BREAKING A HORSE LATE

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LuvhossXXXXXXXXX

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I have a Welsh Cob who is 9 and has never been broken. She's been well handled since birth but we simply never got around to breaking her. Has anyone else broken horses late and if so can they tell me their experiences as I'm trying to now make my mind up what to do with her,

Thanks for any advise.
 
I don't think the age necessarily makes a difference as long as you aren't selling her any time soon. treat her with the mentality of a 4 year and she should be fine
x
 
hmmmm well I've just finished nearly 10 months of breaking in my 5 year old WC x TB and everyone thought I was mad as he was 'too old' but is fine now. The only problem with a horse as old as yours is that riding is going to be such a huge change in the horse's life and she may be too stubborn to take to it or she could be fine. If you don't plan to ride her why bother, but then I can't see the point in having an unbroken horse unless its to breed from. After all she's just a large expensive pet at the moment - sorry don't mean to be harsh so don't shoot me down.
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I've known horses broken a lot later successfully, just take it slowly, don't rush, lots of long reining and lunging, remember that he is 9 on the outside and 4 on the inside!
 
We have a dutch x shire mare whos 16 hands and has a big attitude as well. She was backed last year when she was 8yrs old and took to being ridden like a duck to water. Five weeks after being backed she was going on her first hacks and loves it! She has always been well handled and used to wearing tack and rugs and i think that helped. So long as you take it slowly and treat them as a youngster then you should be ok.

For those who are going to be wondering why we diddnt start sooner she is my hubbys horse and he wanted to back her himself but has had vertigo for the last four years so cant.
 
I'm currently schooling an anglo arab who was broken last year at 7years old then given the winter off - hes a nightmare but not half as bad as i thought he would be. The problem with him is hes had 7years of doing what he wants so is now having a hissy fit at being told what to do. They too have had him from a foal and 'couldnt find the time' to break him in.
Sorry if this sounds harsh but you shouldn't get a foal/young horse if you can't find the time to train it properly or send it away for training properly.
 
i got my cob mare with issues and she wasn't properly broken and she was 6 when i got her, i just took things really slowly with her as any pressure and she couldn't cope, but then she wasn't well handled when young. my new boy is 5 and not broken but he is taking to lunging really well and loves attention i am planning to back him over the next few weeks, don't worry and don't make anything a dig deal and you will be fine!
 
My cob mare was 6 when she was handled for the first time ( yes I mean she hadn't even had a headcollar on) and then broken a month afterwards, she took to everything brilliantly and was hacking out within 2 weeks. We then turned her away for 6months as we found out she was expecting, she was then brilliant the 2nd time around we just tacked up and went for a walk. As mentioned above a lot depends on the character of the horse you just have to keep reminding yourself they're the mentality of a 4 yo.
The hardest thing I found was getting her fit - that seemed to take ages.
 
Thanks for the mixed advise so far, this is really interesting.

We have had her since she was a foal. We rescued her or should I say her Mum from a dealer as she was thin with sunburn which was bleeding down her face but had a cracking foal at foot which she was obviously looking after.

She ran with another youngster for a few years who we still have and is also 9 (but broken) and the other youngesters Mum who is now 25 and I had her since she was a foal so I don't tend to part with my horses. I used to do alot of competing which I loved and eventually hope to get back into it but they are both 9 now so eventually I just might. The 25 year old is still going well so perhaps I still have lots of time left to break her.
 
have backed 4 older horses in the past 3 years (9,2x7,6) the oldest ones have been by far the easiest. they arent fazed by very much, dont seem to zigzag all over the place, more balanced & you dont have the worry of putting too much strain on young bones & tendons, so from my ltd experience i would recommend oldies (having major issues with a 5 yr old tempted to turn him away till next yr ). go for it ,you may be pleasantly surprised.
 
I have a mare with me at present who is 11 she has spent her life as a broodmare in a large herd, only handled at foaling/teeth/jabs time etc. She was backed and trained at 9 years old, then had another foal and is now back in work. She had no problems with being trained and is light and sensitive - I just have to take account of her being a young horse in an older body, but so far as the training goes she is no different

Rach
 
My mare was a brood mare til she was nine when I bought her and broke her. She is a fantastic quiet hack and has done some small comps. She is also a cob, pretty laidback and did take an awful long time to get fit, but she wasn no problem at all and always tried her best.She has had another foal this year and I will start riding her when it is weaned.
Think a lot depends on their temprement/attitude.
 
Treat the horse like a four year old. Remember because it will be a big shock to the system take plenty of time to slowly ajust to working. Spend plenty of time long reining, lunging, walkies and introducing the tack. I know people that think its bad to break horses late because they are much stronger but I don't believe thier strenght should make any different, not only because a three year old can do just as much damage but becasue the horse if backed correctly shouldn't want to use his strenght againest you. Please think careful before starting will you still want to be using this horse ridden in a cuple of months, if not don't bother. If you haven't used her for 9 years why start now?

I know a lovely horse that was broken at seven over a year od and is now 9 and doing really well.
 
I have just broken my lively 7/8 year old, and hes doing great. He was less scared and took less time to school to a reasonalbe level, but was a bit unpreditable wile breaking

Haz
 
i have just broken in a 6yr old welsh sec d and my mate has just broken in her 12yr old arab that she had been working with for ages and almost gave up as the lunging and long reining was not going well one day she decided to bite the bulet and get on she has been hacking out beautifully ever since
 
I broke my mare in when she was 12! She is a difficult horse, but I think that's just her. She wasn't any trouble to break in at all. Good luck
 
She's surely been at least "sat on" in those 9 years?

I've backed a number of older horses, you get the odd one who is fine, but I have to say the majority have been awful. I think the main problem with older horses not being broken is that they often have been passed from pillar to post which seems to cement their dislike of having new things done with them - not always the case of course and in your situation the mare knows you well so I wouldn't expect there to be insurmountable problems.
 
Am currently starting a 5yo who had nothing done until a few months ago. 3 months ago he couldn't be touched or caught. He's turning out to be lovely
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Like starting anything, you just need patience, time, make things easy fo horse to learn, and make sure both of you enjoy the process and have fun. In olden days, horses wouldn't be started until they were 'olden' and would always be 'minded' until 7 or 8 years anyway when bones fully developed.
 
To be fair, 5 years old is not an old horse; it is still a youngster so I wouldn't expect there to be any problems with a 5 year old, unless the backer is useless.

And I'm really not sure what "olden days" you are talking about - I come from one era of olden days and never then were horses backed as late as 8 or 9. All were backed at 3.
 
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