exercises for very gangly 3yo

tobiano1984

tobiano1984

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We've just backed our 16hh 3yo warmblood gelding (Hanno/Holst) so that he can do light work over winter with the aim of doing YH classes in the Spring, and he's been incredibly easy so far which has left us twiddling our thumbs a bit! I'm very conscious of his age and not wanting to overdo him, he's still weak and gangly so sticking with a very lightweight rider and haven't cantered him yet - waiting til he feels stronger. Can anyone suggest exercises in the school that can help with strengthening him up? He currently walks/trots around with his head poked out like a giraffe/camel.

I've backed lots of horses but they've been a bit more compact and strong whereas this one really is a giraffe. So need some ideas for low-intensity exercises that will just help generally! I definitely don't want to just haul him into an outline at this stage, but pointers on encouraging him towards a correct outline and working across the back would be very welcome. It doesn't help that he's also quite lazy and doesn't do any more than he has to!

He will be doing some hacking but only around the farm really - having lost a horse on the roads (and nearly myself) last year I'm afraid road hacking doesn't feature highly on our weekly schedule :-(
 
if he is as immature as he sounds i would just keep the idea of forwards, fun and chilled. With his breeding he is going to be a late bloomer.
One way to educate him through the winter might be some pole work, couple in a line, some on a cross all done in a rhythm, slight leg yielding into the center of the pole. this will help with the balance and steering, good old fashioned bending pole (not gymkhana style!).

but just try and hack out as much as you can, may be hill work, but have fun

just a thought have you checked that the saddle fits true if it slightly tight that might be the reluctance to lower the head carriage?
 
Do more ground work,...start with turn on the forehand progress to leg yields then shoulder in then quarters in.
Plus rein backs.

Then do all that in walk u Dee saddle.

Then you can do big squares with 1/4 turn on forehand as corners and steady trot on the straight.

Then shallow leg yields.

Introduce canter ASAP even if just half s circle at a time.

Most importantly DONT push him just let him develop st his own pace....my 3yo is the opposite a 16hh poweball who looks 6 already but he's just doing 3 X 20mins per week and I take it at his pace. Just the very act of riding accurate circles,bending, pushing him to the outside rein etc improves the balance and strength.

Yours could do some light lunging on big circles in a bungee to help the softness and when you get on keep a steady contact and ride him in to that.
 
Sorry, disagree with prince33sp4rkle re introducing canter as soon as possible, but do agree that you have to let him develop at his own pace. The very gangly ones don't always cope with it with a rider on and we have just had to sort out a 5yo that went into major stress mode on the transitions with plunging on circles because she could not cope (still gangly at 5 rising 6 but starting to develop more).
Remember too that it takes a long time for muscle development while they are still growing.
I would introduce canter while out hacking and just let him lollop along for a short distance finding his own balance. As other posts, lots of light hacking - round the farm is fine but perhaps combine it with an occasional trip out (if have transport) for variety.
 
While he is growing and gangly keep work simple and easy for him to do - Remember he also has a baby brain and this can be fried very easily if too much is asked for.

Me I'd be working in 20m circles in walk and trot, lots of transitions and changes of rein, serpentines, loops - they will all help build his muscles and develop suppleness.

Also agree with wkiwi - avoid canter until he is fitter, better balanced and more muscled.
 
you dont have to canter and demand a perfect transition then go and do anything in it! but just get it, stay light on his back, canter a big circle (if your school is wider than 20m) or a long side, then trot....or if your hacking is good yes do it out hacking.

but dont for goodness sake build it up in to a big deal.....if wkiwi has a horse with a canter issue its because someone made a big deal of it as i have yet to meet a rising 6yo incapable of canter (except due to rider error).
 
Yes it was definitely rider error originally, poor horse. Even ended up with a bit injury. Unfortunately the horse had been asked too much too soon (not from the current owner or the one she bought it off but someone else). Poor horse was so tall and gangly it could barely trot a circle at 5 let alone canter and jump younger. This horse was just used as a an example of what can go wrong wihtout it being the horses fault.
As you so correctly state, each horse needs to be taken at its own pace but I think that if someone is asking for advice via a forum then slower is better than faster and it is so easy for the written advice to be misinterpreted.
 
He cantered a bit on the lunge (in equi ami on very long and low setting) today, didn't really push it but he managed half a circle and seemed Ok - when he was first long reined/lunged he went into canter and fell over which is why I was a bit wary of it - but definitely seemed more 'together' today - so when he's ridden tomorrow will try and roll him up into canter without forcing the transition and see how he copes.
My school is 25 x 50 so plenty of room :-)
 
YAs I always say I'm a big fan on hill work and raised trotting poles. If he is awkward and gangly then raised poles should make him become more aware of where he is putting his feet.

I also disagree with PrincessSparkle about cantering - personally I introduce canter in straight lines on hack. Only when they are stronger and more balanced do I introduce it in the school and then initially only along the long sides. My reasoning behind this is that you wouldn't lunge a 3yo due to strain on their joints, so surely cantering circles would have the same effect? Plus if he is gangly and unbalanced he wouldn't have have a hope of maintaining a good canter - set him up to succeed.

I'll post my go to photos - just over 4 months of schooling doing nothing more than hill work and raised trotting poles. The mare originally had me despairing lol

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ETA - cross posted and seen that you are lunging him already. Please ditch the equiami (at least for now). He needs to find his own balance before you add anything that is going to restrict him - long and low before he is strong enough will just pull him on the Forehand and make him more unbalanced. Falling over on the lunge is a very good indicator that he isn't strong or balanced enough to deal with circles.
 
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I'm not usually much in favour of turning horses away, but if you can't just get him out doing some gentle hacking, then he sounds to me like one which I might turn away for the winter to strengthen up and restart him in the spring.

Horses are so individual. I have two five year olds I bought and broke last year and they are chalk and cheese. One is out hunting and hunter trialling and jumps a metre high;, the other has only just worked out how to canter a thirty metre circle. Your three year old sounds from your description as if he may not be ready to work in a school yet.
 
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I would personally either turn him away or just hack him and let him build up some strength gradually. Ground work is also a great way of getting them thinking about where their feet are and builds up muscle when done correctly. I have five 3 year olds at the moment, there's only one who will do some work in the next 6 months which will be abit of hacking and seeing some of the world before going back out. He is naturally very uphill and balanced, it would be easy to steam ahead with him but there's no rush so he will go hacking on a loose rein, build up some muscle and have a laid back introduction to ridden life.

Two of the others have done no work at all, they aren't mature enough so there's no point, they will be started next spring. One sounds very like yours in that she is very tall and leggy and unco ordinated. She needs to grow into herself which is fine, at 3 they are still babies, they have lots of time.
 
He is leggy but he's still only 15.3/16hh so not hugely tall - and is not uncoordinated really, at least not at the level he's been worked at so far. I'm afraid I disagree with turning away over winter, at least not in this case - he is mentally coping very well with the work, I also (and I'm sure will get jumped on for this) like to back mine at 3 before they get bigger and stronger and while they are still relatively naive - and with an 8 stone rider I don't see that this does them harm providing the work load isn't too much. I would turn away if they were mentally struggling, but there's only one way he's going to build up muscle and strength, and that's with exercise not standing around in a field and stable. I'm sure plenty will disagree but it's worked for me so far. It doesn't mean they all do the same work - I've had 2 brothers, one who was competing 6 months after backing, the other who took a year longer before he was physically ready for competition.

I'm not really after advice on what timeframe I should be working to with his age, I'm after ideas for low-intensity exercises to strengthen him up.

I've also had fantastic results with the equiami and he only works in it once or twice a week for 10/15 minutes of very low intensity work - walk/trot transitions etc, and have had useful advice from them. I don't like to see young horses (or in fact any horses) being lunged intensively on a small circle but I don't think this is comparable.
 
tobiano1984 said:
I've also had fantastic results with the equiami and he only works in it once or twice a week for 10/15 minutes of very low intensity work - walk/trot transitions etc, and have had useful advice from them. I don't like to see young horses (or in fact any horses) being lunged intensively on a small circle but I don't think this is comparable.
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Fantastic results in that he fell over when you were using it - I wouldn't really call that fantastic...
 
EQUIDAE said:
Fantastic results in that he fell over when you were using it - I wouldn't really call that fantastic...
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He wasn't in the EquiAmi when he tripped over - he was just being lunged in a headcollar when he first arrived. He's only been in it for the last couple of weeks. And the fantastic results refer more to all the other horses I've used it on - bit early to tell with this one but he so far seems to be very relaxed and happy in it.
 
I find hacking is hugely satisfying for youngsters and he gets to see the world a bit. Or, what I like to do is a range of cavaletti. Ingrid Klimke's book is ever so good. You can do most of it in-hand.
 
It was the fact that he fell over that made me think he was unco ordinated. I don't disagree with working horses at 3 years of age at all, all mine will do ground work and out of this years' three year olds, 3 of them were broken and ridden before they got turned away. The 2 that haven't been just aren't ready, I have all the time in the world to give to them so leaving them til they are 4 makes no difference to me.

There is an interesting article that points out working them from a young age can be beneficial which makes a good read. http://www.thehorse.com/articles/29430/conditioning-young-horses

I think the important thing is to make sure it's the right type of work they are doing.
I don't personally lunge, I would never use any type of gadget so can't comment on how effective they will be for building muscle or strengthening the horse. There are lots of exercises under saddle that horsemanship trainers use which I find very effective and help long term with collection and lateral work. Warwick Schiller has some really great exercises that are useful and very low impact and really teach the horse to listen to the rider and be responsive and forward going. I think one has to make a decision that they are going to take it slow and steady which might mean doing very little of interest except the very basics which involves lots of patience and a high boredom threshold at times or decide age isn't a factor and do more work with the horse which long term may or may not hinder the horse physically or mentally.
 
ycbm said:
I'm not usually much in favour of turning horses away, but if you can't just get him out doing some gentle hacking, then he sounds to me like one which I might turn away for the winter to strengthen up and restart him in the spring.
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I'd be inclined to do that as well. The fact that he is gangly and giraffe like suggests he might have quite a bit of growing still to do and I think slow and steady definitely wins the race with that kind of horse. One of the SJ horses I worked with was a super gangly lad, all legs and neck, and he was initially backed as a 3 1/2 year old then left for a year and restarted (slowly) once he turned 4. He just had so much growing/ filling out to do. He ended up slightly behind other horses of his age group but has caught them up easily now that he's 5, as he is very talented. As a 4 year old he really benefited from several lunging sessions a week, always in trot for the first few months, on very big circles (I would walk too to make them larger) and in the pessoa on its loosest setting. I know lots of people prefer the equi-ami (we didn't have one) and you might find yours is very useful with this sort of horse. Obviously you don't want to overdo the lunging, but it can be beneficial in helping them strengthen through the back without a rider on board. However, I'd probably be inclined to leave your boy over the winter to grow a bit more, I don't think I'd be lunging yet. Otherwise, just some light hacking.
 
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While I like to get horses into canter ASAP if a horse is unable to canter half a large circle you have to ask your self why and the issue won't be the canter it's what your teaching the horse in walk and trot that's the issue .
Saying that I would not be seeking to canter a horse who is in giraffe mode I would be seeking to get that sorted .
I would indroduce pole work and gentle work in walk over undulating ground and mild hills
But I like to turn my 3 year old away so thats what I would do with a weak giraffe .
I agree with tallyho Ingrid Klimkes book is well worth buying .
 
ditch the equi-ami, anything that connects the hind leg to mouth teaches them to hide from the contact.

i put a loop of twine or old flash strap round the girth then run an elastic bungee through that, up through each bit ring amd clip on to the girth straps at elbow height-a much more forgiving way of encouraging them to seek the contact down :)

definitely get walking over some poles and hacking up and down hills(we dont really have many hills but my 3yo is walking and trotting up and down the ridge and furrow which gets him thinking and concentrating and i think work on different surfaces conditions their legs anyway).

in hand work-your turn on forehand, leg yields, shoulder in and rein back will build strength and condition that will help the trot which in turn will give you a good canter transition and then you get 3 god strides before you trot, then build to 6, then 12, then before you know it you can do an entire circle etc.

i'm afraid i dont find Equidaes pictures the best example as the rider has braced arms with hands held too far back and the horse looks tense in the jaw and forced in to position-there is no feeling of reaching forward to the hand or a soft flow from hind leg to hand.
 
I'm afraid I dont quite understand the reluctance to turn away if the horse is gangly and uncoorindated. I have no problem with 3yr olds being backed at the end of their 3yr old year and if the horse is compact with good natural balance then dont see any problem with them being worked lightly as Princesssparkle described. I would also agree that I would want some canter, doesnt matter if out hacking or in a school, just a few strides in a straight line if thats all the horse can manage at this time, but I would certainly want the horse to be cantering under saddle albeit briefly.

But if the horse is physically struggling with balance etc, and its only 3, I really dont understand the reluctance to just turn him away for a few months and let him grow and mature. I have backed and produced many young horses, and you just have to allow them to work to their own time frame, and if that means turning away for a few months, then do it, your horse will thank you for it in the long term.
 
R
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
i'm afraid i dont find Equidaes pictures the best example as the rider has braced arms with hands held too far back and the horse looks tense in the jaw and forced in to position-there is no feeling of reaching forward to the hand or a soft flow from hind leg to hand.
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Not the best picture for my hand position but it isn't bracing, it's just that I was riding with such a long rein I had to bring my elbow back to maintain contact on the bend. There's nothing forced - she comes up through the shoulder, round through her back herself. Even on a long rein. She's the type of horse who won't tolerate rough riding - she just inverts like in the first pic. She doesn't even tolerate a noseband - if she was tense, surely she would have her mouth open?

ETA - horse is only 4-5 months into training. It isn't picture perfect. I was open enough to expose myself, something no one else has done - plenty of advice but yes. I wouldn't dream of ripping apart someone else's 'work in progress' :( that's a bit unkind

I'm no pro, perhaps you could show a better before and after?
 
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I wouldn't say I was ripping it apart, I simply said I don't find it a good example. Nothing personal.

Putting pics in the public domain does open you up to disagreement and I've been there got that t shirt. I've actually posted a thread of my own 3yo in this forum recently and accept the fact not all will agree with me. Part of life.

Especially in relation to the thread it's important to post pics as close to the ideal as possible in order to educate.

For the absolute ideal in young horse riding look at Ingrid klimke.
 
Canter.

I do not understand at all why some people think that it is so important that a three year old canters even if that canter is weak and badly balanced. Can anyone explain why they think it is wrong to wait until the horse is stronger and more balanced?
 
I don't think it's wrong or right but I do know that with athletic sharp horses the sooner you get them into thinking canters the same as walking and trotting the better it is .
If a horse is mature enough to back it's mature enough to canter a little .

I do think turning away is a good thing with backward babies who are struggling a bit they then use their energy to grow and furnish rather than work .
 
Agree with Goldenstar, on both counts. Canter can not be left to become a big thing in the horses mind and also they will get stronger in canter by cantering, even just in short bursts. But if a horse doesnt feel strong enough to canter under saddle, I would not consider them strong enough to be backed, and would be very happy to turn them away to grow and mature.
 
I don't understand why not doing canter, if the horse never offers canter, would result in it building up into anything in anyone's mind but the rider. Surely horses just don't think that way? If a horse offers to canter and is constantly prevented, then I think that would be very counter-productive. But if a horse just doesn't seem to have the confidence (but has the strength) to canter under a rider, I'm still struggling to see the harm in waiting for it to develop such confidence in the trot that it one day pops willingly into canter, even if that wait is months or a year.
 
If you think he can't handle canter yet then don't. I got my horse at the age of 6, he was only backed at 5 and barely ridden in between. When I got him because of that and the fact he disunited in canter, I did several weeks of walk and trot work only. As a result, his canter is now incredibly powerful to the point its difficult to sit to, but professionals find it easy enough on him (damn them).

My boy might be incredibly far behind in his training I know, but he is healthy strong and happy. He isn't nervous about anything schooling wise and tries each time I ask even if he doesn't quite manage. I prefer that any day over another horse I saw at the stables I got him from. That mare had been over worked and over jumped and at the age of 6 it was like sitting on a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. That's not fun for me but I know some riders like that much sensitivity in their horses.
 
No I don't think that horses *think* about canter as a big deal but if you don't do it fairly soon after you walk and trot and only ask months later it IS a big deal because it's a totally different sensation.

I find that they are more open to accepting this in the early stages of ridden work when pretty much everything is new.
 
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