How do you know when your horse is getting tired?

Question

When riding, I always try to be sensitive and alert to my horse's needs. But I don't know when exactly does he get tired and when to stop. How do I know?

Answer 1

Horses display different ways to tell us they're tired or getting tired.

Your horse may start to ignore or only half do what you are asking him to do.
He may refuse to go.
Start having excess saliva around the bit or mouth area that is white and foamy
Start dripping sweat from the ears, neck, chest, under the saddle or flank, most of the time being white
He may start to get canter rub between the legs where sweat has built up and turned a chalky white
Start to stumble or misplace his feet
Start to tremble
He may start to stomp the ground and look for a place to lay down or roll.
Lower head and seems disengaged.

There are a few more but this covers the most of it. Hope it helps.

Answer 2

The exact time is different with every horse . You have to factor in training, age, weight, and even breed. An Arabian or half arab can go a lot longer than most if not all other breeds of horses. Listen to him through his actions. The first sign of getting tired is sluggishness to changing his gait. Ask him to trot and if he does it but doesnt respond quickly then you know he is really tired. He may not be hot or sweaty. If you are out trail riding, stop frequently and water him and rest. Let him pick at the grass for a little bit. My family goes out for 8-10 hours at a time when we go trail riding. But we also ride through the winter ( weather permitting) and we start out on easy short trails in the spring. Then by the start of summer we are riding the longest, hardest trails in heat.

Also, keep an eye on his breathing. If he is breathing heavily and his rate has not come down, Get off of him, loosen the girth, and walk him around for a while. If you can, take him into a creek and use some of the water to cool him down a little.

Answer 3

When he starts to break more often, but you don't want to get to that point, you should know your own horses' limits and not push him too hard. If he is working up a sweat, in cold/cool weather you should stop and cool him out, usually an hour of straight riding is enough to make a horse tired, but check his heartrate, and see if he is sweating too much. Also if he seems less willing to do any upward transitions, stop, this is his way of telling you he's done too much.

Answer 4

i guess the best way is to watch for stumbling or weaving and breathing hard...but unless you run them hard and dont allow them to walk and cool off on the way back, you should have to worry about a normal days riding tiring him out, he can go a lot longer than you can...unless of course he isnt getting adequate feed for the amount of excercise he is getting. the only time i ever saw a truly tired horse was in south dakota in the black hills in blue belle riding stables...they dont rotate their horses and one horse was so exhausted it was stumbling, another had a loose shoe....it was sad to see that poor tired horse made to go right back out again.

Answer 5

You will be able to tell if you are working him too hard, he will start to lather up from sweat around his ears and under the blanket. Also if you are able, every now and then reach down from up on him and feel right between his legs in the middle of his chest, if he is hot or dripping with sweat there stop. That is the one place you can tell while on him if he is overheating.

Answer 6

1

Answer 7

when your horse is tired his head is lower then when you first started out on your ride. you have to urge the horse more aggressive to have him follow your directions

Answer 8

if you ride him alot, he shouldn't be tire easily, I ride every weekend so i ride /trail ride for about an hour, walk him out and bed him down.
it depends on how and where you ride, him. Do you trail ride or run in fields etc.
Just watch his actions and you'll know.