The frequency of riding your horse depends on a number of factors. A horse needs regular exercise or his muscles will become flabby. A horse needs enough exercise weekly to keep his muscles toned and stretched, otherwise he risks injury.

If your horse spends a lot of time in the pasture and is free to run on a regular basis, you can ride him less and he will stay toned from his own running, playing and "horsing around" in the pasture. If he spends his days in his stall, he definitely needs a workout and interaction many times a week, at least three to four.

You also need to be aware of what you feed your horse. When your horse eats, he needs to burn it off through exercise. Hay, fresh water and commercial feed are the basics for most horses to have a good regular diet. However if you give him oats, be aware it will give your horse a lot of energy and he will need to burn it off.

Also, if you don't ride your horse often, he will become a little rusty in the good riding manners department. He may ignore certain commands or show displays of dominance in an attempt to show you since you don't work him as often he isn't going to listen to you. This can be combatted through gentle reinforcement of training and commands and lots of praise and affection. Never harshly punish your horse, all you will teach him is that you can't be trusted and you will hurt him. Horses respond much greater to owners who build a bond of trust and then train.

As you can see, there are a number of issues you need to consider when you determine how often you ride your horse. If your horse is beginning to look a little heavy, you definitely need to exercise him more to keep him healthy and happy.

Horses are psychologically programmed to seek out the company of other horses. As they instinctively know there is safety in numbers, they feel most comfortable living in herds. In the wild this protects each horse in the herd from being attacked, injured and/or killed by a prey animal.

This is a very strong instinct that most domesticated horses still retain very strongly. No matter how special the bond is between you and your horse, he will still enjoy and seek out the company of other horses if given the opportunity. Horses are very social animals who really like the company of other herd mates even if they don't have a smooth relationship.

A horse that is used to being around other horses will show definite signs of anxiety and stress usually after only a short period of separation. Anxiety can be played out by ignoring commands, nipping, walking away when given the command to stay and other acting out. Much like an unhappy child will act out displeasure by misbehaving,your horse will sometimes also use this method to show you that he's unhappy being separated from the company of his kind.

Do not punish him for being anxious, instead respond to your horse by using a gentle voice and affection. He needs to know he can trust you and once he is calm you can go riding, groom him or do whatever you intended to do. Meet any anxious outbursts with kindness, you will find they will greatly lessen with this method.