Non horse owner asks dum question!

[04101964]

I've been following posts on obesity in horses and am curious.
There have been discussions in the dog section on how much exercise dogs need. Now me not ever having owned a horse, I am curious as to how much exercise does a horse need to stay fit and healthy?

Please discuss, I may not answer any posts as won't have anything helpful to add but may ask more stupid questions

 

[NW1]

There are many answers for this.... What do you need the horse fit for (hacking a few times a week or eveting/hunting). What type is the horse, the different types will stay fit easier at different things!

Im sure people will be willing to give you examples to explain further!

 

[04101964]

Thank you for replying. How do you gauge the level of fitness that you need to reach? Does this come with experience of different disciplines? (I did warn there would be more dum questions!)

 

[MrsMozart]

Definately different levels of fitness needed for the differnet disciplines

.

For example, a horse that is going to be hunting two or three times a week will need to be able to manage sustained gallops, often over heavy going, and jump x number of obstacles. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the happy weekend hacker, who wants their horse to be able to go out for an hour walking and trotting with a bit of cantering.

To add to the fun, there are the different horses... some seem to be able to get fat on thin air, whilst others eat practically non-stop and still look thin.

 

[Kat]

A horse that is just used for light hacking will probably keep itself fit if it is turned out 24/7. A horse only needs planned exercise for health if it is stabled and unable to exercise itself.

However it is different if you need it to do heavy work, and competition. Then it will need regular exercise just like a human athlete.

If it doesn't have access to daily turn out it will need some sort of exercise each day just for basic health and fitness whether that be riding, lunging, free schooling or walking in hand.