This study was conducted on 52 cows that were tied during a 6 month period of winter housing. Four exercise treatments were imposed providing cows with either daily exercise, exercise 2 days each week, once each week, or no exercise. The exercise consisted of being released into an outdoor paddock for one hour. Observations were made of the activity of the cows during exercise, their standing-lying behaviour while tied, and claw health at the end of the winter. In treatments involving longer periods between exercise (twice or once per week) the animals used the exercise time to walk and trot more, and to thoroughly explore the paddock. There were no differences in time required to lie down while tied among treatments, nor in milk production. Exercise had a positive effect on claw health, due in part to increased wear of the claws. Regular exercise had some advantages in terms of claw health, and the differences in behaviour during exercise suggests that animals use the exercise time to achieve some degree of activity and for exploration.