How long can you ride a 4 yr old for per session?

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almrc

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Hello

I just wondered how long you can ride a newly backed 4 yr old for per session, be it schooling or out on gentle hacks, walk and trot hacks and maybe walk and trot hacks with the odd gentle canter. I know it will vary on horse the one in question is TB - thank you
 
Half an hour, 45 mins tops, a few times per week, gradually increase as he nears five and so on, they are still developing at that age, but theres lots of factors, is it road work, grassland or School for example? I am a bit of a soft arse with my horses BTW so I'm a bit on the safe side, oh btw, Lungeing should be much shorter, no more than 10 mins on each rein & only that after building up to it slowly. Goodluck.
 
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Denzalwood said:
Half an hour, 45 mins tops, a few times per week, gradually increase as he nears five and so on, they are still developing at that age, but theres lots of factors, is it road work, grassland or School for example? I am a bit of a soft arse with my horses BTW so I'm a bit on the safe side, oh btw, Lungeing should be much shorter, no more than 10 mins om each rein & only that after building up to it slowly. Goodluck.
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Sound advice above.
 
When mine was 4 (and he'd done BSJA and a fair bit of schooling I think before i got him), I would say 30mins max schooling and expect maybe 15 mins of actual work. More than that and it's too much in my opinion. Hacking wouldn't concern me as much - maybe an hour? I wouldn't normally hack for much more than that anyway on most occasions.
 
I have a 4yr ISH atm and shes doing; 20-30mins in the school consisting of - 5 mins walk, 15mins proper work with walk breaks and 5-10 mins cooling off in walk with some leg yield, straight lines and halts. Jumping she does 30mins, we havent jumped over 70cm but will be putting them up a bit within the next few weeks as their too easy for her. Hacking wise we can be out from 1-2hrs mostly walk with a bit of trot and canter on the grassy bits. Lunging i do very rarely with a 4yr but would be 10mins, so 5mins each rein. So in total 1 flatwork sess, 1 jumping sess and 2 hacks per week :)
 
I have a 4 year old DW x Irish Sports Horse and we're usually doing 40mins - 1hr hacks and about 30mins schooling a couple of times a week, we're having lessons now too once a week which are 1hr but there's plenty of breaks in that hour so he's not working for the entire time.
 
I never like to school my 4 year old for more than 30-40mins, including warm up and cool down. He's very mature for a four year old, and rides older but I'm still very careful. Haven't lunged yet, but I would probably do that for 10-15mins. When I have lessons it's 1 hour, but my instructor knows his age and so we take plenty of breaks within that session, and I don't like to ride more than 4 times a week. He thrives on work though, and has been well schooled for his age. xx
 
My four year old is best doing no more than about half an hour in the school. Maybe 40 mins including warm up and cool down, but she obviously starts to loose focus and tire after about 30 mins so we wind things up.

Hacking is a different matter, she loves it! We have built up slowly from 40 minute ones and she will happily go out for a couple of hours without being over tired when we get back. It is mainly walking though as it is nearly all roads and I don't like to trot her on the road. The long slow hacks up and down hills are doing wonders for her fitness and muscle tone though!

I wouldn't keep her out for as long if she wasn't enjoying herself and feeling fresh when we got back. But as it is she often "suggests" to me that we should go a bit further!
 
Thank you so much for your advice, just wat I needed. I am taking it slow with my 4 yr old too so good advice. When I school her it is in the field and the hacking starts off ith road work then goes into ome lanes. So a few times a week gentle schooling and 45 ish minute - 1hr hacks, perfect as thats what I have been doing about. She is still on top form once we get back. I did a little trot on the roads but mainly try to keep it to the grass tracks. Is it ok to gentle trot on the road or not? She is barefoot but ha good feet. But just taking it slowely and appreciate having this forum here to ask such questions - thank you
 
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I was always told to go by what the horse tells you and stop before they start to tire/get bored. My instructor used to say to leave 1/3 gas in the tank.
 
It depends on the mental age of the horse in my eyes. Ive ridden some four year olds with the mental age of a 10 year old and just gets on with it, and then i've ridden some four year olds who can't cope with more than 20 minutes because they're too immature.
 
i ride my 4 yr old for around 30-40 mins inc warm up and cool down or 1/2 hr hack she gets worked every other day during the week and sat and sunday but if we are competeing then we only do one day at weekends. If weather is really grim she gets 2 days off as we dont have an arena and i work full time. she does 1 class plus warm up and cool down at shows and work in. we went cross countye schooling last weekend and were riding for good hr and jumped lots but we walked on buckle end reins in between fences. if she has achieved what i want thought in 20 -30 mins i finish then. lunging she gets 10 mins max each rein.
 
The mental age of the horse wasn't really the issue here I believe, if they are immature you just have to be a little more creative with the work, I was speaking purely on the Physical side of things as working a young horse to much can result in major problems in later life.
 
Jade&Syrah said:
It depends on the mental age of the horse in my eyes. Ive ridden some four year olds with the mental age of a 10 year old and just gets on with it, and then i've ridden some four year olds who can't cope with more than 20 minutes because they're too immature.
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The mental age of the horse wasn't really the issue here I believe, if they are immature you just have to be a little more creative with the work, I was speaking purely on the Physical side of things as working a young horse to much can result in major problems in later life.
 
With my 4 year old, when schooling, I just finish when I am pleased with what he has done. That may be only 15 mins sometimes. maximum 30 mins (thats how long my lessons are).
Hacking from 30 mins up to around 1 and 1/2 hours as he loves it and we practically walk the whole way and rarely canter.
We rarely jump. once a month at best.
He has 4 sessions a week- 2 hack and 2 school.
 
rowy said:
With my 4 year old, when schooling, I just finish when I am pleased with what he has done. That may be only 15 mins sometimes. maximum 30 mins (thats how long my lessons are).
Hacking from 30 mins up to around 1 and 1/2 hours as he loves it and we practically walk the whole way and rarely canter.
We rarely jump. once a month at best.
He has 4 sessions a week- 2 hack and 2 school.
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thats a good point that has been missed so far:

Always end on a high no matter how small, make em feel they were good at the end, any success is worthy of praise.
 
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