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

Ditto Hevs, my excuse too is a full time job, kids, her indoors, the dog and a house and stables to pay for. Wish I had a French/Swiss aupair and that I lived somewhere where it wasn't so dark so early. I only get to ride at weekends in the winter.
 
OK the 20 min for lunging is because it isn't good for the horses joints to stay on a circle for longer than that, it's nothing to do with fitness.

I would love to be able to ride for 45 min a day! I ride for an hour each day at the weekend and for 40min on a Wednesday. I don't have anymore time than that so that is what I'm limited to. My horses aren't that fit, but that's more to do with having time off due to snow than to the work they get. I don't need them to be uber fit.

Just so you know your post comes across as very thoughtless, disdainful and almost rude. Sorry if you didn't intend it to come across that way.
 
lunging i do 30 mins and then a cool down as thats when she has worked up a good sweat and is really working.

i ride 30 min to an hour each day when at our winter livery and schooling properly in our indoor school. and i mean properly, the horse is sweaty and tired by the end.

in summer when i hack out we do 40mins to 2 hours but if its 40 mins its fast and it its 2 hours its alot of walk but i dont do this because she cant do more. its just because thats how much i want to do. however when we did pony camp in the summer we did 4 hours for 4 days and she was fine.
 
At my yard you can only have 3 in the school at a time and the lights must be off by 7.55pm due to neighbours. As many of us work office hours a lot of people turn up to ride around 6ish. You wouldn't be very popular if you rode for longer than 45mins!!
 
So op, you would ride a 4/5 year old for 45mins?

The only time I am riding 45 mins on him is if I have a lesson or I am hacking!

20-30mins is more than enough for him at the moment when I am in an arena.



and more than 20mins lunging?! the reccomended time is 20mins - including warm up. continually working on a circle for 20mins is very hard work for any horse!!
 
noblesteed said:
Crikey!!!! Because some of us have to got to WORK to earn the money that allows us to keep our horses!!!!
20 mins on the lunge is a perfectly acceptable amount of time, any longer you are putting wear and tear on horses' legs. And 45 mins to an hour of correct schooling or jumping in the arena is all most people need to do on a fit mature competition horse - any longer is too long! On a youngster the sessions may be much shorter than that.
Horses are not bicycles, you can't just flog them round for hours on end!!!!

Why does the OP think that most private lessons with an instructor are 45 mins???

Think they need a few lessons themselves!!!!!
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Echo above, also some days I ride for longer and some days, guess what? i don't ride at all!

Ridiculous statement to make anyway imo
 
I think for what most people do in terms of riding and considering work/life balances, I'd say 45 mins or so several times a week is just about right for most - enough to keep the horse ticking over and fit enough to do a bit extra when required, plus it creates a good bond between horse and rider especially if they can have daytime turn out.

Agreed that if they're stabled 24/7 some extra form of leg-stretch would be needed, but life ain't always like that.

TBH, I'd MUCH rather see that than see someone do naff all with their horse and then decide a fifteen mile sponsored ride on Sunday might be nice....
 
I'd say if your horse is stabled 24/7 then it would need a good 20 mins to warm up before it can then go on to do a 45-60 school plus a 20 min cool down if its going back into its box so yes there would be a need for the horse to be ridden a lot longer in those cases.

If your horse goes out then you could cut the warm up and cool down down to about 10 mins as it can cool down itself in the field so a 45-60 min session is plenty to keep it fit and healthy.

On the lunge, likewise I would spend 5-10 mins warming up and cooling down before proper lungeing but I only do 5 -10 mins on each rein so the total session is around 30 mins. Any more then we both get dizzy!

I dont consider a 45 min hack sufficient for my own benefit - I enjoy a long hack so my horse has to put up with it!

The thing is - why should be ride our horses for longer than say an hour each day. I like to give mine one or two days off a week and not clock up the miles so I can hopefully enjoy her for longer and also so she can enjoy being a horse - I'm sure she would prefer just to graze all day really....
 
depends. I used to hack for hours, but I think that's very different to schooling. If I get on and warm up, and she does 20 mins of lovely work, great, I give her a pat and cool down. I'd rather always finish on a good note, for her sake, and my confidence rather than carry on and push asking for more.
 
lannerch said:
If you are riding in a school and working properly after a warmup and followed by a warm down, 45 minuites is plenty!

If someone rides their horse 45 minuites every day it is fit and I am impressed.

I event my horse on about that in the summer and he is always more than adequatly fit. ( do longer at weekends )

Around here they only ride at weekends and only if there is a compitition on.

but then imo there is nothing wrong with how long you ride your horse whether it is 4 hours, 45 mins or not at all, as long as the horse is healthy and happy.
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I completely agree with. Otherwise i should be shot down as i exercise mine for around 30mins a day (if schooling and no more than an hour if hacking) around two or three times a week. although he hasnt been ridden in about 2 weeks now. he's happy, healthy and thats all i'm worried about. at the moment we are concentrating on our ground work.
 
During the week, I ride for about 45 mins max. It's mainly a time issue (I'm paranoid about how much time the lights have as on a meter :) ) and also the more I work him, the more he gets wound up and he gets stronger.
At weekends I ride him for longer (hack out or lesson).
 
45 minutes a day!

Java would be extremely lucky to be ridden at all every day!

I have school and I dont get back till 4 45 depending on whether the train is late or not which normally it is!

And by then in the winter its too dark,

in term time, I ride wednesday afternoons when i can (i have games at school and if you in y11,12,13 you can go home to ride) friday afternoons as i finish all my lessons by 1 and then have my lesson on saturdays and ride sundays, so only 4 times,

my mum and dad work during the week and I am at school not everybody can choose to ride whenever they want.....
 
I rode my horse for 10 minutes today as she did exactly as I asked of her and she gets sour in the school if I do anything more than 20-30 minutes.

Also, as many others have said, it's the luxury of time.

Maybe if you live at home with your parents, independently wealthy or have horses as your job, you can ride more than 45 minutes but as someone who runs her own business, also works a 2nd job and has a family to take care of, I rarely get to ride in the week especially in the winter! I'm happy if I get my meagre 20 minute ride!
 
only_me said:
So op, you would ride a 4/5 year old for 45mins?

The only time I am riding 45 mins on him is if I have a lesson or I am hacking!

20-30mins is more than enough for him at the moment when I am in an arena.

and more than 20mins lunging?! the reccomended time is 20mins - including warm up. continually working on a circle for 20mins is very hard work for any horse!!
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Couldn't agree more only_me!

I have a gangly five year old and 45minutes in the school is MORE than enough for him. His brain and his muscles can not cope with longer than half an hour of real work at the moment and I see no reason to force the issue to the point where he is sour.

I hacked for an hour and a half today but in the school I wouldn't dream of doing that with him.

And as for lunging, I have a big horse with young joints. No way is he going round on the lunge for more than twenty minutes!
 
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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Are you serious? For a start its quality not quantity. Three hours mooching about hacking is for the riders pleasure not the horse. I would rather spend 45 minutes - 15 minute warmup, 20 minute work and 10 minute let down - than plod about on a loose rein for hours. And what on earth is fit? A horse should be fit for purpose whether 3 day eventing, a few minutes in the ring or hacking for an hour admiring the scenery.
 
Lolo said:
Because after a 45minute lesson our fit TB really begins to feel it- his muscles are still developing, so to hold himself properly for a full 45 minutes (even with breaks) requires a lot of effort and strength.

For hacking- a good halk, conducted mostly in a strong walk or trot with canters, 45mins to an hour seems plenty. He's fit enough to do his job well, and is healthy and happy. Why does he need any more?
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Agree with above. My 21 year old TB (obviously not fit as above though!) would be bored with anything more than 45 minutes schooling. I find with mine, 30 mins is generally enough schooling. As for hacking, mainly in an active walk, with lots of hills,45 mins to an hour is long enough for mine. I would rather return him home still happy and going forwards than knackered and dragging his back legs behind him. Fitness doesn't come from constantly overtiring the horse - all that does is put too much strain on the muscles and joints and makes the horse resent the work....
When my 9 year old TB comes back into work after nearly a year off, her ridden work will start with 10 minutes walking - her muscles won't be strong enough, so why make her ache by over doing it with her?
Oh, and working 8am til 5pm, mucking out, feeding, doing nets, rugs etc each end of the day also gets in the way of doing much more!
 
Oh dear - like many others on the forum - 'only 45 minutes a day' would be great!

At this time of year, with a full time job, a house to run, shopping to do etc,45 mins in daylight is impossible to find, and with the weather being so awful, 45 mins at the weekend is hard too!

A fine example being this morning. Our two Spaniards live out 24/7, although we do have stables, I do not have the time for all that goes with stabled horses. However, today was windy disaster! Having looked forward all week to the weekend to ride, my husband and finally caught the whatnots who were high-tailing around in the wind. He declined to lunge his first (they are both 'hot' and forward going) he rode in the arena for two circuits, when his toad spotted his friend across the paddock, stopped dead, reared, then slowly fell over, with husband on top - all very graceful, and totally out of character. No harm done, husband not put off (ex skydiver of some 2000+ jumps). All went well after that. Got my mincey Spaniard out, who showed me just how like a space hopper/kangaroo he can be, whilst another horse did an escape from a stable, and four loose dogs shot into the arena, all the while with the wind howling around us.

So, I guess my point is, it would be lovely to ride for 45 mins every day - then we wouldnt have this malarkey every week! (well, at least until the days get longer) Just make the most of whatever time you do have. In my ideal world I would have all day to myself - but I have to earn a living, and not just to pay for the horses!

moaning for England - or should I say Spain?
 
i ride in the school for 30mins 3 times a week, mainly as Im not able to afford an extra £6 a week for school lights however we like to mix it up + excercise in the fields which have V V steep hills to help fitten them + hack out for atleast 2 hours both sat + sun.

unfortunately lifes other commitments prevent me from doing more than this HOWEVER I believe that as long as my horse if happy + healthy enjoying the work he does then that the best i can ask for.
 
hessy12 said:
Aaah! You take me back to my good old days! My picnic consisted entirely of sweets! Seriously tho, if i had the time now, i'd ride for 3-4 hrs. I do that at weekends, but in the week, it's 1 1/2 to 2 hrs a day max, sometimes less. Each to their own though for sure.
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ditto this ;)

I remember many a time having my friends parents and mine getting frantic as dusk drew in and we sauntered home totally oblivious to their worry, we would pack a lunch for ourselves or stop at the local pub for cheesy chips, there was nowhere rideable that we didn't explore. LOL
 
At last ! An easy question on the forum that I can answer.
I wish I could ride every day.

Try:
Family commitments
The School run
A job
Cooking and cleaning
Food shopping
£4.00 an hour use the indoor school
 
I have four to keep fit. So 4x45mins is 3 hours. At weekends, I try to make sure that they're all worked within daylight hours (they get enough of being ridden in the dark during the week), and I also need to fit in stable chores, field maintenance, feed shopping, anything I need to go and get etc. During the week, I don't finish work 'till 6.30pm, get to the field 7pm and need to be gone by 9pm - so only 2 hours available in total. I usually alternate who gets ridden, doing two per day during the week, but that's only an hour each including tacking up etc.
 
I wish I COULD ride more often atm, but like others, I muck out in the dark, at 7am, go to work and then return in the (now not quite so :D) dark at 4.30pm
At this time of year, Star gets ridden at weekends, because that's what I can do. This is also affected by weather making riding dangerous with icy roads.

I'm hoping that OP intended for the post to read as people thinking they were over working their horses if ridden for longer than 45 minutes.....
 
I havent read the replies, but I work full time to keep mine, and they are a hobby. Therefore I ride as it suits me. I bought my current riding horse in November and haven't ridden her once yet due to the weather, illness, things conspiring against me. It doesn't matter a jot. Shes happy as hell being a pet. I am planning to ride her tomorrow and bring her back in to work. However, if the weather is bad/I'm tired/have other plans then I wont ride. I refuse to run myself into the ground and ride when I dont enjoy it!
 
OP seems to have abandoned this thread!

I, as others, have to work, and there isn't much daylight at this time of year. Sometimes my lad doesn't get ridden for two weeks - work (self employed feed merchant) is busy, and I don't feel the need to drag the rugs off my nearly 19 year old arthritic cob to take him for a 30 minute walk hack in a howling gale, because of a generalisation that horses should be worked for a set amount of time. I don't have a school, so hacking is what we do!

When we start the four year old this spring/summer, I'm sure we'll spend a lot longer tacking up etc than we do working her!
 
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....

i ride for how ever long i think my boy can cope if thts after his warm up( sometime his warm up is a short lunge) then i do a lil trot and then stop if hes going well and working well and not pantin and showing he needs to sop i carry on so far i havent gone over an hour as if u have read my other post u will know why if not..i got him in a bad state and i have took my time with him to get trust and love with him now its going great, im riding tomorrow or monday but if i do and he workd well as has been for days i ride till i think ok that enough,

but previous horse rocky i got him fit as u like and we rode for ages some day's max must have been 2 hours in field schooling having funa nd bit of jumping and he could have carried on but i couldnt, obvis it wasnt full on hard work through out.... i worked last evening so had all day so in this case i did have the time even tho i have a son he was at school xx
 
As already said i feel that 45 mins schooling is ample if the horse is going well and I would not lunge for more than 20 mins unless the horse was being really naughty as working on a circle puts the horse legs muscles ets under more strain than being ridden.

People that have to fund their own animals generally have to work to do so. if the horses are healthy and happy its no one elses buisness what their owners do or dont do with them.

Just look after your own horse and dont worry what anyone else is doing!!!
 
To be honest, i'd never lunge my horses for longer than 20 minutes anyway, it puts to much stress and strain on the joints so a good 20 minute session is more than satifactory. I don't see much point in lunging either, get much better work from your horse whilst on its back.

When I ride, I do for at least 45minutes cos its takes my 5 year old a good 20 minutes before I get ANYTHING out of him. On Sundays and Wednesday mornings, a good two hour hack aswel.

I think it completely depends on the horse, its age, its condition and its "way of going". I think the OP has made a very generalised comment but I think it was asking for an opinion and a honest question rather than to cause a stir!
 
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