Jogging with minis plus one more question

[Southern_Heart]

A friend of mine thought about taking his horse jogging 3 miles at a time at a rate between 5 and 6

mph(30-35 minutes), is it a reasonable expectation for a miniature

horse on a lead-rope and wearing a halter to keep up with that pace?????

I think a dog would be better at jogging and a horse would have to be conditioned into going that far.

What you think?

I know nothing about jogging and at my age don't want to!

So I just thought I would toss this out here to get an answer for him if he should or shouldn't

Joyce

PS I just found out that he has only 2,000 sq feet for this miniature, that he wants to get. Doesn't have one as yet. Now is that enough room for a mini including a shelter too???? and would the mini be happy with that? I have big pastures with shelters so I'm not sure.

 

[muffntuf]

I think they would handle it just fine. I know people put them behind lawn mowers, atvs, gators, etc. to get them excercised and in shape.

 

[xxs]

Joyce, I use to jog my race pony 5 miles every night in the sulky. He wasn't a mini, he was 44", but he handled it very well. They need to be brought up to that distance gradually and walked out the last 1/2 mile. It would also depend on the terrain. Three miles on the flat should be fine for a mini that is conditioned to it.

 

[Warpony]

Anyone or thing that is going to jog 3 miles is going to need to be conditioned for it at first. Horse, dog, person or llama, they would need to be worked up to a brisk 3 miles. With some conditioning they should handle it as well as a dog. My pony I had years ago used to drive a 6 mile block at a brisk trot without breaking a sweat back when I had her fit. And that was with her pulling me, not just jogging next to me.

 

[Katiean]

I think the problem would be the jogger keeping up with the mini. After all we are talking about jogging not running a race. The horse is not working real hard. Not sporting a heavy load. We hike with our minis climbing hills and they want to keep going when we say enough after 6-7 miles.

 

[mininik]

3 miles is not that far. It wouldn't matter if it was a dog or pony, however, any critter involved should be checked before and after the activity for signs of physical problems to prevent a breakdown. A proper warm up and cool down period as well as building up to that distance over time is also important.

 

[Southern_Heart]

Thanks to all,

I am going to give him all this info.

Joyce

 

[JourneysEnd]

Tell him he's welcome to jog mine too.

 

[maestoso]

Many people lounge their mini for 20-30 minutes as a workout, and that is harder since it is in a circle and includes cantering as well. I think it would be fairly easy to condition a horse for a half hour jog and the mini could handle it just fine.

 

[Katiean]

Does someone want to jog with mine? I would cough up a lung if I jogged for 20-30 min.