Why do so many horse owners only ride 45mins a day and even then think its alot?

Hevs said:
Well my excuse is a full time job, 2 kids,him indoors, the dog and a house to run - we dont all have hours of freedom every day in which to exercise our horses. Mine gets an hour an evening in the school with one day off during the week and then hacked for a few hours both days at the weekend with a jumping lesson on a Sunday (weather permitting of course) He will be plenty fit for what we want to do in the Spring - which is low level XC and showjumping and some showing and dressage classes - if I were planning on taking him to Blair and competing in the 3* I would have to make sure he was way fitter but Im not so he doesnt need hours and hours of riding every night!!
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Hevs - that's my excuse too, and my husband's been away this week so I've been a single parent seeing to kids and animals and am exhausted! However, I have my first dressage on Charlie on Sat, so I have ridden every day. If you ride your horse correctly in the arena according to level he/she is working at, no horse needs more than 45mins to an 1hr. Hacking is different, with less intensity but sadly I can't throw over my entire weekend to 4 hour hacks otherwise I might be a single parent full time
 
Re: 20 mins lunging. I read on a shoeing website that "burning donuts isn't good for the tyres" meaning lunging wasn't good on the legs. My horse's legs have to last him a long time, so I think I will try to preserve them!

As long as the horse is fit for purpose then riding for whatever amount of time is fine, be it 20 mins or 120. I would be more concerned about the horse that gets ridden into the ground on as regular basis than the only who goes out, works for a little while and enjoys tootling about!
 
I ride when I feel like it, maybe once a week in winter , maybe three times a week; in summer, sometimes more. They live out so stay fairly fit and are still cabable of doing 10 mile pleasure rides.

Who gives a fig, I'm sure my ponies don't care, and I'm sure the're more than happy being left alone to graze!

I ride from anywhere between half an hour and two hours depending on how we're feeling and how warm it is!
 
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sallymoon said:
Also I read all the time of lunging for a max of 20 mins, for goodness sake that should be the warm up period. Dont get me wrong if your not lunging correctly then 20 mins is about right for the horses sake.
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Do you mean 20 mins on the lunge is a warm up BEFORE you ride? Because from they way you've worded it, its sounds as if you mean MORE lunging (..."if your not lunging correctly then 20 mins is about right for the horses sake.")

For the sake of your horse's joint.... I think you need to read a few books on horse keeping. Basic ones :rolleyes:
 
we never lunge our horses,well they are 18 and 20, and one can hack out at a plods pace for 45 minutes which is no good at all or you can have a good spin for that length of time which is more beneficial.
 
Having worked on an international eventing yard where horses were kept fit for Intermediate eventing by being schooled/Jumped for 45mins, Hacked for upto an hour, lunged for 20mins, and went on the walker for 30mins a day, I am more than happy with riding for "only" 45mins thanks :) Why put anymore wear and tear on their legs etc, when it's not necessary? The type and quality of work is a lot more important than the duration.
 
sallymoon said:
I dont get it, it seems people think they should only ride their horse for an hour or less a day otherwise its too much for the horses!!!!!!!!

What a load of tosh, if you want a fit healthy horse you should ride as much as possible especially if they are stabled 24/7.

Also I read all the time of lunging for a max of 20 mins, for goodness sake that should be the warm up period. Dont get me wrong if your not lunging correctly then 20 mins is about right for the horses sake.

I dont know where this all misinformation comes from, any ideas?
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My horse is 32 so I ride for approx 45 mins in school each night as thats all I have time for otherwise by the time I muck out I wouldn't be getting home until really late. I warm up for 20 do some trot and canter then cool down, I take him for slightly longer rides on the weekend but can't go form doing 45 mins a night to being out for hours on the weekend, although some people on my yard seem to think its ok to not ride much at all if any through the week then go on mammoth hack on the weekend, I know their horses are younger but I don't thinks its right. Can't wait for the lighter nights so I can increase his excercise. TBH he finds 45 in the school more than enough, he gets bored and does his impression of Kevin the spoilt ginger teenager (he's chestnut btw)

I agree with you about the lunging ! If you're not going to do it properly, warm up as usual and get the horse working right or towards it, instead of letting it hoon around on the end of the lunge, no control sometimes in a headcollar nothing else! whats the point ???
 
Its quality not quantity that counts. I agree if a horse is stables it needs more time out but
this comes from turnout. 20mins lunging is about right, it puts a lot of pressure on the joints.
 
I'm impressed by anyone who rides their horse every day full stop.

Anyway, who are we to judge. People enjoy their horses in different ways.

As for lunging - 20 mins is more than enough.
 
samandcasper said:
i dont think the lady who posted, was having a dig at people who work and dont have time i think it was just a genuin question....
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Same here. I took it to mean 'why do people think 45 minutes is too much?' and judging by the replies, many of you do think 45 minutes is too much (not because you only have that time, nothing to do with that at all) I think what's changed is that most of you only do arena work (when 45 mins is adequate) but the fit horse is built able to do a lot more perfectly easily, look at endurance horses and old fashioned hunters who would hack ten miles to the meet, hunt all day and hack home again.

The horse is perfectly capable of doing a lot more than most are asking of it, I think, was the basis of the question and it wasn't snide at all but many of you took it that way as having a dig at you which it wasn't; it was about the capabilities of a horse to do more work and not expire from exhaustion. The fact a lot of you don't have the time to do more was not the point of the original question.

That's how I took it anyway.
 
sallymoon said:
I dont get it, it seems people think they should only ride their horse for an hour or less a day otherwise its too much for the horses!!!!!!!!

What a load of tosh, if you want a fit healthy horse you should ride as much as possible especially if they are stabled 24/7.

Also I read all the time of lunging for a max of 20 mins, for goodness sake that should be the warm up period. Dont get me wrong if your not lunging correctly then 20 mins is about right for the horses sake.

I dont know where this all misinformation comes from, any ideas?
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I took it as snide due to phrases like "what a load of tosh", " for goodness sake" plus the 9 exclamation marks. I didn't think it came across as a genuine query at all, it came across as a preachy and judgemental. Plus the extremely ill considered view that 20 mins lunging is only a warm up.

I think sometimes the way people phrase questions can come across quite badly.
 
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paddi22 said:
I took it as snide due to phrases like "what a load of tosh", " for goodness sake" plus the 9 exclamation marks. I didn't think it came across as a genuine query at all, it came across as a preachy and judgemental. Plus the extremely ill considered view that 20 mins lunging is only a warm up.

I think sometimes the way people phrase questions can come across quite badly.
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^^^ this.
 
Did I miss another troll?! :eek: :mad:

Haven't read all of the replies but IMO 45 minutes is plenty of exercise if you use the time properly. When I'm schooling, I usually ride for 30 - 45 minutes with perhaps one break in the middle. Anymore than this and the horses tend to get bored. A 45 minute hack is also beneficial as it will allow the horse to stretch its legs. Obviously the horse wouldn't be super fit, but if he is fit enough for what you want to do with him, then this isn't a problem. No point having a horse which is fit enough to run in the grand National if you only want to hack out three times a week... ;)

As for lungeing - 20 minutes is plenty. Working on such a small circle puts increased strain on a horse's joints so it is actually quite hard work. Trotting them round and round on the lunge for hours won't do their legs any good...
 
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