My colt has been coming with us on trail rides. Mostly walking but some trotting. I was wondering if they have done any studies on exercise and bone development? Obviously I don’t want to overdo things. He seems to have fun and enjoy getting out and I think it’s great exposure for him. Probably need to find some horse shows to take him too as well.
“Weanling” could be 4 months, or anything up to 12 months. So that plays a role as well.
How long in distance is the trail ride? A couple miles, mostly walking, a couple times a week should be fine. 4 hours is probably too long, no matter the distance.
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Agree with JB, we need to know more about your young horse.
Also agree that shorter walks, a bit of trotting, is beneficial. More than a couple miles on a yearling to three yr old is too much. A weanling doing a half mile is plenty in both time and distance. However any kinds of straight line work is MUCH better than any kind of circle work like lunging or round pen type exercise.
Young horses self-exercise in spurts, then nap or graze until the next burst of energy. They don’t hurt themselves by over-exercising for long times. Humans want to “work” babies for specific times that can be too long.
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Wild horses travel 20-30 miles per day on average, even with foals in the herd. That comes from research, all other answer in this thread are just guessing. Your weanling will be fine. If he gets tired you will notice and can take a break but most domestic horses are hugely under exercised as youngsters and it absolutely affects their long term soundness. I shake my head every time I see someone raising foals in a small paddock.
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What do you mean by going with you?
Loose? Or on a lead line?
To me, Weanling time is a prime time for teaching the too oft overlooked basics in hand (leading, grooming,etc ) and exercise via turnout with other weanies.
Not everyone has the perfect setting for raising young horses, big fields, other playmates the same age. This means they need to look at other ways of interacting with their young equine in a safe way to get the benefits of exercise, good behavior on a lead. Ponying is a good method if not taken to extremes, in distances, time out being led.
Mustangs do what they HAVE to, to survive. If water holes are 20 miles apart, that is what they travel. Doesn’t mean there are no effects on the young stock. They are not a good comparison, because what we ask of our “farmed” horses is not the same as running unfettered, unridden, just surviving. Examination of dead mustang bones show they can have a LOT of issues in feet and legs, most founder yearly when the new grass comes up. Farriers did a lot of research on mustangs to learn more, it was quite amazing reading.
Travel does help bones increase density, but there is a limit on young horses how much travel is beneficial. A led horse is not self limiting as mustangs would be getting from waterhole to Thr next water. They travel, stop and graze or rest, travel some more, rest, etc over the course of a day. May take a lot of hours to finally get to the next waterhole, so those are much different stresses on a foal or young horse than one gets being ponied or led for walks.
The thing is MANY people do NOT notice Baby is tired, “I have to work him X amount of time.” His tired horse acting up, poor responses are result as “being naughty or stubborn, disobedient” so they work him LONGER! Helping set time limits, what kind of exercise in handling, will let the people learn what to expect from various aged babies. I have done the ponying when my field sizes were limited. I was careful to not overdo in time or distance, horses were sound way into old age because young bones were not stressed. No guessing about it, a planned program in raising young horses.
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I disagree that a 1-3yo shouldn’t do more than a couple miles, especially a 2yo, and that a weanling shouldn’t do more than 1/2 mile, especially if it’s just walking.
Young horses need to move way, way more than most get the chance to. It helps every single aspect of their growing body, including their feet.
Would I start a weanling at 3 miles? Definitely not. But if an 8 month old can’t walk 1/2 mile out and 1/2 mile back to start, assuming it’s not straight up and down a mountain, he’s got some serious issues with his body
At some point it’s less about the distance, and more about his mind. Being ponied means he has to pay attention to some degree, has to learn he can’t rear up on his pony horse, he can’t bolt ahead, it’s all very much training in the beginning, no matter how well he ponies at home. So pay very close attention to his attention span, which is going to be short in the beginning, for this, until he settles into the routine. Be sure in the beginning to be close to home so that even if you’re only walking a mile, you can easily get home in a couple minutes if he’s just over it all
Would I pony a weanling for real fitness? Absolutely not. But around the block? Down through the woods to the stream? Sure, do it for exposure, mental training, varied terrain But not for fitness.
Yes, some level of fitness will increase for sure, but that’s a by-product, not the main goal.
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For the most part he is a saint when ponied on the lead. He occasionally gets sticky feet and wants to stop, mostly if he sees some really tasty weeds or if we are crossing mud or water. I do turn him loose in the big field as there are fences, and then he can just follow along until we get to the gate. It’s a lovely field for a trot with nice level footing.
My property is rather limited so it’s not like he gets much exercise at home. He is for the most part a very well behaved baby. I just have to keep reminding myself he is just a baby. I worry about how many roots are on the trail for him to trip over, so I may end up taking him through the fields more often just because the footing is better.
He doesn’t really have any playmates here. I feel bad for him because he is quite lonely. He is turned out with my friend’s gelding but for the most part they ignore each other. The gelding doesn’t kick, just nibbles on him until he moves out of the way. So they coexist but aren’t exactly good friends. I’m hoping to find a better buddy for him but in the meantime this will have to do.
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@JB I purposely set the weanling distance low because of differences in weaning ages. Some folks wean at 3 months, others wean at 6 or 8 months, so baby bodies are quite different between those months. And as you said, half mile out and half mile back, adds up to a whole mile. I think that is enough in time and distance to expect a baby to behave, doing a controlled exercise.
OP, thank you for more information. The field freedom sounds wonderful for the baby! A mental break from being good, with the chance to stretch his legs. To bad your gelding is not interested in baby, though his keeping baby a bit squelched with bites, is to your benefit. Not being pushy on you! Our geldings love baby horses, but do not allow bad behaving. Baby gets a nip to quit that! But they do run, play with them, watch over him during naps, so baby accepts discipline, has good herd manners. They also will encircle baby if they perceive a possible threat. Baby is forced to stay in the middle to be protected, whether he wants to or not! Herd dynamics. All were raised in small groups, learned herd manners the same way. Perhaps your horse did not have an opportunity to be raised that way. At least he is not being a bully to baby, so you can keep them together.
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daughter just got her new weanling, they are at a show were both breeder and daughter are attending so it made a good place for the exchange…the change from North Dakota to Morgan Grand Nationals where there are about 1200 head does not seem to bother him at all
her prior weanling as he became a yearling she took him jogging on the city trails… he liked the stops at the bars along the way
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I routinely ponied my weanlings. Lots of walking and some trotting. In some places I could let them loose to follow and did they ever run! We went several miles at a time. I was just watchful so they didn’t get over tired.
As long as this part he’s not running around, I think the roots would be great for him to navigate. Look down and pay attention, little dude!
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I think this is great physical and mental conditioning for him. When I was a kid, I rode at a camp where the foals all rode loose along beside us on hour long trail rides. The owners had been doing that for years and said the foals that were started that way tended to be less spooky, easier to start under saddle, and more respectful of herd dynamic. As long as he’s not having to canter over long stretches, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.
Years ago I bought a weanling. Over the next year or so I regularly (1-2x per week) took her for walks in the adjacent park along with my dog. Maybe 30 - 45 minutes. Later when backed and also driving, she was not spooky or troubled by any of that environment. I did take some good-humored comments from barn owner that I was treating her like a dog, but it worked for me and clearly built our relationship.
On a similar topic, I read somewhere very recently that there is a study underway with racehorses to see if a program of measured exercise when very young will keep them sounder later. Of course, now I cant find it…
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Popped into this thread because I now own a yearling (not a weaning, but still) and was going to start walking him with DH and the dog. I actually did this with my 10 year old quite a bit over the years. He essentially came for short hikes with us, and I either rode or handwalked. Plus handwalking exercises the human too! People did joke that my horse was like a big dog, but it did build our relationship, he enjoyed it, and he was very easy to handle.
I think it’s good for a horse to move over varying terrain with and without a rider for muscle development and whatnot.
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I used to take my Old Man horse trail running when he was getting legged up after his hock surgery. The only annoying part about it is that everyone assumed you fell off and were asking “omg are you ok?”
I agree, it’s super fun if you have one with good manners - and if you don’t, it’s a perfect time to work on it.
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I’m trail walking Feronia these days, since she can’t be ridden and I can’t ride (hopefully temporarily). It’s super for exposure, manners etc.
I only wish I’d trusted her more and been more skilled with horses after she had her surgery in 2010 and had 8 months of handwalking to get through. I could have taken her a bit further afield for our 45 minute walks.
