Exercise Important for Stalled Horses

A study of the effect of different types of exercise on behavior among stalled horses suggested that regular exercise was likely to provide positive benefits on horse welfare, training ability, and handler welfare. In the study, stalled horses were given an hour of daily exercise. The exercise was by turnout, being ridden, or on a walker or treadmill.

After exercise, the horses were turned loose in an indoor arena for free exercise and were also tested for compliant behavior by being put on a scale and loaded onto a trailer. Each horse was also kept in a stall with no exercise, acting as its own control. All forms of exercise decreased the amount of running, bucking, and rolling during arena turnout and increased compliance with the handler’s commands over behavior seen in horses that had not been exercised.