Breaking question?

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NicoleS_007

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Can you tell how good a horse is going to be by the way it acts as a youngster? Just wondering as theres 2 lovely 8 week old foals at the yard with both very different personalities! The larger filly (will make 17+hh) comes to you in the field and is soooo sweet lets you stroke/pat it everywere even loves her bum being scratched lol the other smaller colt probs make 14hh is quite timid and doesnt really like to be touched much. So just in general of peoples own experiences which type of character in the long run would be the easiest to break in? Just curious as id like a 3yr at some stage in my life :p
 
NicoleS_007 said:
Can you tell how good a horse is going to be by the way it acts as a youngster?
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To a large degree, yes. The bold, confident foal who isn't afraid of anything is likely to be easier to back - PROVIDED you don't take his character for granted and rush the job! We back a lot of our own homebreds and you can usually make an educated guess about which ones will be 'easy' and which will be more tricky (if you get it wrong, you end up on the floor! :D)

But there is NO doubt in my mind that the foal who is thoroughly handled in its first week of life will - all other things being equal - be far easier to back that the youngster who has minimal/no handling until it is 6 months old - or older! Provided always that the handling continues and tht the youngster's trust is not abused.
 
JanetGeorge said:
But there is NO doubt in my mind that the foal who is thoroughly handled in its first week of life will - all other things being equal - be far easier to back that the youngster who has minimal/no handling until it is 6 months old - or older! Provided always that the handling continues and tht the youngster's trust is not abused.
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I got Bella as a virtually unhandled weanling of nearly 8 months old. Set to with the handling and now she is very well handled and a pleasure to be around. She will be 2 later this month. Everything we have done has been done slowly and she has taken it all fairly much in her stride. If something has worried her I've left it and come back to it weeks later and its been ok.

Just hoping that the backing goes well and without incident (much :p ) next year
 
Hmmmm I don't know because my boy was a real pain when I first got him. I bought him at 18months and he was turned out to grass for 6 months with little human contact. I then moved him to a yard near me in Somerset and he was gelded at the same time, but he was a complete pain to catch, very bolshy, didn't like attention or being fussed with, being touched on his head/legs, picking up his feet etc.

Almost a year on and he is soooo different! I never thought I'd have a huggy horse but he actually is now! He has times when he wants to be left, but other times, he loves kisses and cuddles, a bit of attention, being played with etc. He'll happily be touched all over, so easy to catch now, knows when I'm coming to the yard (he waits at the gate of his field!), calls to me, follows me and he's just so sweet and adorable and well behaved. He now takes everything in his stride and if he gets out of place, doesn't take much to put him back (which is fab seeing as he's a HW cob so lots of him lol!).

So I think it can be very dependant upon the handling done with them in the early years. The colt that seems quite quiet and doesn't like human contact may well change as he gets into routine and used to things. I think nature does play a part, but nuture can make a huge difference too. It has to Harry :)
 
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