Backing 3/4yr olds

So I guess some of us need to graduate to the 5/6yro thread, as of today.
I realised out hacking today that my guys are officially 5yros now, how did that happen?!

I'll link that thread here and perhaps see some of you over there. I really like using these threads as a bit of a diary on how we're getting on so will try to continue 🙂
GinaGeo

Pictures Thread 'Producing 5/6yr olds'

For the former 3/4yr olds that have graduated from that thread! And any new ones ?

I’ve been enjoying contributing and reading about everyone else’s young horses and I know there’s been some calls for a new thread to follow them on.

Pod is five now and has just levelled off again after a big growth spurt over winter.

He had his first jump lesson back last week. He’s come back so much stronger and is really taking me forward now - I’m getting glimpses of the horse he could be, and that’s plenty of horse for me and a lot of fun.

We’ve got a Dressage Comp at the weekend, his second. We...
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Asha said:
I bet he will be fine. Can you go and see him regularly . Hopefully that will put your mind at rest

Signing Amara off from this thread now . She’s done pretty much everything we wanted and is enjoying her holiday. The areas where the sarcoids have been lasered are healing really well . All scabbed over with lots of nice pink skin around them . She should be ready to crack on end of Jan all being well .

Good luck to everyone with their youngsters , it’s been fab to get updates
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Im sure he will be fine once he settles, and hoping to go and see him weekly as its not far.

But its such a big thing trusting your horse to someone else...
 
Mine 3 year old, officially 4. Properly backed her on Christmas Eve, though have some photos from the summer when I just jumped on. We had been doing some leading off another horse. We have upped the long reining. I have been doing short lead rein 'hacks' when I have someone to lead, when I haven't I have just wandered around the yards. Everywhere is hilly (Lake District) so riding her up and down the hill coming in and out of the yard is interesting. I would say she is 17hh of legs, and she has no idea where they are, and you feel like you are riding a drunken reindeer when going downhill.PHOTO-2026-01-01-20-50-03 4.jpgImage-1.jpg

Took her in the school today, her lunging is really good now. I did get won her but struggling to get her to go forward a bit. We get confused ears a lot! Would be easier/ quicker if I had someone on the ground to help. Anyone who pops in gets put on leads rein duty :D once we have had a few trots under saddle I think we will be away. Image-1 2.jpg
 
Small update on the baby reindeer.

Getting the idea that bus = treat and now starts asking for food when they appear rather than showing a desire to leg it.

We have been to the pub and been disgusted that this involves standing still whilst the humans have a drink that he’s not allowed to steal.

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We’ve also been over the motorway bridge & under a tunnel neither of which he found to be that interesting.

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Two rising 3 years olds - one as bombproof as a sleeping tortoise and one still learning to cope with life.
- The steady one will be too small (she is 12.2hh now or thereabouts and she hasn’t grown at all really in this last year), so will move on soon to find a home with smaller children. Busy doing prep for that - lots of picking up feet, walking over scary things, getting the kids to jump around her and be silly, learning about rugs and basically preparing her for a life with little people (not that she has reacted to anything they’ve done but better to be safe than sorry and all that!).
- The other needs to learn to chill. He is friends with my son but has always gravitated towards me like a magnet. Problem is he’s so excited when I do anything with him, all ‘Mummy’s playing with me! Mummy loves me! Squeee!’ So working on getting him to relax, enjoy cuddles, be less worked up about everything. He looks nothing like a 3yo yet - all tall legs and short back and proper 2yo shape. Which is good because I would like at least another two inches in height before he stops!

Rising 4yo is happy, chilled, still very enthusiastic about work and enjoys coming out a couple of times a week for a hack. She’ll go in an arena next summer and will hopefully be broken to drive next year. That’s the plan anyway!
 
Homebred connie x WB can now officially join the thread! She's been out to shows and loads and travels well. Very fluffy at the moment. She's currently just over 14.2. Hoping for 15 hh. She'll go to more inhand shows in the spring then lightly backed in late summer. My chief concern is her weight. My other two need more food than her and I don't want her in a separate field so it's tricky. My grass is too rich for her. Plan is to sell her at some point. This spring, after backing in the summer or next spring. Not sure which yet.
 

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Ru is on week 4 of his time off, took him in the school yesterday for some mounting block practice and I have been dying to sit on him again, so i did :D
We had a little mooch around and a trot bareback. He is such a chilled baby, dragged him in from the field and just had a play, it made my week 😊
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He is definitely growing too

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Kick up the bum the last couple of days. Took her for a hack (being led of another horse) and she was very lazy. I then got on her in the yard, decided to stop being sheepish and told her to get on with it. She did forward off my leg and actually had a little trot. Today arena was frozen so couldn’t be bothered to lunge do just jumped on straight away and went for a little hack, just up the lane. Foot perfect apart from struggling with the downhill part!

I think if I had someone helping, even just riding another horse we would get there a bit quicker…
 
rhino said:
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I have a little dun creature who can join in, he’s rising 3 and a super wee chap. Has done a couple of in hand shows and a fair bit of Trec, going champion in the open in hand section of our winter league last winter. Handling all established but in no rush to get him under saddle this year.View attachment 171185
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Ooh a lovely proper dun! He's gorgeous
 
My baby thoroughbred is also bowing out of this thread now that he is officially 5! He finished off his 4 year old year with his first working hunter show at the end of November, followed by winning his 80cm Northern Ireland festival working hunter qualifier the following week (videos below).



He had a little break over Christmas and rounded out the year with a little indoor jump schooling session. Lots of exciting plans for this year hopefully!


Good luck to all the new 3/4 year olds, and I might see some of you in the 5 year old thread 😊
 
Excited to be joining this thread with Rabbit my lovely full Appaloosa youngster. He's currently 2 years and 8 months old, so not quite 3 by his birthday, but I believe he will technically be classed as 3 as of 1st of January? Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong aha!

Really excited for this next step of our journey together, I've had him since he was an 8 month old colt and done all the work to date by myself, so it's mega exciting (and daunting!) to be getting closer to the first sit stage.....

I've not got any massive plans for him as he's still having a few growth spurts - I mainly want him to accept me sitting on his back, walk and trot in an arena and possibly a few small, short hacks out with a friend before letting him mature more physically and mentally for 2027.

We're 75% there I would say - I just need to hanker down on teaching him to long line and then I can work towards doing the leaning over etc part. He's such a Mummy's boy that the second I disappear from his side, he's turning around looking for me - which makes groundwork pretty awesome as he's mega responsive, but when I'm trying to avoid us both getting tangled in a pair of long lines, it's not the most helpful thing 😅

I've attached some photos from various stages since I had Rabbit (hope they work!) x
 

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Awesome updates everyone! All your youngsters are gorgeous 😍

When do one tend to graduate to the 5/6 yo thread? When the horse turns 5 or rising 5?
Apache won't be 5 until September so I think we will stick around here a bit longer.

On Sunday we went out with a couple of friends for our second trail ride away from home. I was still a bit nervous as Apache can be spooky, although better in company. We somehow managed to get a little lost so the ride ended up longer than planned and had to trudge through some quite overgrown tracks. Despite this he did so so well!

I uploaded some gopro footage for anyone interested here
 
My colts are turning three in 6th April, 30th April and somewhere (22?) May. The eldest, the pinto, has had a rider on twice now, loose in the paddock with no equipment or other human around. Before that, I spent quite some time hanging on him, jumping up and down, hanging and waving on the other side, laying on top of him etc. So he seemed relieved I was finally just getting up normally.

Might sell him in the summer. I simply have too many horses, he's a bit outside in the herd and will be the easiest to sell. We also won't fit together long term, he's too mild and easygoing for me. Though I want to sell him ridden in all speeds, walk, trot/tölt and canter. We don't have a school so everything will be done outside. He's very calm and easy so I'm not worried. Actually considering hacking him out the first time in the snow, it's starting to get up to half a metre so at least if he does something and I fall off, it'll be quite soft to land.
 
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