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| Author |
Message |
    
Tonya S. Mitchell (Tonn)
| | Posted on Tuesday, Nov 14, 2000 - 3:03 pm: |   |
I have heard many different theories on what age a horse should begin to be broke to ride. I have seen trainers start as early as 2 years old however, some say you should never start before 3 because thier legs are not fully formed and can't handle the stress. Can anyone help me out on this????
Tonya |
Denise Conroy (Denise)
| | Posted on Tuesday, Nov 14, 2000 - 5:27 pm: | |
Hello Tonya,
I understand your concerns, as I struggled with this myself. You will find, as in any situation, theres are extreme sides to everything.
I know of a young girl already riding her 1 1/2 year old QH. I cringe. There are also some that feel a horse should not accept a rider until age 4. I tend to go with a compromise of those two thoughts.
I believe you can always work the mind of your young horses, without having to sit on their backs. I also believe that there is conditioning that the young ones need before ever able to comfortable handle a rider.
You can do this by ponying, or ground driving...even on the trail.
A trainer I recently came in contact with works her 3 year olds on the trail thru ground driving and she said it is amazing how quickly their rumps get strong and overall strength comes about. She also works with their minds with Pat Parelli games and believes strongly in the trust and bond with the horse. I agree with this as well.
By the time she has finished the ground work, all that is left is sitting on their backs...the icing on the cake, as she says. By then, they are physical AND mentally ready to handle a rider too.
I believe in
Light riding at three years old, and then by four you can feel pretty safe that they are ready to ride without risk. But again, be careful with any performance disciplines such as jumping until they are at least 6.
Denise |
Angela Graveline (Whs1)
| | Posted on Tuesday, Nov 14, 2000 - 5:29 pm: | |
Hi Tonya,
Each horse is his own individual and you have to evaluate them as such. A two year old might not be fully developed yet and ridding would be hard on them, but getting them used to what a saddle is wouldn't hurt. And then there are two year olds that even though growth wise they are ready, mentally they are not. My friend started to break her two year old this past summer and we finally came to the conclusion that he was not ready mentally for what we were asking. We had a forum about him above yours. The one where the colts takes a roll while being ridden. You might like what you read there for more answers. Some horses are fully grown at two years of age while other breeds can take up to six years to be fully grown. You need to approach the training of each horse differently because each one is just as different as we are. I hope this helped you some. Good luck, Angela |
Andrés Chaparro (Achapar)
| | Posted on Monday, Dec 3, 2001 - 11:34 am: | |
Which would be the maximum weigh a mature horse can bear for a normal trail performance? |
Christine C. Mills (Chrism)
| | Posted on Monday, Dec 3, 2001 - 4:21 pm: | |
My 1.5 yo is taller than my 18 yo.
However, I don't plan to sit on her until she is 36 months old. I may begin some light lunging the month before, but not much else.
In the mean time, I am working with ground manners, leading, a bit of showing in hand, accepting a bit/bridle, TTEAM stuff, etc. Only short lessons, try to end positively.
Once she is backed, I'll work on helping her find her balance with a rider (I raise her center of gravity) and the first parts of the training pyramid, forward, calm and straight, GRIN.
I've plenty of time and my older horse is going well, so there is no hurry.
Cheers. |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM (Dro)
| | Posted on Tuesday, Dec 4, 2001 - 8:00 am: | |
Hello Andres,
You see quotes as high as 1/3 the horses body weight. Ifind they get a little more clumsy when you exceed 1/4 of the body weight.
DrO
PS: Andres, instead of posting your question at the bottom of someone else's discussion you should create your own. You will get more responses and it helps others find related information better.
For more information on this see the READ THIS FIRST topic beside every Add a Message button. Thank You. |
