Backing young and immature horses and riding them away....

[Storminateacup]

Mine got his first job when he was 3 -- walking in hand
At 4 he still looked immature, so he got a new job -- long reining
In the February of his 5th year (his birthday is May) I backed him as he finally started to look like a real cob - solid like a brick!! - hacked him out until end March very gently then started schooling. And within three months he's doing intro dressage and winning (working prelim at home), show jumping nicely. Looking at him, he has a lot more growing and filling out to do so not gonna push like if he was a warmblood or something more mature! In my mind there's no such thing as lost time as long as you are doing the right work on your way to your goal.

I like this!!!

 

[Tinypony]

"I have wondered about this as my new pony seems to have a very active mind. He is smart - figures things out quickly and he IS a bit of a menace. I have been leading him out - as has my mate but he is VERY strong and will tank off with you. He seems to need something to do. So I have thought of starting him off later in the year. Keep him thinking. "
In this case you are dealing with your lack of ground skills by starting to ride your young horse. Many people here have pointed out that there is a lot you can do with a youngster on the ground, but of course you would have to learn to do it like anything else. If he tanks off, it can be dealt with, and should be. Just because you start riding him, doesn't mean it will stop. Also, behaviour on the ground tends to reflect when you ride, so don't be surprised if you end up with a horse that is strong to ride as well. Whether or not you ride your horse, he still needs to be safe and amenable when led.

 

[Tinypony]

I don't want to upset anyone. What I'm saying is, OK if you truly believe it's fine to ride a young horse and you don't think that the evidence that this is wrong (such as I posted earlier) is right then nobody will change your mind.
I don't see the point in trying to justify it because you can't deal with some aspect of your horse's behaviour and you think it will help, or because he's tall, or fat or whatever. Either it's physically a good thing for the horse or it isn't. I don't see how any other consideration comes into it.

 

[Aces_High]

Nothing can be fed to be an "early type". They bulk up, but it still doesn't alter the fact that they are out there and working hard before their young bones are ready for it.
Is it hard to accept that some horses are broken in too young, because they are commodities and it doesn't matter if they stay sound into old age? Some do, some don't, so what?

Ok, I mis-worded my previous statement but yearlings/2yr olds are very well fed to keep up with the growth/exercise demands. The feed is high in protein and DE hence they do have a lot more growth than your average Joe out in the field. I know most people disagree with 2 yr olds racing but a lot of them stay sound and have a career at 3 and 4. Yes the big backward ones are still broken in as yearlings but they are not under any pressure and generally won't see the course until they are 3 and sometimes late into their 3yr old career. It's always racing which gets a hard time and I think most of it is due to ignorance or do gooders in my opinion. The horses are terribly well looked after and loved very much by the lads/lasses who look after them.
Back to the OP, you are obviously a knowledgable person and you certainly won't harm your horse in any way by doing what you are doing. I will be carrying on doing similar things with mine!

 

[ester]

I don't think saying they are still racing at 3 and 4 is a very valid point, I am thinking more what are they like at 15. I do think the racing industry is a bit different to joe bloggs and their horse though, just because of how it is set up.

Maybe I am not qualified to comment having never had a youngster but I thought that 2yr olds were supposed to be trouble and get up to mischief...... just pref in a field with a gang of other 2 year olds imo . Some of those I have known that have done a lot as a youngster seem to get thoroughly peed off with it after time.

 

[Tinypony]

As I said before "What I'm saying is, OK if you truly believe it's fine to ride a young horse and you don't think that the evidence that this is wrong (such as I posted earlier) is right then nobody will change your mind."