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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
   
Location: N Texas | I just put up a round pen last week and have been using it to exercise one of my horses. This particular horse is very rough, so is not fun to exercise under saddle. It's also SUPER convenient to just throw him in the pen, work him for a little bit, and be done.
How many people use a round pen as their main method of exercise? I know tons and tons of circles are hard on their joints, and that lots of straight lines are better, however, I also know people who use the free-flow exercisers, which to me seems the same as using a round pen.
So is it ok to exercise him a few days a week like this, as long as he also gets time under saddle during the week? |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
 
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | i never never never have used my round pen to exercise my horses........to me its mindless, when i exercise my horses i like to work the mind as well as the body...........i only use my roundpen for colts and the first few rides.........
thats my 2 cents.......:)
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 Expert
Posts: 1631
Location: Somewhere around here | We only use the round pen for the first 5-10 rides on our colts but then after that they are out in the open. I can see maybe using it on a horse that needs lunged warm up on a windy day or working with a problem horse but nothing other than that. |
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 Northern Exposure
Posts: 3919
Location: Wasagaming, Manitoba, Canada | I work my horse regularily in the roundpen. I work him in a tiedown and have a variety of things I do with him. Works for me.
You have to figure out a program that works for you.
Edited by BBKitamanCutter 2014-01-27 11:33 AM
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I believe me spending time in the saddle is just as important as exercising the horse.
I ride to exercise the horses whether it is hot, cold, wet, dry, or icy, there is always a way |
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 Expert
Posts: 1591
Location: East Texas | We conveted our walker to a free flow exerciser. All of my horses trot in it every day, and then I lope them after wards in the arena if I get home from classes in time. Only my 5yo gets barrel work, the others do not. So it works great for me. One mare I never get on unless it's at a race, she trots in the walker then I pony her to lope her off another horse. |
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Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | Those of you who are against using a round pen for exercise, how do you feel about free-flow exercisers? I completely understand the "mindless" aspect of it, just looking for ways to get a horse exercised when he's not fun to ride :) I've heard of people using four-wheelers and of course ponying one horse off another, but those seem pretty mindless too. I appreciate the different points of view!  |
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  Champ
Posts: 19623
Location: Peg-Leg Julia Grimm | Some finished horses don't need to be ridden. I used to free longe my finished mare all the time. I ponied her or trail rode her as well. How much is "good" depends on the surface of the round pen. If it's not kept worked up just like you expect an arena to be worked, then any amount is too much. Nice soft sand or dirt that isn't slick and allows the foot to sink in and is cushioned is perfectly fine to get one some exercise. It's a great time saver.  |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| I've done it all the above ways. I round pen one once and a while (even my good hard running horses) when I feel I'm just not getting the leadership respect I want on the ground, but then again I was taught how to correctly utilized the round pen for this.
For on the ground, out of the saddle work, I much prefer a lunge line on nice soft ground. You can lunge over a small jump (12-18") and that is super great for their abdominal muscles. You can lunge half circles against a fence to help them get their body collected. Then I hand walk them at least a mile to cool them out properly after lunge line work. I trot-lope them for 30-45 minutes. I'm lazy, and I'd rather ride one than have all that ground effort! Remember that after round penning or lunging, its incredibly important to walk them that mile!
I'd really rather pony one than lunge one. I ride at least one every day, and pony the other. One is just a terror to pony or pony with, she's a total bully and its just easier to ride her solo then ride the second horse. My program: Walk 1/2 mile, trot 1 mile, lope 1 mile, (MAYBE breeze 500 ft), walk 1 mile or until cooled off. Sometimes I switch and long trot 2 miles or more, or sometimes I lope 2 miles. I always walk out a full mile to cool down. I do this every single day. This is in a small pasture, and I used Equitrack on my phone to get a precise distance measurement of how many times around on which route gave me a 1/2 mile.
My observations:
When I was getting myself legged up to the above program, I could barely bring myself to finish. It takes a strong body to successfully and gracefully complete even a few miles at a long trot. The horse that was "uncomfortable" is now "comfortable" because now I have the muscles and stamina to ride her through it. Plus, as she got stronger (she's a super choppy, short strided horse), her stride started to lengthen out and smooth up. If you challenge yourself to ride every day, for at least 3 miles, for a 60 day period, I think you'd be surprised how much you start to crave the ride, and the horse starts to be a happier, smoother ride. The benefits for myself and my horses has been ten fold, plus I really know them inside out, and they really trust me on the ground and in the barrel pen because they know me inside out as well. I recommend riding your horse, no matter how uncomfortable the first few weeks might be for you both. |
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Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | Gunner11 - 2014-01-28 10:55 AM Those of you who are against using a round pen for exercise, how do you feel about free-flow exercisers? I completely understand the "mindless" aspect of it, just looking for ways to get a horse exercised when he's not fun to ride : ) I've heard of people using four-wheelers and of course ponying one horse off another, but those seem pretty mindless too. I appreciate the different points of view!
i dont think any walker will replace good old exercise...i do pony sometimes but the horse that is gettin ponied is saddled and i still do a lot of different exercises (the pony horse has to be paying attention, so you kinda loose the mindless aspect..lol)....but when we are starting horses we will use another horse in the round pen.....but i have a lot of space to ride so my horses dont get a lot of arena time..........my horses haven't seen the inside of an arena since last sept......i am like cheryl i ride outside in all conditions(not every rodeo is a sunny day....)
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| If you have halter horses .... work the round pen and walkers all you want ... oh yes ... and add some steroids too ... |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I'd maybe do round pen once a week and ride the rest. We just put in a roundpen last year but I'm not convinced it's big enough so I didn't use it much. I also ride primarily out in the field and stick to a routine that my horse likes. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1482
Location: on my horse | My colts I round pen a lot. I do a lot of grounds work before I get on and having a round pen to do some of that in is awesome! I also like to stay in the round pen for at least the first 10 rides and sometimes longer because that fence is your best friend on a young green horse (teach them to get their hind quarters up under themselves to stop, roll back, etc.)
There are always ways to mix it up and make it interesting for your horses and change their routine up a bit. Add a small jump or two once you get a certain level of fitness on your horses, throw a tarp out and walk them over/through it, etc. Free lunge, then get a rope on and ask for some yields, etc.
On a broke horse I wouldn't worry or think twice about round penning him a few times a week especially in the spring when everybody is fresh. |
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Expert
Posts: 3147
| Size of your round pen is very important in using it for exercise. The smaller the pen the harder it is on the horse's joints. If it's fairly nice sized there's nothing wrong using it on those days you don't have time to ride. I have one horse I put in the round pen for five minutes or so. If I haven't ridden him for a few weeks. |
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Champ
Posts: 19623
Location: Peg-Leg Julia Grimm | Yes the size is important. I like a 60 foot pen. |
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2931
Location: North Dakota | Even if my horse is being a butthead that day, it still makes ME feel good to go out for a ride and give him some exercise.
I get bored being in the round pen or arena. I would imagine my horses do to. So for me, personally, I couldn't imagine just lunging him around for 20 minutes to exercise. In that aspect, I feel the same about hot walkers.
But do what you need to do. Everyone's different. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| We only use our round pen for two reasons. First is when we are just breaking one, and the second is when an attitude adjustment is in order, mainly ground manners or trying to fix another persons mistake. We use the buddy up system with most of our horses and most of the time you need a confined space to better get the point across. |
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3310
Location: Jersey Girl | I use the round pen to help keep my horse fit or help get him fit. I hate riding him in the arena and I am not always able to get him out on a trail ride (have to trailer out to do so). The round pen is a great tool, not just for training IMO. |
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 "Drank the Kool Aid"
Posts: 5496
Location: Iowa, LA | I use my round pen and hot walker quite often! They are both 60 ft in diameter and when you work the hours I do, sometimes you HAVE to improvise! It's not that I think it's the ideal thing to do, but when you have two PSSM horses, ANY kind of movement/exercise is your friend! After doing the couch to 5K it made me realize how any type of change can make me sore, so I try to keep that in mind for my horses as well. If they get conditioned to be worked without a rider on their back, then when a rider does get on, it may cause some initial soreness. Same thing with ground. I had sand hauled in to improve the ground and allow me to work them even after a hard rain. They were huffing and puffing at first, so I had to go easy on them. Just keep that in mind...anytime you/they are using those muscles differently it can cause soreness. |
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