# How much distance can a horse take in a day?



## Arlinon (Nov 21, 2008)

How much distance can a horse take in a day?


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## free_sprtd (Oct 18, 2007)

I think a lot of factors come into play like age, endurance, strength, shoes no shoes, terrain.......

but average...i dont know sorry!


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## Arlinon (Nov 21, 2008)

free_sprtd said:


> I think a lot of factors come into play like age, endurance, strength, shoes no shoes, terrain.......
> 
> but average...i dont know sorry!


of course, lets say a young horse with medium endurance and strenghth, have shoes, a flat road and fine weather?


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## free_sprtd (Oct 18, 2007)

how long of a ride are you thinking? how young of a horse? with a young horse, you want to take lots of breaks.... if the horse isn't sweating or breathing heavy, or looking tired, then a small standing break every hour or so should be ok. We took a 3 1/2 year old horse and a 22 year old horse on a trail ride that was only supposed to be an hour or two down a logging trail but we took some deer trails and it ended up being 5 hours and probably several miles.... we took lots of breaks....definately more than 5 and we walked them back. Sorry not of much help.... that's all the info I know!


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

Depends how much endurance you've trained your horse for. This is just an example of a small race. There are many that are WAY longer than that.


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## crackrider (Jan 23, 2007)

It really depends on the hores fitness and the pace you are doing. If you are just walking horses can travel REALLY long distances but if you are trotting etc then a fit horse can travel up to 160km in 24hrs. (this is with breaks every 30-40km.)

Are you planning to ride long distance or something? The best way to make sure your horse can handle it is to train them according to the distance you want to ride.

If you want to do a long distance ride whether it is competitive or just for fun let me know and I can send you some info on preparing a horse for long distance riding.


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## Arlinon (Nov 21, 2008)

I write some stories, so I am just trying to find out how much distance can charracters cover in a day with horses.


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## crackrider (Jan 23, 2007)

Oh! That's really interesting!


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

I horse in the wild can walk 30 miles foraging for food in a day. Though not the same as riding or working, perhaps this gives you a reference point. We easily do 10-15 miles in our casual riding.


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## Arlinon (Nov 21, 2008)

Humans can make a 70km in a day with resting and sleeping I think, as some elders who I met in rural areas, they used to travel by foot between two villages frequently, and it was taking two days as the distance was about 150km.

So, is a horse better capable than a human in a kind of travelling?


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

You should research the pony express riders of the the early USA. That would be an extreme ride on fit horses. I know they switched horses regularly but that's about it.


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## Arlinon (Nov 21, 2008)

Hmm, so I will regard it like 100 - 150 km?


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I'd say thats about right. 160 km would be top end.


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## PG'sGal4ever (Sep 25, 2008)

My Trainer had my horse up to 40 miles after a few weeks of Conditioning, It depends on the horses level of fitness, the weather & terrain, and lots of other conditions .

I would never take my horse for a long endurance race or 40 mile trail ride without the proper conditioning first.


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