Backing/ breaking yards what u expect.

xTrooperx

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Generally when a horse/pony comes back from a backing/breaking yard what would u expect horse to have done/able to do??

Ie ..pop a jump or perhaps small course. walk, trot, canter in school and basic hacking in walk & trot.

Reason I asked as been looking at yards and there seems to be quite a differeance, just wondered what the average would be.
 
It would depend what you had asked for how long they were away and what the cost was :)

ie after 4 weeks I would expect them to be hacking out but green

after 12 weeks then maybe a small jumps and such like

My husband can back horses in 2 weeks to hacking out as long as the longreining lunging and tack has been done at home.... if he is doing it from scratch then usually 4 weeks maybe 6 for a sensitive horse.....

It amazes me how much people miss out the longreining stage... I always wonder how they think the horses is going to know your asking for left or right?? :confused:
 
If you ask for regular updates (without becoming a pest ) then you should be able to follow the horses progress, they are all different, and so are the yards !
 
I would expect a horse to be walking, trotting and cantering and been out hacking alone and in company depending on age. I would expect no professional yard to take in anything too young or not mature enough although I am aware that they are there to make money
I wouldnt expect jumping as I wouldnt expect my horse to be there long enough to have the muscle and balance to find it easy
I agree about the long reining too but not so keen on lunging
 
If a horse comes to me I have a lengthy consultation with the owner about what they want and then I assess the horse to find out what is going to be realistic in different time frames. It is wrong to just take a horse and say it can be done in 4 weeks to be hacking, schooling and popped a jump because not all horses will get there that quickly without being rushed and stressed into it.

If I were sending a completely unstarted horse, I would expect it could have a settling in period, then would like to know that it would be lunged, long reined (probably for me one of the most important processes) both in the school and on the road and that it is backed, hacked out, taught to respond to light basic aids in walk, trot and canter in the school and that it is relaxed in its work as a basic routine, but it really is up to the owner. Some want a horse to be working at a certain level, some want the horse introduced to competition etc.

It really does depend on the horse and owner.
 
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I would expect the horse to be at whatever level I have asked the yard to produce it to- how long it takes depends on the horse, it's background and the yard/rider.

OP, what do YOU want the horse to be able to do when it returns?
I would specify that when you go and look at yards.

Some horses I had in to start, the owner wanted basic w/t/c in the school and able to walk down the road in company.
Some owners wanted w/t/c in a balanced and basic outline, the horse to be introduced to jumps and show settings and able to hack alone/ in company on roads and grass.
 
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