20 mins - worth it or not?

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My horse will work sweetly and really well for 20mins ONLY. I then do something else like jump or go for short hack.
I then come back and do another 20min schooling session.

Studies have shown that after 20 minutes, people's brains start to wonder off the topic and loose focus/concentration being shown to them/taught to them, so why should horses be any different?
 
Depends what I'm aiming to achieve and what the session is concentrating on. If I'm jumping then it's really intensive so I keep sessions short and sweet so she doesn't get mentally tired. If she's worked brilliantly for 15mins then quite often I'll cool off and finish. No point droning on and on, however somedays I'll school for 45mins-1hr depends on what suits at the time.

So yes, 20mins is much better than nothing at all and it can be extremely constructive. Go in the arena with a plan of what to do and insist on forwardness and obedience from the moment your bottom touches the saddle.
 
My schooling sessions (albeit rare - although dark nights and mornings force me in there) are always around the 20-30 minute mark.

I make sure he works and is listening from the second I get on. Warm up time is not "dead" time by any means. 20 minutes is long enough to achieve SOMETHING without either of us tiring, physically or mentally. 20 mins CORRECT work is beneficial, any amount of incorrect/inadequate/half hearted excuses for work, is not.

Usually I am aiming for something, and as soon as I have it, we will finish up.

I have made the mistake in the past of enjoying something he's doing well, so much, that I've gone on too long, and I always, always regret those sessions and try really hard to judge when to hop off. I always figure sooner rather than later.
 
i don't think its the time you spend that matters i think its the quality of the work. a professional can do in 20 mins what an amateur will still be trying to do in an hour, it depends on the rider, the horse and their situation. i can school my horse for 20 mins and feel happy with it, some days are different and we both hate hacking so taking him out for 3 or 4 hours round the countryside would be of no benefit to either of us. each to their own
 
20mins is worth it if thats all you have time for and the horse is on a fitness program or needs to loose weight. or if thats all the horse is fit/ready for.

on a regular basis, id say 20mins is a very short session
i tend to school for 45mins or hack for 30-90mins at a time, or lunge for 20-30mins.
 
My horse is very unfit and overweight so i cant do more then half an hour at the moment hacking or schooling. We will build it up but i dont think there is anything wrong with doing 20 mins or so, It is beneficial to the horse to get out of his box and stretch his legs no matter how long for.
 
[quote a professional can do in 20 mins what an amateur will still be trying to do in an hour

[/ QUOTE ]

that is so very true. If you think of the number of horses a pro will ride in a day there's no way they'll ride each for an hour every day, and they're very quick at tacking up too!
 
I made a 'flippant' comment saying it takes longer to take up!
I never directly mentioned any time scale, and it does not take me 20 minutes to tack up.

Niether was my post nasty, I am entitled to my opinion, and this whole thread has been hijacked by my comment which is unfair on the original poster.

It was not intented to be a critisism of any other rider or thier preferences.
For goodness sake, it's become a witch hunt!

No offence was ever intended.
 
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