Backing questions

[Frans]

We have a three year old that we are planning to back next year. She has a lovely temperament, is inquisitive, quick to learn and a real pleasure to work with. I plan to use the winter to do a lot of preparatory work so that by the spring she should be used to wearing tack and being long-reined out and about in the village. She is already used to being led out with the other ponies on walks and dealing with all the typical scary monsters she might meet along the way so that, along with the ground work at home, encourages met to think that she will be fairly “bombproof” by the time she is actually ready to be ridden and will have enough confidence for the next stage to go pretty smoothly.
However, I have never backed a horse before even though I have taken them on when only recently backed. So, obviously I will need help and am wondering whether it is better to:
1) keep her at home and have someone come to us once or twice a week (not available more often). We don’t have easy access to a school or any good schooling area but she would be in her familiar environment with familiar people.
2) Send her to a local yard with all the facilities and experience. If so for how long? What should I be asking to be sure it’s the right place? What should I expect her to be capable of before coming home? Etc etc. I do know the people there slightly and the blurb on their website says all the right stuff but I haven’t spoken to them about this yet and haven’t had any very recent dealings with them so want to be clear in my head about what to ask and look for before approaching them.

Incidently she is a 14hh native type who will be just hacking (with me) for the first year or so but who we hope will go on to do jumping/cross country with the children when ready.

Any advice?

 

[Zimzim]

Hiya, personnally I like to back them at home, so there in a familiar place and you can have someone help you with them, least then you know how its been done and been done the way you would like. Plus its really satisfying when you do it yourself, feels like an achievement. Also you can go at the pace you want without additional costs.

However if you do not feel confident with doing it yourself then there is no harm in sending them away from home as long as you know she will be professionnally done (sympathetically) and well looked after, plus there is the bonus of getting them youst to being somewhere totally different. Sometimes it can take 6 weeks and sometimes alot longer, but it totally depends on the individual horse and it also depends on what you want her to be doing when you get her back i.e. just hacking out, schooling in all paces etc.