Hello from Denmark and a very happy horse owner who has completed Sweet Spot today which went very well.
I would just like to ask about how long other people train for? And do you train every day?
I am at the moment at home all day so I have a lot of time on my hands.
I am thinking about training both in the morning and in the afternoon about one hour each.
Is this too much ?
My horse is young ( 3 and 1/2) welsh cob, he doesn't seem to tire physically,but i think about his mental state... And how much he can / should train.
I don't want to push him just because I have a lot of time myself.
Thanks.
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Horse Behavior and Training
Training times.
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Hey !
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I guess it always depends on your horse,I think it's important not to do too much even when you think it's going well, especially with a young horse so that he doesn't get bored.
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I don't know your horse or what you do with him but 2 hours a day seems like a lot if you don't have a lot of variety in what you do. I have an almost 3 years old filly. I work 5 times a week for a total of 60 minutes of "intense" work over 3 days and 3/4 hours of light work.
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- I usually start the week with an active walk outdoors. Lasts between 1,5 to 2 hours, I only ask her to walk generously, I might add a little trot here and there but the goal is just to get her started for the week and have her calm and responsive.
- Day 2,3 & 4 are 20/25 minutes sessions, I either ride or longline where I work on "themes". right now we're working on looseness and balance in transitions (we did starting/stopping before, then steering another week, etc). Those sessions are always folowed by some quality time before we leave the pen and a 30/40 minutes of grazing out of her field.
- Day 5 is either jogging around the village (about 4km on asphalt roads and grassy roads) alone or with another horse, or a trail walk on hand on uneven terrain to work on balance and trust. (depending on the intensity of day 4 and/or the weather)
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That's my personal thing but I guess that's just to give you an example of how you can break it down.
I think the most important (and the most difficult sometimes) is to not bore the horse with repetitive exercises while still working on the things you want to work on.
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As for the lenght of your work sessions You're the best equipped to know. Observe your horse, you'll see when he's had enough, you'll learn the first signs of it and that's when I would end the session, so that your horse stays in a positive frame of mind.
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And most important... have fun ! ;)
I am sure you can fit training in more than once each day. Some things, I have found, are best repeated in a series of shorter sessions on the same day but with hours of space in between.
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As for the length of the sessions, I would say it depends on what you want to achieve and how much you can expect. Sometimes a session stops after five minutes because the horse did so great at once.
Kicki, that's interesting what you're saying, I used to do just that with mine but she would get really annoyed when I did it that way. Since I started putting all the work in 1 daily session she is a lot more relaxed. (by session I mean a series of exercices, not just 1 single exercice)
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Do you think that would be specific to each horse, or maybe related to the influence of the breed ?
This thread is a lovely example of how each horse must be assessed on its own merits and given what it needs and enjoys rather than a standardised training package. I am a great believer in having a strong ethical framework and foundation training for all horses but after that it's tailor made for the individual.
Lucie,
In answer to your question: What Vicci says! :)