Breaking to saddle ....what age ? ...

depends on the youngster. i'd say 2 or 3 for most
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Im thinking of trying a saddle on her some time this week, shes 2 years and 4mths old now .

I have been long reining her and shes been great , no bother whats so ever , very relaxed .
Shes standing very near the 16.2hh mark , phyiscally I think shes ready , Shes had the roller on tightly so is used to the girth being done up .

I think its me thinking shes younger than what she is , when infact she isnt lol if that makes sense , What I am trying to say is that , time has flown by and it only seems like yesterday that I went to see her at 6mths old . I cant wait to break her in, shes got such a great attitude and temperment .
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Don't rush it though - at 2 1/2 your horse is still not physically mature enough for the stress and strain of regular ridden work. It would possibly be fine to lightly back her this year and turn her away till next year. She is very young - mine was 3 in April and has only just started lungeing.
 
If you are simply talking about putting a saddle on them, but not riding them etc, then I see no reason not to do this at a young age - the earlier you can aclimatize them to things, the better. Horses have a stressful time when it comes to being backed - first they have to put up with a scary bit, then a saddle and girth, stirrups etc and a rider, all in the space of a few months. If you can bit your horse as a yearling (all mine are for showing anyway) and then introduce a saddle with some long lines or in hand work as a two year old (to get them used to saddle and girth etc) then I would say at the end of their third year, have a rider ready just to walk them in a straight line, hack around over winter, only walking, and then in the spring/summer of their fourth year, begin a bit of light schooling.

So many people are in a rush to start youngsters now, but why??? So you can get more ridden years out of them?? Well, you might think that, but by backing them earlier, many are ending up with suspensory and joint problems before they reach their teens, so whilst you are getting some early riding in, they aren't lasting as long.

A horses joints don't fully develop until they are about 7 years old, so I would personally shy away from any lunge work or any fast ridden work for the first four years of a horses life. A lot of people like to loose jump their horses as 2 year olds, and then wonder why they throw splints.

Of course, it also depends greatly on the breed - Thoroughbreds have been bred to mature rapidly, hence racing two year olds etc. Warmbloods however mature very slowly, and some are not fully developed until eight years old. Heavy horses, such as shires, suffolks etc mature even slower, and often don't fully develop until they are nine or ten.

If you are thinking about just letting your horse have a saddle, but no rider, I would say yes, go ahead, it will mean less stress next year when you also want to add a rider.
 
The earliest I ever put one on a horse was 17 months - it was just placed on his back for a few minutes every day then girthed very loosely. I put one on my mare at 2 - it was tightly girthed until she was used to it. If it's only on for a few minutes and there's no weight on it it won't do any damage
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I don't think putting a saddle on will do any harm at all, just good, but please don't even think about breaking her before at least three years old.
Between two and four they change so much, and no matter how big they appear they are still young in brain and body.
I wouldn't do anything other than basic manners until 3 then if you must start when they are in the autumn of their third year. That way they are sufficiently strong enough to be able to do the odd jumping sessions etc and you don't need a rest whilst they grow.
 
Buddy was is 3 in July i introduced the saddle to him at xmas just walked him around a lot with it on a few times each week and now am lunging him with it on as getting close to backing him now.
 
I think for the majority here , Im not talking backing her here folks .
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Im talking about Just setting a saddle on her and taking her for a walk down the lane and even at that, it will be done over several weeks Week 1... set saddle on her back, week 2 ... tighten girth loosely and so on ..., I wont even be backing her until she is at least 3 and a half or perhaps even 4 and have no intention of doing it any earlier.



She as also been mouthed due to showing her as a yearling and a 2 year old .
 
Yeah supose it will really depend on how she react to it to how quicky you can have it on her properly. You could always just put it on her and see how she reacts because then you will know ow much time it will take to get her use to it. Buddy was fine having his on and walking around in it...it was only when i started trotting him around that he seemed to notice it.
 
Calli is 3 and 2 months now and we have popped a saddle on her back (no stirrups since she was about 2 and a half). Just girthed up and walked her round in it. She never bothered. Today we introduced the stirrups as obviously she has never had the sensation of them moving around or the noise they make. Kept them very short at first and again she never bothered at all. Let them down to normal length so again she could get used to the sensation of them and never bothered. We also long reined her around the school only in walk with the saddle on and getting her to turn and halt and going down the 3/4 line in a "straight line" that is so difficult. We only do about 10 mins 3 times a week. But I swear she enjoys it. Before hand we had brought her in and she was screaming for her buddy and box walking and weaving. Put the bridle and saddle on and she stood as good as gold and waited to be "tacked up" and to go out and really concentrated on the work being done. She won't have a rider on until probably the end of summer and then it will only be gentle walks no schooling or hacking or anything.
 
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