reason why such a horse can't be exercised every day
( Q: horse owners - when was the last time YOU had a day off?)
Generally it is much better for a horse
to be exercised for 30 minutes, four times a week
than to be ridden for 2 hours, once a week
However the following should always be bourne in mind :
- the horses level of fitness
- providing a variety of work over the sessions
- (ideally a mix of at least 3 of : hacking, flat-work, jumping, pole-work, ground-work, lungeing/long reining, fittening, competing)
and, of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong
with a day off your horse exercise routine
every now and then....
related post: from horse science news
see also: labruyere - at what age should I retire my horse?
For
your own copy of my
FREE
training guides and newsletter
please
complete the form on the right hand side of this page
To access all blog posts, click the tab at the top of the page
Please
share this information with anyone you feel would find it of
interest
by clicking on
the relevant button below.
