Daily Exercise Makes Your Horse Easier to Handle

Daily Exercise Makes Your Horse Easier to Handle

Research has shown, with just one hour of exercise each day, regardless of the type of exercise given; it removes the edge from a stabled horses. The study examined whether four different forms of exercise; walker, treadmill, turnout and recreational riding-were equally effective in reducing unwanted behavior from horses housed in stalls. Two dozen horses, including thoroughbreds and part-thoroughbreds, received an hour of exercise daily with one of the four methods. Every few days, each horse's behavior was evaluated while being handled for weighing and then while loading in and out of a trailer. During the controlled study, each horse was also released on its own into an arena for 15 minutes after their exercise to assess rebound behavior. Those horses who had received a solid hour of exercise, did less walking, trotting and cantering when let loose in the arena, after workout. Compared to the non-exercised study group of horses who did not receive the daily one hour exercise; this group of horses average six or seven bucks; in addition, they rolled at least once or twice during their 15 minutes at liberty in the arena.


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