It seems to me that a lot of people are riding their horses at 3 years old and they appear to be fully broke.
That just seems a bit young to me. We didn't start training horses to carry folks until they were at least three years old and we'd break them easy... working with them until they were four or five.
The race industry just makes me P/O'd. They ride those horses incredibly too hard for how young they are. Most horses aren't done maturing until they're around five.
I just broke for western trail riding. By the time the horses were sold, they were able to be ridden with loose rein. They'd stop, of course. They could back up. Most of them turned on a dime. (Every now and then we'd get someone with a hard mouth.) They walked, trotted, cantered, and galloped. They could step over logs and other obstacles. They'd cross water and bridges. And, most you could walk underneith them, around their legs, and they couldn't give a rat's bum.
I guess I'm old school too, because I've stuck to the way I was taught back in the day, you do lots of handling and non-mounted training from day 1, but don't actually RIDE the horse until the spring of its 4th year. Years ago, we Eventing folks who didn't have the hugest budget could buy a retired 6 or 7 year old Thoroughbred gelding from off the track, spend a season retraining him for eventing, and end up with a safe and sane partner who enjoyed competing and stayed sound. These days, it's rare to find a Thoroughbred who is even sound, let alone one without handling issues. How unfair that the racing industry's drive for profits has downgraded such an awesome breed--they still haven't destroyed the Thoroughbred's attitude, but if they keep going the same way they will--very sad.
Yeah, I would much prefer to take a few extra years to train a horse for riding than get into the mind-set of 'it's 2 now so let's jump on and go!'. I'd rather have a horse that stays sound it's whole life (all other health concerns aside) than to have one that gets arthritis early on or whatever... And as far as horse racing goes, I really wish it would go away, or at least change handling habits and age limits (as in, older horses = better)...
I do agree that the racing industry is breaking too young. That is why they're always breaking their little legs. they aren't mature enough. however, I think that if your horse is game you could break it at two and a half or three. It really just depends on the horse.
horsesr1, It doesn't matter whether a horse is game or not. It matters as to whether the body is done maturing. Spirits have nothing to do with an underdeveloped body taking on too much.
Sorry, when I said game I meant maturing wise. I guess I need to choose my words better. Sorry again. Hey, do you do a-lot of western? That's a cool discipline!
Not so much anymore. I moved to the city, so I can't really have a horse of my own.
When I do ride, it's mostly trail riding. Sometimes I do a bit of team penning, but not too often.
My partner and I are looking for a house in the country. I doubt we'll find one, though. We'd like to rent a small farm and not pay a fortune. I'd like to get our two year old his first pony. He's amazing with horses. Last year, he was a little over a year old and balanced himself on my aunt's QH's just fine. He rode around with me, too. He kept going, "Go big dog, GO!" Now he knows that they're horses and not dogs.
Originally posted by littledog123: I guess I'm old school too, because I've stuck to the way I was taught back in the day, you do lots of handling and non-mounted training from day 1, but don't actually RIDE the horse until the spring of its 4th year. Years ago, we Eventing folks who didn't have the hugest budget could buy a retired 6 or 7 year old Thoroughbred gelding from off the track, spend a season retraining him for eventing, and end up with a safe and sane partner who enjoyed competing and stayed sound. These days, it's rare to find a Thoroughbred who is even sound, let alone one without handling issues. How unfair that the racing industry's drive for profits has downgraded such an awesome breed--they still haven't destroyed the Thoroughbred's attitude, but if they keep going the same way they will--very sad.
Actually, they do just to opposite. Jan 1st is the official birthday, which is why breeders aim to foaling as EARLY in the year as possible. Why? So that they are more developed and trained by the time of their first race. Still stupid to race them that young. 2 year olds get ruined by being ridden AT ALL. They're just so young. # year olds are old enough to begin training, and from there on it's fine. 3 year olds are developed enough to start being broken in. Horses mature at age 5- this means that they aren't getting any bigger for sure (they could have stopped growing all together at 3 anyways), and that they are mature enough to start breeding, a.k.a. considered Mares/ Stallions instead of Fillies/Colts.
