Debate please....starting a youngster at 3 vs at 4

stencilface said:
I've got two little one who will be four next year. They can both be bitted and one has done some very minor lunging and long reining with a cub saddle on. The other is more complex (he's a mule!) and I'm still trying to get him used to the idea of the hosepipe to wash his feet.

We are having an arena put in in the spring, whoop! So I'm hoping to crack on then, going to get my skinny friend to back them :)
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Lol!!! Skinny friend!!! Cracked me up...
 
I agree, do as much training as you can without putting too much pressure on him physically.

Plenty of groundwork, getting him used to a saddle/girth/roller and bit, yielding from pressure, long reining, and leading from another horse. If he was mine I would avoid weight carrying and lunging for as long as possible, but you need to look at the horse in front of you and decide how mature he is physically. He may be ready at 3, but if he's going through a gangly bum-high stage I would leave it for a bit. Horses aren't skeletally mature until 8. Most vet people seem to agree that they shouldn't do 'work' (especially on deep surfaces, fast work or jumping) until 4, by which time the majority of the growth plates have closed.

(not that I've ever backed anything!! I just know the basics of anatomy etc)

Also, googled his sire to see what British wbs look like these days. Gorgeous!!
 
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I've just backed my girl at 3, we can stand quietly for mounting and dismounting,walk and trot in a field and in a menage turn, halt and move off the leg. She's had around 4 weeks off now with the intention to give her the winter off but she's now hyperactive and turning into a bit of a handful so once the weather improves I think I will try to do a bit of hacking here and there to give her something to do :) Good luck with your boy :)
 
I'd always back at 4 but if you plan on doing it before, do it before he starts teething. People often forget that it is at 3 that they start tweeting and can be really uncomfortable in the mouth.

Good luck - there's nothing quite as satisfying as the backing of one you have had since foal :)
 
tallyho! said:
Lol!!! Skinny friend!!! Cracked me up...
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Well the pony is about 12h and the mule is about 11h (if I could get the measuring stick near that one!) so I think I might actually squash them if I get on, plus she sticks much better, has a Kan and a Point2, do you think you can clip one of those onto a cub saddle?! :p
 
EQUIDAE said:
I'd always back at 4 but if you plan on doing it before, do it before he starts teething. People often forget that it is at 3 that they start tweeting and can be really uncomfortable in the mouth.

Good luck - there's nothing quite as satisfying as the backing of one you have had since foal :)
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Can they start a Facebook page at the same age?

Gotta love predictive text :D
 
EQUIDAE said:
I'd always back at 4 but if you plan on doing it before, do it before he starts teething. People often forget that it is at 3 that they start tweeting and can be really uncomfortable in the mouth.
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ycbm said:
Can they start a Facebook page at the same age?

Gotta love predictive text :D
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I think that 3 is far too young to be giving them a smartphone.

I think that they should be at least rising 5 and hacking out on their own before they get access to Facebook or twitter :D.
 
Tiddlypom said:
I think that 3 is far too young to be giving them a smartphone.

I think that they should be at least rising 5 and hacking out on their own before they get access to Facebook or twitter :D.
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And at seven I think they can be given a truck and drive themselves home .
 
Will be honest and say i have never backed a horse ever. I don't have too much of a problem with people starting at a young age like 3. But I have seen a hell of a lot of horses recently on here and at the stables that are worked maybe too hard and end up injured at a young age. Seen a fair few who are jumped at a young age like 5 and then pull tendons or worse. It's too much strain on their joints to me so all I would say is take it really easy. A horses legs are amongst the most important and easiest to ruin parts of the horse. It's maybe considered too soft to some but I have seen too many really good horses ruined or hurt from an injury that could have been prevented if they weren't jumped high when young or made to do high level dressage when too young.
 
Mine is 3.5 years now and hopefully will break her in the spring. She just isn't physically mature enough yet! Doubt I will do much with her as a 4 year old, but will get going at 5.
 
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