Backing 3/4yr olds

[j1ffy]

Kitten looks very sweet Windandrain! What's her breeding / background?

I have a question for this group, as it seems like a friendly and knowledgeable bunch! Chilli is still very 'toe-out' and the farrier commented on it when he had a trim a couple of weeks ago. He'll be 4 in early March. Is this likely to be a conformation fault that persists, or is there a chance that he'll straighten up as he fills out?

I tried to get some photos of him standing square but he kept following me, trying to eat my phone / nuzzle my pockets / lick me ? He's turned away with a herd at the moment and does love a bit of human interaction! So I have some photos that really exaggerate the issue thanks to him taking steps forward while trying to avoid me (but at least you can see him at his worst) and also a video of him walking towards me. Excuse the ears back, he was telling his herd mates to stay away from his human...

 

[Asha]

She looks beautiful! What a change.

Of course they can also change back again - Chilli's back to being a fluffy, rotund mud-lark ? Here's a few pics I put together for a 'transformations' class in the GBPRE photo show!

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What a stunner. The one woth you on board is particularly lovely.

Nothing much happening with Frank. Apart from hes a bit a bored and spends most of his time playing with our 2yo ID filly. Shes actually bigger than him now in every way. Quite scary really, we need her to top growing now as shes going to end up too big for my daughter at this rate. Franks ready tostart again assoon as the weathers abit better

 

[j1ffy]

What a stunner. The one woth you on board is particularly lovely.

Nothing much happening with Frank. Apart from hes a bit a bored and spends most of his time playing with our 2yo ID filly. Shes actually bigger than him now in every way. Quite scary really, we need her to top growing now as shes going to end up too big for my daughter at this rate. Franks ready tostart again assoon as the weathers abit better

Thank you! He looks lovely but I look huge with my back protector and very unflattering winter breeches ?

It's fascinating watching them grow up isn't it! Hopefully your 2yo is just an early starter and will slow up soon...

 

[Asha]

Thank you! He looks lovely but I look huge with my back protector and very unflattering winter breeches ?

It's fascinating watching them grow up isn't it! Hopefully your 2yo is just an early starter and will slow up soon...

You dont look huge at all. No one looks good in a BP.

I do hope the 2yo is an early starter. She is currently referred to as Fern the tank

 

[TheMule]

Kitten looks very sweet Windandrain! What's her breeding / background?

I have a question for this group, as it seems like a friendly and knowledgeable bunch! Chilli is still very 'toe-out' and the farrier commented on it when he had a trim a couple of weeks ago. He'll be 4 in early March. Is this likely to be a conformation fault that persists, or is there a chance that he'll straighten up as he fills out?

I tried to get some photos of him standing square but he kept following me, trying to eat my phone / nuzzle my pockets / lick me ? He's turned away with a herd at the moment and does love a bit of human interaction! So I have some photos that really exaggerate the issue thanks to him taking steps forward while trying to avoid me (but at least you can see him at his worst) and also a video of him walking towards me. Excuse the ears back, he was telling his herd mates to stay away from his human...

View attachment 64125

View attachment 64126

It should still improve as he broadens out over the shoulders but I suspect he may always toe out a bit

 

[ihatework]

What a stunner. The one woth you on board is particularly lovely.

Nothing much happening with Frank. Apart from hes a bit a bored and spends most of his time playing with our 2yo ID filly. Shes actually bigger than him now in every way. Quite scary really, we need her to top growing now as shes going to end up too big for my daughter at this rate. Franks ready tostart again assoon as the weathers abit better

I know that feeling!! One of my rising 2yo’s is a good 16.1hh at the moment, she is going to be a monster! Must have put on at least 3 inches in the 4 months I’ve had her ?

 

[j1ffy]

It should still improve as he broadens out over the shoulders but I suspect he may always toe out a bit

Thank you for taking a look - I suspect you're right. Any thoughts on what I should watch out for / consider as he comes into work? My plan this year is lots of hacking and starting to get out and see the world, he'll be out until Easter then I'll start with some in-hand work for a month before getting on.

 

[shortstuff99]

Thank you for taking a look - I suspect you're right. Any thoughts on what I should watch out for / consider as he comes into work? My plan this year is lots of hacking and starting to get out and see the world, he'll be out until Easter then I'll start with some in-hand work for a month before getting on.

One of mine is the opposite (pigeon toed), but it did straighten a bit as she got older and stronger. I keep her unshod for this reason and allow the foot to be the shape it needs to put the pressure evenly through the leg rather then force straight ness.

 

[windand rain]

Toe out will correct quite a bit as chest builds my farrier encourages toe out in youngsters as long as the foot remains balanced because the developement of the elbows and chest muscles push the elbow out thus pushing the outside of the foot in.
Kitten is a Highland pony is 3 in May and came to the dry sunny east coast from the top of the peniines and 6 ft of snow. A bit scruffy but understandably so and is adored by all. Thank you she is a bit special

 

[j1ffy]

One of mine is the opposite (pigeon toed), but it did straighten a bit as she got older and stronger. I keep her unshod for this reason and allow the foot to be the shape it needs to put the pressure evenly through the leg rather then force straight ness.

My preference will be to keep him barefoot (self-trimming as far as possible) and under the watchful eye of my hoofcare guru Steve Leigh, who comes over every three months. He's being trimmed by a farrier at the moment and I did shudder slightly when he mentioned the toe-out and putting wider medial shoes on to correct the fault.

 

[windand rain]

My farrier has a masters degree in horse locomotion all his remedial work is done barefoot. He only suggest shoes for those who work more than the hoof growth can keep up with and only as an alternative to boots

 

[Asha]

I know that feeling!! One of my rising 2yo’s is a good 16.1hh at the moment, she is going to be a monster! Must have put on at least 3 inches in the 4 months I’ve had her ?

Good grief !! Another monster ??. How big is your Ramiro b filly now ? Frank seems to be stuck at around 16hds . I keep telling him to grow a little bit more please

Here’s Fern the tank . 2 in April ?

 

[j1ffy]

My farrier has a masters degree in horse locomotion all his remedial work is done barefoot. He only suggest shoes for those who work more than the hoof growth can keep up with and only as an alternative to boots

How lovely to have such an open-minded farrier! We are lucky to have some very good farriers around us - my loan horse is shod and has great hooves, big beefy frogs etc. and his farrier is great at turning up, communicating etc. He's been trimming Chilli but neither he nor the other regular farriers would ever suggest barefoot, they still work on the assumption that horses will wear shoes.

 

[j1ffy]

Good grief !! Another monster ??. How big is your Ramiro b filly now ? Frank seems to be stuck at around 16hds . I keep telling him to grow a little bit more please

Here’s Fern the tank . 2 in April ?

She's lovely! And looks quite 'finished'...until next time she goes bum-high of course

 

[ihatework]

Good grief !! Another monster ??. How big is your Ramiro b filly now ? Frank seems to be stuck at around 16hds . I keep telling him to grow a little bit more please

Here’s Fern the tank . 2 in April ?

She is a chunk!!

The LePrince x Ramiro has read the textbook. Growing beautifully in proportion, she would be around 15.2hh now, so I’m reasonably confident she will finish 16.2hh give or take.

 

[windand rain]

She is a chunk!!

The LePrince x Ramiro has read the textbook. Growing beautifully in proportion, she would be around 15.2hh now, so I’m reasonably confident she will finish 16.2hh give or take.

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she has the most beautiful kind eyes She is so pretty

 

[ihatework]

she has the most beautiful kind eyes She is so pretty

Aw thank you. She is currently outdoing her partner in crime (the black one in the background) who is definitely a bit fugly!!

 

[Asha]

She is a chunk!!

The LePrince x Ramiro has read the textbook. Growing beautifully in proportion, she would be around 15.2hh now, so I’m reasonably confident she will finish 16.2hh give or take.

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Shes got the Ramiro B face, kind, generous and beautiful all in one !

 

[Cherryblossom]

I’m so jealous of all your beautiful horses! Poppy is home from being broken (where she behaved like an absolute star) but she’s going through another real ugly duckling phase. I keep hoping it’s a sign that she’s having a growth spurt because she’s only just 15hh at rising 4 and I could do with a couple of extra inches. Plus she’s a bit cow hocked and I’m also hoping (but not with any optimism) she might grow a bit straighter.

 

[alsxx]

He is lovely- super useful type. My baby horse has a bit of NF blood in him and I think it adds a lot to the mix.
Good luck!

Thank you, I'm really pleased with how he's turning out ? I'm hoping the addition of a pony brain comes in handy and isn't too much of a hindrance!

 

[QueenBella]

Now is as good as time as ever to jump on this thread!

Finally its my youngsters 3rd year and it's time to step things up a gear. Thankfully her breeder has trained her to be the easiest youngster to lead and load that I've dealt with. She has such a good attitude, nothing phases her and is confident, in a good way. Only got her in October so cant wait for her to lose all her fluff and see what her summer coat will be like. She's currently out in the field with the other girl for the foreseeable future as Ireland will more than likely be in lockdown until March. Can't wait for the summer to start her training properly, I'm in no rush with her as she's not 3 until May but will do lots of ground work and desensitization before anything else.

First 2 pictures are from before I got her at the sales and the last 3 are her looking a little worse for wear annoying my other girl! I've roughly measured her wither to be around 16.1 at the moment so not sure how much bigger she will get, if anyone is any good at predicting heights I'd love to know!

 

[j1ffy]

Now is as good as time as ever to jump on this thread!

Finally its my youngsters 3rd year and it's time to step things up a gear. Thankfully her breeder has trained her to be the easiest youngster to lead and load that I've dealt with. She has such a good attitude, nothing phases her and is confident, in a good way. Only got her in October so cant wait for her to lose all her fluff and see what her summer coat will be like. She's currently out in the field with the other girl for the foreseeable future as Ireland will more than likely be in lockdown until March. Can't wait for the summer to start her training properly, I'm in no rush with her as she's not 3 until May but will do lots of ground work and desensitization before anything else.

First 2 pictures are from before I got her at the sales and the last 3 are her looking a little worse for wear annoying my other girl! I've roughly measured her wither to be around 16.1 at the moment so not sure how much bigger she will get, if anyone is any good at predicting heights I'd love to know!

She looks lovely! What's her breeding and what are you hoping to do with her?

 

[QueenBella]

She looks lovely! What's her breeding and what are you hoping to do with her?

Thank you very much! She's pretty much all KWPN with a touch of ISH. She's out of Hiëllo (Plot Blue x Goodtimes) and an ISH mare by VDL Arkansas. Had originally bought to produce and sell on as a showjumper but she's taken up a massive piece of my heart so its hard to imagine that I will sell but you don't know what the future holds!

 

[lannerch]

She’s certainly another pretty girl and good breeding to , no you can’t sell . Look forward to following her

 

[Northern]

Great to see all the youngsters, such a variety as well!

Miss Bella is enjoying her work, she's long reining happily around the place and learning about life.
I somewhat wish she would stop growing, she's really matured out this summer. She'll be 3 in a week!

Plan is to back her properly this coming weekend so we can continue our wanderings under saddle, and perhaps some outings out to the local equestrian park will be planned.

Here she is last week after a bath!

 

[palo1]

Kitten looks very sweet Windandrain! What's her breeding / background?

I have a question for this group, as it seems like a friendly and knowledgeable bunch! Chilli is still very 'toe-out' and the farrier commented on it when he had a trim a couple of weeks ago. He'll be 4 in early March. Is this likely to be a conformation fault that persists, or is there a chance that he'll straighten up as he fills out?

I tried to get some photos of him standing square but he kept following me, trying to eat my phone / nuzzle my pockets / lick me ? He's turned away with a herd at the moment and does love a bit of human interaction! So I have some photos that really exaggerate the issue thanks to him taking steps forward while trying to avoid me (but at least you can see him at his worst) and also a video of him walking towards me. Excuse the ears back, he was telling his herd mates to stay away from his human...

View attachment 64125

View attachment 64126

I am no expert at all but my experience is that young horses do this! They develop at a pretty uneven rate so a rather narrower chest with a decent set of legs developing often seems to result in a period of 'toe out'. I think there are both skeletal and muscular development processes involved. All of my experience (a variety of breeds and types but not really anything super-posh...) suggests that this does tend to improve, often completely resolve as they mature, muscle up and start work. It can be very unnerving but try not to panic and discuss with your farrier/trimmer if there is very uneven wear or something more worrying I reckon. He is only 4 so has a way to go yet before he is 'finished'.

 

[j1ffy]

I am no expert at all but my experience is that young horses do this! They develop at a pretty uneven rate so a rather narrower chest with a decent set of legs developing often seems to result in a period of 'toe out'. I think there are both skeletal and muscular development processes involved. All of my experience (a variety of breeds and types but not really anything super-posh...) suggests that this does tend to improve, often completely resolve as they mature, muscle up and start work. It can be very unnerving but try not to panic and discuss with your farrier/trimmer if there is very uneven wear or something more worrying I reckon. He is only 4 so has a way to go yet before he is 'finished'.

Thanks Palo. He certainly looks quite 'foal-like' in front at times. I think I'll stick with the plan, make sure his hoof balance is regularly reviewed and see what happens! My biggest worry is putting too much strain down his legs but I guess if I stick with hacking and only a small amount of schooling that should mitigate the risk. I'll likely only be able to ride him 2-3 times per week this year and he'll be out 24/7.

 

[palo1]

Sounds good to me! There is a balance which is not always easy to find or maintain between allowing young horses to grow and develop, putting some foundations and strengthening work in place and helping their minds to mature too!! He looks a great sort and I imagine he will look hugely different at 6 or 7 than he does now!

 

[j1ffy]

Sounds good to me! There is a balance which is not always easy to find or maintain between allowing young horses to grow and develop, putting some foundations and strengthening work in place and helping their minds to mature too!! He looks a great sort and I imagine he will look hugely different at 6 or 7 than he does now!

Hi uncle, who was my Medium dressage horse, didn't fill out until he was 8! I can't wait to see how he develops

 

[ihatework]

He is quite narrow in front Jiffy, there is every chance that he will just fill out and come straight. It’s a bit of a fine art/science when they are like that, too much correction and you risk them ending up pigeon toed.