In general, expect to devote at least 8 to 10 hours a week to horse care. If you're doing more of the work, then 14 to 15 hours a week is more realistic. However, it all depends on your level of involvement.
Horses need daily care regardless of the weather, schedules, or holidays. Keeping a horse on your own property is a 365 day a year job.
If possible, interact with your horse for an hour or two, five to six days a week. If that's not possible, carve out one midweek slot so you can space visits evenly. To reduce daily grooming time, hire competent help for a weekly deep-cleaning. Find a good rider who can exercise your horse once a week.
The bare minimum of time you can expect to devote to a horse is about 8 to 10 hours a week. If you're doing more of the work, plan on blocking out 14 to 15 hours a week. It all depends on your level of involvement.
Synoviums vets recommend that just like us, horses need to take periodic breaks from work. A break can mean a day off, or weeks off and allows the horse to physically rest, emotionally decompress, and gives them a chance to mentally process. During this time, your horse will 'reset' his entire body.
Although your horse can be safely left alone overnight, you should never leave your horse unattended for longer than 10 hours. Doing so can have a serious impact on the health or happiness of your equine companion.
Unless your horse has an injury or is getting old, they should be fine to be ridden more than once in a day. If your horse is out of shape, then it is best to start out slow and build up their workouts over time.
You Don't Look Forward to Riding Like You Always Did
One common sign that a horse may be too much for you is that you no longer look forward to riding. Riding a horse that is too much for you makes riding a stressful challenge, so it's no wonder that you don't look forward to the activity like you once did.
On average, a healthy horse can travel anywhere from 25 to 35 miles a day. This distance needs to be at a slower pace and with breaks for water. However, asking a horse to keep up this pace for several consecutive days can lead to health problems.
Horses in the past used to frequently travel up to 35 miles per day, but now they are rarely able to go more than 25 miles in one day. It is important to note, however, that a horse kept in good shape can travel up to 50 miles in a day.
Horses are intelligent, curious animals that bore easily when they must be kept in stalls or small enclosures for long periods. While occasional boredom is normal, extensive boredom can lead to health and behavioral problems, but there are many things owners can do to keep their horses entertained.
Horses and ponies generally like to live out on grass for much of the time. This is when they enjoy the freedom to graze, interacting with other horses and generally exhibiting 'normal' horse habits and behaviour.
Plenty of horses seem to enjoy being ridden and are fond of the attention they get from their riders. However, there are definitely horses out there who do not like it. They'll be more stubborn while you're on and maybe agitated while being tacked up. Though, riding does benefit the horse.
Horses are known to be social creatures – herd animals by nature that thrive on a group dynamic. While there are varying degrees of friendship needs, from a large field with several herd members to a trio or even just a pair, horses that are on their own, by contrast, can get lonely.
A healthy horse is alert and inquisitive, happy to interact with other horses (be sociable) and partakes of the normal herd behaviours such as mutual grooming sessions, sleeping for short spells throughout the day and night and running around occasionally (as a herd).
Grazing your horses at night can be a tool to beat the heat, bugs, and weight gain. Night turnout is a much-welcomed relief from the pestering flies and grueling heat of hot summer days. It's also a great way to have horses on grass for extended periods while reducing the risk of them becoming overweight.
It's OK to ride your horse every day, but not advisable to work your animal strenuously during each outing. Horses need recovery time after vigorous exercise, just like human athletes. Many people think the more you ride, the better, but often the opposite is true.
In full flight (in a gallop) a horse can cover up to just over 3km before it begin's feeling fatigued. However if gaits are varied with canters and trotting, a well-conditioned horse can cover 30 to 50km in a day (while giving the horse multiple breaks in between to regain strength).
How long can a horse canter? A steady, three-beat canter clocks in at around 10-17 miles per hour for most horses. As for how long it can last, a very fit endurance horse can last maybe seven miles or so. That said, most riding horses can't go anywhere close to that long.
Whatever movement you're riding, your horse should stay listening to you and not take over. Always have in your mind that you must be in control of each and every step he takes.
The first rule is always Safety First!
If the horse is startled or scared, the horse will try to run away.
Unwanted behaviors are repetitive, purposeless behaviors that take up a large portion of a horse's time. Common examples include cribbing, biting and weaving. These behaviors frustrate horse owners. As a result, we often refer to them as vices.
Horses exhibit higher heart rates when separated from a human, but don't show any preference for their owners over complete strangers, the team discovered. Swedish researchers started their work with the theory that positive reinforcement training on a horse was more likely to lead to them forming a strong attachment.
Horses don't sleep all night like we do.
Instead of falling into a deep sleep every night, horses typically spend their nights alternating between rest and activity. They might take a short snooze standing up, graze for a while, and then stretch out on their side to get a few minutes of deep sleep.
Let the horse release some of its nervous energy by giving it a simple and familiar task. Doing one or two basic training exercises or going for a brisk trot can put your horse's attention elsewhere and lessen their anxiety. “He [the horse] can think of just one thing at a time,” said Zdenek.