Age to break?

[1alex1moose]

I always have my eye on the market for young horses and i'm finding it increasingly scary how young some horses are being broken. I have just found a 14h traditional type pony broken at 2yrs 11mths. It looks very immature and is being sat on by a rather large girl.

I can understand it when some very large horses need to be sat on before they become strong enough to be a real hassle, but i've always believed breaking this early leads to deformed joints, back problems and behavioural problems due to immaturity.

I know racers are bred for it but surely the stockier and more warmbloody type of horses need the time to grow. There are more and more horses advertised as "ready to break" at the age of just three. I'd want to wait til rising or early four unless the horse really proved it was strong and mentally mature (few and far between in my opinion)

Just thought I'd see what other people think?

 

[Seahorse]

I have always backed my horses at 3 and then turned them away over the winter to bring back into proper work at 4.

I think it depends on the horse, but I wouldn't want to be sitting on something younger than 3.

 

[AmyMay]

We back at three years old at my yard.

However, they are all strapping sports horse types - so the earlier the better!

They are then turned away for a year and brought back up at four.

 

[Donkeymad]

I've noticed too how young horses are these days when broken. Just last week I saw an advert for a cob of 1 year and 11 months - already riding and driving. I have also noticed a lot of two year olds being driven and offered as safe too. Personally, I think that for the majority of horses, they should not be broken until at least 3, then only backed and turned away, and some should wait longer. I know in the States though that is it normal to have 2 year olds barrel racing and such.

 

[kerilli]

i do very light backing at 3, and then a bit more work at 4, and not into proper work until 5 (with holidays) and 6. i am 5'10" and over 10 stone, so i don't think it's fair to expect them to carry that much weight until they are strong... if i was 7 stone, i'd do it a bit earlier, depending on the horse.
you should report the girl riding the young traditional-type horse. i knew a girl in the riding club where i used to live, who did the same thing, with a lovely coloured horse. he was so sweet-natured he let her ride him at 2. he ended up with a permanently dipped back, like 40 yr old broodmare. irreversible damage, due to a stupid cow who knew nothing at all about horses. gggrrrr.
one argument about the rise of warmbloods is that they mature quicker than irish types and so can be asked much more of as youngsters, so people can make £££s quicker on them. very sad.

 

[Tia]

Until I moved here, I had always been of the British mentality that horses should be backed at some point between 3 and 4 and then broken at 5 years old.

Since moving to Canada, my views have changed; however this may be to do with the breed I am involved with. I wholly agree with you about not backing a horse until it is mentally and physically able....hence I back at any point between 22 months and 4 years old depending on the horse.

The ones I have backed earlier have turned into (by far) the BEST horses ever. They still aren't broken till they are 5 years old though, regardless of how mentally or physically able they are; I don't need the excess stress placed on them at an age younger than this.

So you see, different camps here; the UK one where horses are totally broken at 3 or 4 and over on my farm where they are gently backed at 2 and then nothing stressful happens to their bodies until they are 5 when they are correctly broken and put into "proper" work. Neither is right, neither is wrong; providing the handler is competent then she won't overload the horse.

 

[splatty]

At our last yard they let some traveller types in you wouldnt believe what we saw, they were breaking foals in to pull trotter carts we even saw a yearling trying to pull a rather large chap and where it had struggled so much at completely removed all hair and skin leaving big gaping holes around the fetlock area, and a week later some child was riding it. It does seem a shame so many young horses are not being given a chance to be foals and mature.

 

[Nari]

My YO is despairing of me because I'm probably going to leave my little Sec D unbroken until he's 4. I've popped on him bareback a few times, done a bit of long-reining & we go for occassional walks wearing tack but I'm in no hurry to properly back & ride him. He's an easy natured, laid back person so I just don't see the need.

However my ID was backed & kept in light work as a 3yo. He was a big lad who was only going to get a lot bigger & stronger and was a lot sharper & more opinionated than the Sec D. Leaving him until 4 would have been asking for problems IMO. That said he was taken slowly & never asked to do more than he was comfortably capable of.

Every horse is an individual & needs to be treated acordingly. I can't imagine ever breaking anything younger than 3 though because I think they are just too immature & the risk of damage is too high( I know they do in racing but unfortunately that's business).

 

[Stacie_and_Jed]

[ QUOTE ]
At our last yard they let some traveller types in you wouldnt believe what we saw, they were breaking foals in to pull trotter carts we even saw a yearling trying to pull a rather large chap and where it had struggled so much at completely removed all hair and skin leaving big gaping holes around the fetlock area, and a week later some child was riding it. It does seem a shame so many young horses are not being given a chance to be foals and mature.

[/ QUOTE ]
This is terrible. I would have had to say something to them. Poor little foal oh god thats really mad me quite sad!!!

 

[nicholls07]

wat i think is people gently back there horses at 3 then turn them away 4 the winter to grow and mature, with bigger horses this does help as starting a large horse from scratch ay 4yrs can be a handful, i think its just like imprinting, i lightly bk mine at 3, but ask nothing else of her, but then my babies are shires, so they are 15h plus at 3.

 

[Shilasdair]

I have a 2 yo and a 3yo and you'd be amazed how many times I get told they should be broken....that I should 'overpower' them when they are still weak.
Personally, I still think a 2yo 500kg is going to be a bit stronger than me so I aim to do it by brain rather than braun.
I play about with them - they lead, have fly masks on, get sprayed, wear boots, are leaned over...but no proper work until at least 4 year old.
I do think that you can extend their working life by being a bit careful with them.
Not with children though - I think they should be either mining or sweeping chimneys by the time they are 8yo.
S

 

[Alimac19]

I bought a 3.5yo KWPN who had just been broken. It was obvious riding him that he was "very" green and I only stook to walk and trot on the flat. Just before he turned 4 tI found out that I was pregnant and so stopped riding him immediatly (due to his age and immaturity). I have let him rest all summer with the occasional lunging session just to keep him from going wild and am planning to send him away for schooling in November when the baby is due. This just happens to fall in line with the early breaking and leaving for a year and to be honest I think it was for the best. He has matured beyond recognition mentally in this time. Before he was premanently stressed and even looked a bit foaly (looking back at his pictures) but now he looks like a fantastic mature sports horse. His whole attitude has changes, he is so chilled out and accepts what you ask of him willingly. My only problem is as stated in the previous threads that nearly everyone asks if someone is riding him whilst I'm pregnant and when I explain that he will be brought back into work later they all look shocked and discusted like I'm neglecting his training. It makes me feel bad but as everyone here says it's better to turn away for a while if broken young.

 

[GinaGem]

I've had two youngsters and both were broken at early 4yrs, kept in light work without being turned away. I think it is dependant somewhat on the horse but i do agree that they need time to develop and be strong enough to carry the weight of a rider.

 

[Theresa_F]

Chancer my gypsy cob was sat on between 21/2 every other week for 3 months and then once a week. He started with a few mins and slowly built up to doing a couple of halts and turns and at the end of the six months, a couple of short trot transitions as part of getting him ready with basics for hacking. He was mounted from both sides, had me mount from blocks, crates etc and we did things like doing girth, stirrups taking off jackets etc to get him used to a rider doing different things.

At 3 he has started doing short hacks both in company and by himself and we are working slowly up to 20 mins, mainly at a walk. He now gets ridden for two very short sessions twice a week, once on hack and once in the school. He will do this until 3 1/2.

Between 3 1/2 and 4 we will increase lengths of hacks up to 40 mins and gently do a little more schooling at his pace, we will increase his riding to three times a week. At 4 we will introduce canter and he will be ridden four times a week. He will start doing walk and trot dressage tests and maybe do a small local show under the saddle. He will not jump with a rider until 5.

I personally agree with Tia, start them a little younger but take things very slowly and gently. Chancer started his training at 18 months but has spent a year doing what some people do in a few weeks. He has never been rushed or stressed as I have done things a tiny bit at a time.

For him this is really working. At all stages of his training he has been checked out by my vet before increasing workload and having a rider sit on him. I also do not plan to turn him away and he really enjoys his work and without it gets very bored in the field/stable.