Backing 3/4yr olds

after a stressful week dealing with the horse buying ( or not buying ) community, Amara has made me smile again. Shes had her first set of shoes on, and was as good as gold. Farrier said it was as if shed been having them on for years. I asked my farrier as a favour to go to the backing yard to do them, hes done her all her life. So she knows him well.

Her full brother who is 3 ( and approx 17hds ) was also a very good boy yesterday. Ive never trotted him up in hand. So i wasnt sure what we would get, but he was absolutely fabulous. Even with the non horsey husband shouting 'yeehaa' behind him.

Just had some lovely videos of her hacking out and this nice photo
 

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We have brought our rising 4yo back into work after her winter off and you’d never know she’d had any time off at all. Hasn’t seemed to have lost any fitness (was turned away in a big field with other youngsters) and the kids have been able to just hop on and go. She is currently hacking out only to get back into the whole riding thing.
 
I think it's time to get saddles for my boys.

I'm thinking a K&M or Cavaletti for the big boy, would need to be a wide. I don't think a split panel will suit despite huge shoulder movement.

Who knows on the pony-Welsh D, 15hh and wider than he is tall, with a very short back and hugely deep body.
I'm actually thinking a full tree racing saddle to get us started as there isn't room for a lot more there, particularly as I'm 5'10!
 
Dex is very close to graduating this thread as he's 5 in May! My instructor got some video of us last night (I have a weekly lesson with her, she keeps us both on the straight and narrow as both Dex and I are prone to overthinking!) and I couldn't believe how different he looks to the weedy 3.5yo that I backed! He only schools once a week regularly, occasionally twice but for less than 30 mins and hacks the rest of the time, I kept him lightly ticking over this winter due to loss of my mojo and not being able to hack after work and not wanting to overschool - I have picked him up properly in the last couple of weeks.

He is fabulously off of seat aids now, his trot work is really coming on and he's much more relaxed and working more correctly, we have started some lateral work which he's taken to like a duck to water.. I couldn't be prouder of him, he just had the BEST brain, very rarely says no and gives it his best shot, he loves to be busy. I am also not a particularly good rider, at all, I have ridden for a long time but just as a bit of basic schooling mostly hacking sort of rider, so I am so proud of how far we have come together and I am super lucky to have bought such a forgiving youngster.

Jan 2024: (YM had a sit, so not me on him, wish I was that slim!)

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Him yesterday:
Despite me at 5ft7 managing to make any horse look 14.2 somehow (think it's because I have a long upper body), he is now 17.2....
(please excuse the fact I look a mile wide, I have an air jacket on over my coat)

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His canter remains..... onward bound, like a big lollopy labrador puppy with big legs 🤣

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AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
His canter remains..... onward bound, like a big lollopy labrador puppy with big legs 🤣

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My rising 5yo’s canter has plenty of air time at each stride, with even more if she has found something she would like to spook at! I so wish I had owned her at 3.5 to back her then - we have headed into the 5yo mare hormones without a solid foundation and it’s been rather interesting schooling a pony who just wants to argue all the time. I only get a bit of peace by popping a jump in the middle. She manages to get out of her own way and concentrate then!

Dex looks great!
 
Thanks all, you're very kind!

maya2008 said:
My rising 5yo’s canter has plenty of air time at each stride, with even more if she has found something she would like to spook at! I so wish I had owned her at 3.5 to back her then - we have headed into the 5yo mare hormones without a solid foundation and it’s been rather interesting schooling a pony who just wants to argue all the time. I only get a bit of peace by popping a jump in the middle. She manages to get out of her own way and concentrate then!

Dex looks great!
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Buying a made horse of Dex's type/demeanour would never have been within affordability for me, so I had no choice but to buy an unbacked one, but now I'd never go back. Having done all the ground work, the backing, the preliminary work with him and knowing him so thoroughly inside out, and him me, has been invaluable and made it SO much more enjoyable! Before now I have always pity bought cheaper ones that has gone wrong in some way, be it mentally or physically, and its so nice not to have to undo someone elses mistakes!
 
Does anyone have any tips or tricks to get your young horse to stop growing?! 🤣 I swear mine is bum high again after I just thought he'd come up a bit in the front.

To me, a PRE should be 16hh max (that's just my personal preference). Not whatever the heck this thing is growing to be!

I've actually considered selling for a smaller model. I prefer more medium sized horses for a variety of reasons. He'd be a good horse for OH due to height, but I don't think he's a good weight carrier and OH is probably around 14-15 stone and 6'2 in height.

Pls send help and a ladder. Thx.
 
@CanteringCarrot, mine is 4 in June, already 18hh+ and just gone a little bum high 🙈

He was tall when I bought him as a yearling, so I thought 17-17.2hh which is tall but would've been fine as I like tall.
He is currently ginormous and heading for freaking ginormous.

He lives out, has unlimited hay, pretty poor grass and a double handful of suregrow each day so hardly overfed either.

So I'm in the same boat- is there a way to stop them growing? Perhaps I should be working him now so he puts energy into working and not growing 🤷
 
millitiger said:
@CanteringCarrot, mine is 4 in June, already 18hh+ and just gone a little bum high 🙈

He was tall when I bought him as a yearling, so I thought 17-17.2hh which is tall but would've been fine as I like tall.
He is currently ginormous and heading for freaking ginormous.

He lives out, has unlimited hay, pretty poor grass and a double handful of suregrow each day so hardly overfed either.

So I'm in the same boat- is there a way to stop them growing? Perhaps I should be working him now so he puts energy into working and not growing 🤷
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That's obscene 🤣

I am working mine, albeit lightly. Mine only gets the minimum amount of a balancer that has useful vit/min and probiotics. Prior to that it was just hay and grass.

It's a bit hit or miss with his sire on size. I know that the mare plays a role too, but neither of his parents are particularly tall. His dam has a leg in each corner though! A very solid mare. He has some big half siblings and some smaller ones. A friend with two of his half brothers didn't geld hers, and that probably kept them a bit shorter.

When I went to view him as a yearling there was a giant half sibling in the herd (it was a "bachelor" herd of siblings), and I should've turned around right then and walked away 🤣
 
Dont worry, giant horses can be great, the horse in my avatar is just over 18hh, I bought him as a foal, he lived out with no hard food, only a bit of hay when it snowed, and he never stopped growing! He's absolutely awesome in every way, wears normal sized tack, 6ft6 rugs and is the easiest horse in world to ride. So enjoy your big horses!
 
I only notice his height now if he gets excited being led, then I swear he's 20hh and very athletic with it!
I will feel better when riding him, I'm sure, thankfully I do love elephant sized horses.
 
millitiger said:
@CanteringCarrot, mine is 4 in June, already 18hh+ and just gone a little bum high 🙈

He was tall when I bought him as a yearling, so I thought 17-17.2hh which is tall but would've been fine as I like tall.
He is currently ginormous and heading for freaking ginormous.

He lives out, has unlimited hay, pretty poor grass and a double handful of suregrow each day so hardly overfed either.

So I'm in the same boat- is there a way to stop them growing? Perhaps I should be working him now so he puts energy into working and not growing 🤷
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If you're comfortable, I'd love to see a photo of him, I like a biggun!

Mine was supposed to make 16.2hh (I was trying to be more sensible after my last one which was 18.3!) and he's currently standing at 17.2hh...
 
Joe said today was a breakthrough - the first time in 2.5 weeks that’s she’s accepted the saddle without exploding first. It’s saddles that are the issue - not a rider. Once she’s relaxed and accepted it, she happily accepts a rider. Today he tacked up with no reaction so was able to get on immediately and move the ridden work on a bit.

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Ambers Echo said:
Joe said today was a breakthrough - the first time in 2.5 weeks that’s she’s accepted the saddle without exploding first. It’s saddles that are the issue - not a rider. Once she’s relaxed and accepted it, she happily accepts a rider. Today he tacked up with no reaction so was able to get on immediately and move the ridden work on a bit.

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Fantastic news, you must be over the moon
 
Well today my rising 3yo learned to load into a trailer (went on straight away), had a bareback pad on (fine), bridle briefly to check size (also fine but would have liked the golden syrup I had left at home!), had a child lifted up to pat all over/dangle legs on from up high (fine) and met some traffic ( less fine).

So from that I figure that come the autumn she will be pretty easy to back if we work on the traffic between now and then. Her little brother (who declares life scary on a regular basis) was completely unbothered by the traffic and very sweetly moved forwards to comfort her when she was repeatedly startled by it over the fence. She was braver with him there, so that’s the plan for a bit. Just stand and watch it, with a buddy to show her it’s ok.

Little brother also learned to load, but is too young for this thread!
 
All went well with the dentist today. He also got his yearly vaccination for tetanus & strangles. Weighed in at 534kg. Current height is just over 14.2hh. I'm really hoping he will reach 15hh but at 3.5 yrs not sure if he will grow upwards much more. I can still hope!
Apache was a super boy for the whole trip to the vet clinic.

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cosmic389 said:
All went well with the dentist today. He also got his yearly vaccination for tetanus & strangles. Weighed in at 534kg. Current height is just over 14.2hh. I'm really hoping he will reach 15hh but at 3.5 yrs not sure if he will grow upwards much more. I can still hope!
Apache was a super boy for the whole trip to the vet clinic.

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Lovely! Keeping that tail clean is going to be a full time job for the next 25 years of your life! 😂
 
My rising 4 year old has been brought back into work over the last two weeks. He had forgotten everything in his winter out and was pretty vile for the first week, but has now knuckled back into trying to be a civilised member of society thankfully.

Light lunging to establish some boundaries, tack back on and have sat on him for a little wander.

Next up is to start walking out inhand again and venturing out as he does now seem happy with traffic after our winter turn out which I had hoped for so thats good.

He is looking pretty good I think.

(Well, cant seem to upload atm so you will have to take my word for it!)
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
Lovely! Keeping that tail clean is going to be a full time job for the next 25 years of your life! 😂
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Haha when I first got him I was quite diligent in keeping him clean. After a wash day I would be dreaming about hair later that night. I don't worry about it too much now, esp with winter coming up. Will be keeping an eye on his feather and for mudfever etc. more than anything else.
 
Another weekly update on Amara

She’s done her first baby canter whilst out hacking and was good as gold .
She’s getting more forward now , but still starts off with the handbrake on a little . But definitely improving. Having shoes on has helped . Just need to get the lady who rides away on her and then hopefully we can bring her home
 

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