Backing 3/4yr olds

I’m dead chuffed.
I school my 4 year old on Fridays and today we had our first canter. She was basically perfect; no napping at all which is a big improvement on last week when we had to have a little
Discussion about whether or not we stop dead and run backwards when we don’t fancy it anymore.

She’s offering some lovely glimpses of work in her trot work too.
 
Ahrena said:
Sounds like a very successful session to me CC!
Any form of distraction is enough to blow my 4yos mind so he sounds cracking to me.

Another 2p from me, I’m aware from previous posts that horsey life has been tough for you for a while. Is it worth pressing on a bit longer now you’re getting on his back and starting to do the fun stuff? It might start feeling a lot more pleasurable now you’re getting on board.
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I think at his core, he's a good horse with a good brain. I think he could be quite amazing once he's a properly educated adult horse.

I actually really enjoy doing things on the ground and get a lot of fulfillment out of that. Riding is fun too, but I never really missed it all that much when I wasn't riding. It stressed me a bit because I couldn't maintain my skills, but I also liked it to some extent because then horse stuff took up less of my time and I wasn't struggling with saddle fit issues and all of the saddle things that can go along with a young horse.

I am curious to see how I feel when he's a bit less green.


maya2008 said:
Cc all we are asking of our 3 year olds is that they go out safely through the countryside - they have a just a few weeks of basic schooling learning the aids and how to be ridden in an enclosed area at backing. Then they go out for gentle walks and the odd trot, 3 times a week or so, and enjoy life. No stress for them or us. We do have sensible ponies for them to ride out with though - would that be an option for you? The young one I found most stressful to back was at a time when we have nothing to nanny him, so more arena time and less easy to get out and about.
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That could be an option for me with some coordination. He's been hand walked a lot on trails, has been to a comp, traveled to the vet and also trailered to trails for a hand walk. So he's been out and about somewhat. Just has to do all of that now with a rider on his back.
 
Well…I’m not starting mine til he’s 5 or 6 (part through choice and part through necessity) so everything you are saying sounds like brilliant work from a proper baby baby horse!

I’m going to need to a thread of my own, on backing 5/6 year olds. Not sure there will be many joining me! (Although hopefully I will have given up my forum addiction by then)
 
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BBP said:
Well…I’m not starting mine til he’s 5 or 6 (part through choice and part through necessity) so everything you are saying sounds like brilliant work from a proper baby baby horse!

I’m going to need to a thread of my own, on backing 5/6 year olds. Not sure there will be many joining me! (Although hopefully I will have given up my forum addiction by then)
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There is a thread called "producing 5/6 year olds" or something like that. You might be a bit "behind" but I'm not sure that anyone would mind. Or just forget the age and consider this just a thread for backing. Some might not mind if you colour outside the lines a bit ;)

I did start mine young at just turned 3, but I felt like he was ready, and based on how it's gone, I think I was right. Still going to take it easy on his growing body and mind though. I've also had better experiences starting them in their 3 year old year than I've had later on, but my sample size is small and whose to say it wouldn't have gone the same if I started earlier 🤷🏼‍♀️

You just do it when the timing is right for the horse.
 
Yep I’m not judging anyone who starts at 3, just my preference now to wait longer. And with my little Hufflepuff pony he is 100% not physically or mentally ready to back now at 4. I am having to learn the virtue of patience! He’s such a nice guy, hasn’t put a foot wrong since he arrived as a long yearling, just a lot of funky body stuff to get figured out first. His hiccup attacks (NOT thumps) are the weirdest thing, as is his nuchal flip.

I mean, I always coloured outside the lines with BBP so why change the habit now with the chocolate pony?!
 
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Proud mum moment! Took the baby barrel showing (again!) and she won both her (massive) classes and then took champion 😍

But best of all, it was a new venue and she was completely relaxed, even when other horses were messing around and 1 got loose and was galloping around her. She only had 1 minor brain fart when I took her back to the lorry for a drink then when I went to take her back to the rings, she had a squeal and a bounce but I told her off and she settled quickly.

I’m just so proud - I’ve taken her to a lot more shows than I usually would bother with with a 4 year old but when I first took her out last year and the start of this year, she was frankly a raving lunatic so I felt she needed lots and lots of exposure. She used to be so, so tense - constantly nipping, rearing and plunging, broncing in the trot ups. She’s been good at the last two but that was a venue she’s been to a few times so felt yesterday was the test for if she had calmed down about it all as it was new and it’s a resounding yes.

Baby barrel is growing a brain 🥰
 
I haven't ridden much lately, mostly because my saddle slides forward. The fit is good at a standstill, but not so much in motion. My horse is also bum high and wider behind with a forward girth groove so we just don't have much working in our favor right now. I also don't have my trailer at the moment since it's been off for a repair for weeks now, and I don't know that they've even started. I have to trailer 90 min one way to the saddle fitter. So, a bit of a roadblock at the moment.

I've still been exercising him and doing some posture work. My horse is cow hocked and toes out behind. After doing some exercises, he then willingly on his own accord will stand like this:


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Not so toed out. I don't want to fight his conformation or body too much, but I'm curious to see if some strength and other exercises will lessen the cow hocks and the toes from pointing outward. I also have the problem of toes pointing outward, so I should work on the both of us 🤣
 
No harm in a bit of a break for him CC!
What exercises are you doing to help him straighten?
My two year old is a bit cow hocked - hoping he will straighten up more when he gets wider but would be interested to know!
 
This is my 4 year old girl! I had her as an untouched 2 year old from the stud. She is ID with 1/8 Welsh. I sent her to a fab place to be started under saddle at the beginning of February and she was there for 6 weeks. She took everything in her stride. I’ve been lightly hacking her in company since, a few walks in the arena and then she had a few weeks chilling in the field while I was away. Then started her walking in hand up the road on her own, hacking in company and she’s been great. Took her in neighbour’s arena today for a 20 min session. First 10 mins of walk, she was fine, I asked her for trot down the long side, then as she turned down the short side, she spotted horses in field across road, became unbalanced and then had a 2 min bronking session which I just about sat! 🙈🙈 Then carried on in walk for another 10 minutes and finished with two little trots along the long side where she was perfect! Hoping the bronking episode was due to napping and becoming unbalanced! 🤷‍♀️
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Late to the party but my 4 year old Arab has been under saddle for a few months now. Following a difficult start to our partnership when I got him as a 2 year old, I enlisted Joe Midgley's help and am really pleased how things worked out. When I bought him it was my intention to send him to someone I knew to be started, but they gave up leaving me unsure what to do. With Joe's instruction I've done it myself (never in a million years thought that would happen).

His schoolwork is fab, I'm really proud of him. However what I really want is to get him used to traffic so I can hack him out. Not sure how to achieve that safely. He's a real stress head and it just takes one little thing to upset him (eg on Thursday it was a noisy motorbike) and then everything is terrifying, including the cars that were fine before the motorbike incident.
 
Joining the thread as I’ve recently bought a 4yo unbroken mare. She’s full Irish Draught and has the most beautiful temperament. Since arriving she’s been bitted, worn a roller, been for walks in-hand and is super so far. Starting to introduce long reining now so excited to see how she goes.
 

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How is everyone getting on?
I couldn’t be prouder of my baby barrel.

She has now completely chilled out at parties; going showing with no calmer and no acrobatics.
She is absolutely fab hacking in company. We went up on the moors yesterday; had a few canters and also a fair bit of time picking her away across some tricky footing and she’s just entirely chilled. Stopped at a pub for a pint which she thoroughly enjoyed.

We still need to work on her hacking alone. She goes but lacks confidence though the worst she does is grind to a halt for a while. In company, I feel like I could ride her anywhere and she would be fine.

If you had told me at the beginning of the year that I would be doing this, I’d of laughed my head off. I really had badly lost my nerve and she was so sharp and tricky to start.
 
We have a new one (kinda landed in my lap) who my daughter has fallen in love with. 13/13.1hh, 4yo. Is already hacking out and doing her best to guess what the child wants. None of the rest of us are allowed on apparently, so I’m limited to giving instructions from the sidelines!

Two 3yos - trickier one has been being ridden by my son; easy one is hopefully going to find a new home soon (everyone here is too big for her). She’s easy and will do whatever you ask and adapt to her rider.
 
Really pleased with my 4YO mare today. She was backed over the course of four weeks in May / June and has since had six weeks off - due to some unbalanced shoeing and me being on holiday 🙄 (not my farrier). Today we had our second ride since then. She was super.

(Please excuse me, I haven’t ridden regularly for over a year now 😳!)
 

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My 4 year old had another bucking episode on Thursday when on a hack with a friend! Definitely think it’s her saddle that’s too tight as she has bulked up! Just waiting for saddler to come! So lots of walking inhand and long reining until saddle is sorted!
 
Mine has thrown a splint so is currently being rested which doesn't suit either of us! It's small, no heat and no lameness so I'm really not sure how I'll know when he's ready to resume work 🤔 My farrier was telling me that on the old days they didn't rest horses with splints because they thought it helped it fuse more quickly if the rupture was still being irritated by movement. I've turned mine out so he's not exactly keeping the leg still.
 
Hackback said:
Mine has thrown a splint so is currently being rested which doesn't suit either of us! It's small, no heat and no lameness so I'm really not sure how I'll know when he's ready to resume work 🤔 My farrier was telling me that on the old days they didn't rest horses with splints because they thought it helped it fuse more quickly if the rupture was still being irritated by movement. I've turned mine out so he's not exactly keeping the leg still.
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I would only rest a splint if it caused lameness. Would reduce what I did possibly but otherwise keep going.
 
Hackback said:
Mine has thrown a splint so is currently being rested which doesn't suit either of us! It's small, no heat and no lameness so I'm really not sure how I'll know when he's ready to resume work 🤔 My farrier was telling me that on the old days they didn't rest horses with splints because they thought it helped it fuse more quickly if the rupture was still being irritated by movement. I've turned mine out so he's not exactly keeping the leg still.
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I had a horse who popped several cold splints and I carried on working him; he was never lame from then. Splintex is great stuff btw, it really does work.
 
My 4yo has had a busy week! After getting her used to being leaned over, on Friday I had my first sit and she was golden. Yesterday I took her to her first show and I couldn’t have asked for more. She was so relaxed and didn’t put a foot wrong. Hard to believe she was living in a field up until 6 weeks ago, she has taken to everything so well.
 

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My 4 year old did his first solo hack on Saturday. He was fab apart from his new crippling fear of push bikes. I've picked up a free to a good home push bike from market place which both me and OH have ridden round the field a few times. It's lent against the fence where he stands by the feed room for attention so hopefully that helps him realise it's not going to murder him in his sleep.

My 3 year old did his first bit of long reining. OH on the reins from the headcollar and me leading. Poor Reggie has no understanding of life. I'm sure he'll pick up things eventually - patience is a virtue! 😩 We popped a saddle on him afterwards while he was in the 'yard' area grazing. We banged and flapped and pulled and wiggled it around and he didn't care at all. I've sat on him earlier in the year - just a sit on and walked round the 'yard' by OH.
 
(mainly for 4yr old owners)
How long are you all spending hacking / hillwork / building up muscle before focusing on some schooling sessions? :)
 
equidstar11 said:
(mainly for 4yr old owners)
How long are you all spending hacking / hillwork / building up muscle before focusing on some schooling sessions? :)
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Mine's 4 and a quarter and we spend pretty much most of our 'under the saddle' time on hacks, to be honest. Especially as the weather is nice. Our hacking always involves hill work due to where we live, and crossing water. Have started to take more of a contact and ask for some 'school' outlines on the hacks, doing transitions, a bit of leg yield, to open gates, rein back, etc. He hacks alone, which is great, so we really can take it at our pace and go wherever we want.
When we do go in the school, it's probably once a month and always involves poles on the ground. I only ride him 3 times a week max, and never two days in a row.
Once the mud and rain start, a lot of our hacking routes are challenging, so we'll probably spend more time in the school, so we are making the most of the fair weather now.
 
Thanks for all the advice re splints. I may take him for a little hack in that case. I actually rang the vets for advice and was promised a call back but it never materialised. I just don't want to spoil him for the sake of a few weeks.
 
Spent the last couple of evenings riding a push bike round the field while the ponies eat hay. It's the wrong kind of saddle sore! Hopefully a couple of weeks of this and we will have conquered our fear of bikes as the hacking round us is mostly used by mountain biking people.
 
The things we do eh Dorsetladette!!

Mine hacked for about a month then started schooling once a week.
I ride her about 5 times a week - she’s physically mature and her mind benefits from the work.
 
Ahrena said:
The things we do eh Dorsetladette!!

Mine hacked for about a month then started schooling once a week.
I ride her about 5 times a week - she’s physically mature and her mind benefits from the work.
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Honestly!! 🤣

Much better tonight standing and watching me but no running away or freaking out. Think we're making progress.

I really want to get him out covering some miles.
 
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