Breaking young horses.....help!

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jamber

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I have just recently backed my 4 year old gelding, he was an absolute dream and has seemed to take everything in his stride! I am just after a bit of advice of what to do next and how fast I should be furthering his education, as I usually just back horses and give them back to their owner. I am wanting to do the BYEH series on him this summer, but do not want to push him too quickly so he loses his chilled outlook towards work.............any help would be appreciated thanks :)
 
I would get him working well in all 3 paces and jumping round a course SJ and take him XC schooling. Get some experience at competitions then give him a holiday before the BYEH series starts (not that I know when that is so it may not be possible if it starts in April!)
 
umm, is he 4 this year? when was he foaled, which month, do you know? this can make a difference, e.g. i have two that were May/June foals so are about 4-5 months behind their official age.
also, how does he look as a whole horse? made up, balanced, pretty together, fairly strong, or still a bit strung out and gangly? does he cope well with a rider's weight or does it make him a bit wobbly and unsure? how light are you as a rider? (sorry, personal question i know, but i'd let a nice 7 stone jockey do more on a 4 year old than i personally would as i'm 10 stone + ...)
what breed is he, and what size? some mature a lot faster than others, mentally as well as physically, basically.
maybe post a few pics if you feel like it.
it's really difficult to say, sorry! but if he's happy with everything, looking mature, you're pretty light, and you're only doing shortish amounts every day, i'd probably keep him in work... maybe with extra days off here and there. iirc i read somewhere that Carl Hester works his young horses 4 days a week, leaving (long) weekends for shows with the older horses, but perhaps they go on a horsewalker or something on the other days, i wish i knew!
 
thanks very much for all of your help, Reggie is 16.1 and was foaled in May 2007. Even though he is a lateish foal he really does have a level head on his shoulders. I'll have a look on how to upload a picture to show you how he looks, but i wouldnt say that he is too gangly, he is WBxIDxTB so he has enough bone plus i'm only small (5 foot 4 and just over 8 stone) so i dont think I am too much for him. I am riding him for 10 mins every other day so i dont think I am over working him, I am just unsure how much time i spend on walk before i ask him to trot and trot to canter etc etc. I think the BYEH start in Late march early April so thats my kind of timeline! Thanks again :)
 
Reggie..

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reggie.jpg
 
OK not sure what you have done so far but...

First - Reggie looks like a total sweetie!
From working with other youngsters I'd say you would be safe doing 20 min a day (10 of which are warm up/cool down walking) with days off here and there.
When you are walking work on simply thing like square(ish) halting. Moving on calmly to a light aid. Walking a 20 circle with out falling in/out.

Not sure what you have been doing but don't try and get a perfect walk before you trot and canter or you will be walking for years! With the trot and canter keep it simple - aim for a steady pace round the edge of the arena, change across the diagonal at trot with quiet, smoothish transitions.

If you want to jump by April start introducing poles now, walk or trot up to them then leave it to him to work out how to get over....

All of the above may be useless or stating the obvious. DO you have more specific questions? :)
 
Not sure exactly how far you are along the backing/training process, but before you do too much work in the school make sure you hack lots as this will help his fitness, strength and keep his interest.
 
Mine's at a similar stage to yours, maybe slightly further along. He's not gangly and is quite well put together but he's still a little croup high. Barring that he looks in proportion.

I backed him in November and got him out hacking pretty quickly (as soon as he was trotting in the school off the lunge). He's been hacking out 3-ish times a week for about half an hour with a sensible horse and will also go out alone. I've done bits in the school too over poles (just scattered around), going between wings and fillers. He hasn't jumped properly as he's not strong enough yet but hopefully he's done enough that once he starts jumping he'll be quite happy with all the paraphenalia that comes with it!

I've cantered him a couple of times on both reins in the school and have now turned him away for 6-8 weeks as I think he's learned everything I want him to and isn't developed enough for serious work. I'm vaguely hoping for a May BYEH debut, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. I do find however that after a break they often come back even further along than before you turned them away. It's a bit optimistic to think that they spend the time in the field reviewing what they've learned and mulling it over :rolleyes: but it sometimes feels like that's the case!
 
Rode Reggie again today and after listening to what everyne was saying I have given up on trying to get the walk completly perfect, i have pushed him on into trot......it went rather well with only one little buck as I think he was a little confused. He does seem rather backwards though and really doent want to go forward.....is this nornal?? If so what does everyone reccommend, I was thinking getting him out off the school and onto the roads hacking to see if a change of scenery helps??
 
Have you got something sensible you can hack out with? and what are your roads/any tracks like?

As soon as they are happy with a rider on we always get our youngsters hacking out as they then seem to get the point of the whole thing. Its very common for babies to be very un-forward going in a school - once they've been out and about a bit they come back stronger and more balanced and with much more idea of what you want them to do.
 
luckily I am on a big yard so there are plently of horses who can babysit us on our first outing into the big wide world! The hacking out there is fansastic too witha moxture of roads, fields and hills so there will be loads of variety for him. Thanks for telling me that is a common trait as I was getting a bit worried he was too laid back :)
 
With reference to him feel backwards - i would get someone to hack out with asap, he is probably getting a bit p*ssed off with working in the school tbh. Also have you had his back, saddle and teeth checked since you started backing him? Dont forget that youngsters are constantly changing shape so you need to keep a close eye on his tack etc.
 
yeah he had a full MOT with his back, teeth and feet before i did any kind of work with him, the saddle has also been checked so at the moment that is ok, no doubt I will have to get the saddler out soon to make some changes though! after reading all of you advice i think i will be hacking him out this weekend, I will let you all know how it goes :)
 
Every single one I've had has been a bit backwards thinking. Hacking does wonders and a wee break once he's a bit further on should help too. They usually come back much more forward thinking!
 
Weezy said:
Will ask for you :)
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Oooh, thankyou!

jamber, i'd definitely get him out and about as soon as you can, with either another horse or a walker (which i personally prefer, at least for the first 10 times or so) - walkers stay calm (usually), are unlikely to spook, can have pockets full of distracting treats or grab a handful of grass if necessary, and can be a useful anchor on the front end if it really comes to it! so many youngsters can get really stale in the school but the moment they're out of the yard they start marching on to discover the world... good luck, please let us know how he goes!
 
Just going back a step... When you say you're not sure how long to spend on walk before you trot, and that he had a buck as you went into trot, what exactly have you done already as part of the backing process? It's really important to establish that before advising on what to do next - people have different ideas of the backing process.

I'm another who would prefer to see them out and about hacking as soon as possible once brakes and steering is in place. But then we don't have to produce horses to get out and compete / sell asap so we're able to take our time.
 
paddy said:
Just going back a step... When you say you're not sure how long to spend on walk before you trot, and that he had a buck as you went into trot, what exactly have you done already as part of the backing process?

I really have taken him slowly as I am not producing him to sell and I know how improtant this foundation work is so I really dont want to mess it up :). I started backing him at the start of Jan long-reining and lunging him in the school with and without a saddle on. Then i did the usual laying over him being led aroud the arena a few sessions before I got on him. Once I was on board I was was led around for few times just so he got used to weight on his back and also the feel of my body-weight shifting around. Off the lunge I introduced halting and walking to get him used to my aids and turns and bends around the school. That all went well even though he was very unresponsive to the leg at first! When I asked him into trot he did buck, but it was more of a argumentative one than him being scared or confused (if that makes sense!).

I think taking him out with a walker is a really good idea, but i think I will wait until the wind dies down up here or we will both fly away!

Thanks again everyone for all of your help so far it has been really useful.......I will keep you all posted on our progress
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