How much do you do with your 3 yr olds?

depends on so many things but most importantly temperament and maturity.

i have had my now 3yo since Oct 2014 (so purchased as a 2yo). he was weedy and pretty immature looking but had absolutely minimal handling so rather feral!

i started quietly doing 5 mins of handling work every day until he was happy and confident picking feet up,being groomed,having a rug on, leading,loading, all the very basics.

around xmas time i start to get him used to the roller and had a little lean over him in the stable and continued that until about March. NO lunging just walk in hand work.

March he was bitted, and is now lunging once a week for 10mins walk/trot/canter under tack. long reining for 15mins in school and field once a week, and one session of de spooking with flags, tarp, pilates balls, you name it we have it lol!

he has grown hugely and is a strapping lad now. I really need to get on him asap before he gets ideas above his station lol(he is still a stallion too). I am waiting on his proper saddle to arrive and am aiming to be on board middle of June.

Then i will carry on with 3 10min sessions a week until about end of october when i will start to up it to 3 x20 min sessions.

generally do one day on, one off, to give young minds time to process it.

I hope that helps, it is all documented on my blog-see link below :)
 
I've never backed mine at three as they have just been too immature physically and one wasn't ready mentally either. However as three year olds they got normal daily checks/handling and at the weekend I would take them out for an in-hand walk to see the world (with an older, sensible companion if required).
 
Well mine is actually this years 4yo so maybe cheating but she is now worked under saddle 3-4 days a week. One of them is a 15min jumping session (mainly poles/small grids) and the rest is hacking. She will do this until she is fitter then hopefully jump 4yo classes aug/sept time. If she's not ready she will have the winter to mature again
 
ljohnsonsj said:
Well mine is actually this years 4yo so maybe cheating but she is now worked under saddle 3-4 days a week. One of them is a 15min jumping session (mainly poles/small grids) and the rest is hacking. She will do this until she is fitter then hopefully jump 4yo classes aug/sept time. If she's not ready she will have the winter to mature again
Click to expand...

How much did you do with her last year?
 
Jenna1406 said:
How much did you do with her last year?
Click to expand...

It varied. She's a big girl, but so mature. I did lots of long reining and bits of lunging with her at about 3.5, but mainly spent time putting saddles on,bridles, boots, getting her on and off the lorry etc, just letting her see 'the world' I'd say about December/Jan she started working under saddle properly, by that I mean just getting straight on without long reining or getting on slowly, but mainly due to the weather was only doing 1-2 days a week. She is 4 in June
 
Mine is just turning 4 this week, but I have had her for about a year now as I bought her a just turned 3yo. When I bought her she had been well handled but hadn't done much or seen much of the world and had been stabled or winter, so the first thing I did was get her out 24/7 with my old mare and did lots of grooming, getting used to rugs, fly sprays, being bathed etc. After this it was just a case of taking things slowly by doing ground work a couple of times a week and short walks out in hand after she had been bitted and had boots on and this just increased over summer until she was long reining in walk and trot with a roller on and up the lane to start seeing the world. I got her a saddle and sat on her a couple of times at the end of summer and then she had some time off in the field until around Christmas time as it was obvious she still had a lot of growing to do.

When I restarted with her in December she really seemed to have grown up and found everything much easier so she has since seen traffic, done poles and started canter work. her work has been a bit hit and miss over winter due to the weather (no indoor school) so again everything has been slowly but she was sat on a ridden in walk and trot last month with no problems at all. I have uni exams going on at the moment so she has had a bit of downtime again and moved to summer fields and I intend to crack on with her out on short hacks and getting more established in the school.

I know a lot of people have done a huge amount more with their youngsters by the time they reach 4, but mine has really needed some time to mature so I didn't want to push her and I think she really benefited from having plenty done with her, but not too often and not all at once.
 
My girl turned 3 in April so far we have done the following:

Ground Manners (grooming, fly spray, rugs, hoods etc)
Tying up quietly
Travelling and loading in the trailer happily
Behaving for the farrier/dentist/vet
In hand leading (no pulling to grass or rushing)
Introduction to lunging (short sessions, large circles, working on voice commands for halt, walk, trot and once canter)
Introduction to long reining (walk and trot)
Bridled with rubber in hand bit (metal bit to be introduced once she's stopped teething maybe?)
Saddled and walked around in hand with saddle
leant over
hill work (in hand walking up and down my steep driveway, learning to come steadily downhill rather than rushing)

We've had some trouble with a locking stifle so we just do little bits of lunging/longreining once a week for short periods and I'm trying to do some hill work every other day to build up her back legs and hopefully stop her stifle from locking.

Edit to say I've had her from 11 months old so this has all been done over 2 years and in bits depending on when I felt she was developed enough to move on a step :)
 
Last edited:
Mine was backed in October - last year, now rising four - she had a few weeks off from Christmas after being backed and ridden away. She was then brought back into work in March and is ridden most days.

You have got to assess the horse in front of you, some really benefit in being backed when they are three and others are better left until four :)
 
Mine will be 3 at the end of June. At the moment he is coming in for daily grooming, feet pick out, learning manners, it's a good walk from his field to my yard so we practice our walking in hand then. He is also having his roller and bridle on for short amounts of time about once a week. One he turns 3 I'll start lunging, long reining, walking out and about in hand and generally backing, mentally he's mature enough but physically I'm hoping he catches up now he's getting some decent grub. I don't have the use of my school in winter so I need him backed and ridden away by then so I can turn him out for a short time over winter when he can mature physically (hopefully) ready to come back in next spring and hunt the 2016/2017 season. This is all a loose plan though, it'll be altered as we go to suit him.
 
Unless the horse is really backward, I normally back and ride mine in about February and continue with short (20 - 30 mins) sessions about 3 - 4 times a week over the summer. We might go to a teeny show (dressage or showing) towards the back end of summer.
 
Cortez said:
Unless the horse is really backward, I normally back and ride mine in about February and continue with short (20 - 30 mins) sessions about 3 - 4 times a week over the summer. We might go to a teeny show (dressage or showing) towards the back end of summer.
Click to expand...

Is that when they are "rising 4"?
 
As with everyone else really.

I bred mine so the day to day hands on stuff was all in place and didnt need "teaching" as a 3yo.
As i had shown her in hand as a youngster in the summer she was already bitted and could long rein.

I backed in her August last year, rode away for a week, had established walk and trot plus steering and put back out to grass.

She came back in Feb and has been work 3 days a week since, all variety keeps them happy and interested.

She had her first walk trot test last weds and is off to a county show this weekend- not expecting placing but its good experience in a 4yo class.
 
dianchi said:
As with everyone else really.

I bred mine so the day to day hands on stuff was all in place and didnt need "teaching" as a 3yo.
As i had shown her in hand as a youngster in the summer she was already bitted and could long rein.

I backed in her August last year, rode away for a week, had established walk and trot plus steering and put back out to grass.

She came back in Feb and has been work 3 days a week since, all variety keeps them happy and interested.

She had her first walk trot test last weds and is off to a county show this weekend- not expecting placing but its good experience in a 4yo class.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. My filly turned officially 3 today and I have had her since just before she turned 1. So I did alot of ground work with her over the last two years which I think has put me in a good position with her as she takes everything in her stride. Just wanting to try and plan what to do with her this summer now than my riding horse is retired and obviously I dont want to rush her and spoil things.

Does everyone go off their official birthday or 1st January?
 
Mine will be 3 next week and has been with me less than a month. She has been learning to lead politely, have rugs on, tie up, be groomed and load nicely on and off the lorry and has also started some short trips out travelling on her own.
She is off to the vets this week to have her wolf teeth out, then when her mouth is fully healed we'll look at bitting her and hopefully can then move on to some walking out in hand. She will be sent away for breaking as I am completely a one man band!
 
Mine is 17 now! But he was shown in hand as a yearling once, as a 2 year old 3 or 4 times, about the same at 3. So he would load, be tied up for show preparation, have his feet done, etc.
He was long reined as a yearling, but I didn't do much with him at 2 except some leading exercises from the Tellington Touch - walking over poles, tarpaulin, finding his feet as he was VERY clumsy.

In the late summer, August time, he was backed as a 3 year old, which took around 6 weeks before he was able to be ridden out by himself. He was also shown in hand during that time. I got him home and took him out for some very short rides, for a couple of weeks, so he had about 2 months work altogether. Then I stopped riding him until the spring of his 4 year old year, so he was actually about 3 years 10 months before I got on his back again. He was taken very gently
and he had a few interuptions, like getting ringworm when he was 4 for instance.
 
Jenna1406 said:
Thanks for that. My filly turned officially 3 today and I have had her since just before she turned 1. So I did alot of ground work with her over the last two years which I think has put me in a good position with her as she takes everything in her stride. Just wanting to try and plan what to do with her this summer now than my riding horse is retired and obviously I dont want to rush her and spoil things.

Does everyone go off their official birthday or 1st January?
Click to expand...

Sounds like your in a similar position to me with how long you've had your filly :) I'm really excited to get going with things but don't want to do anything to spoil her either. I go off her official birthday and how developed her body is :)
 
Thanks for all the replies. I am backing my youngster myself (never done it before) but my OH has done it several times and my RI has just moved to the yard that I am on so will be with the guidence of her as well.
 
epeters91 said:
Sounds like your in a similar position to me with how long you've had your filly :) I'm really excited to get going with things but don't want to do anything to spoil her either. I go off her official birthday and how developed her body is :)
Click to expand...

I have had her for 2 years now. I bought get 3rd May 2013. Breagha is a solid 14'3 at the withers and 15hh at the bum and I am keeping an eye on the way she is growing. I have sat on her already and she was not bothered at all. :)
 
Jenna1406 said:
Thanks for all the replies. I am backing my youngster myself (never done it before) but my OH has done it several times and my RI has just moved to the yard that I am on so will be with the guidence of her as well.
Click to expand...

It's great fun, very rewarding and also slightly addictive. I started with it as I thought it would be nice to learn something new and now I specifically buy unbacked.
 
I.M.N. said:
It's great fun, very rewarding and also slightly addictive. I started with it as I thought it would be nice to learn something new and now I specifically buy unbacked.
Click to expand...

I am finding it really rewarding! I have already been looking at another 2 year old but OH I think has almost talked me out of it :D
 
Working and riding young horses is a real buzz.

I'm in the southern hemisphere, my girl turned three in November last year. She was started under saddle late November/December and I had my first ride on her on new years day. Through the summer she was ridden four or five days a week, but 30 minutes was pretty much it - it was only in April that she managed a full 45 minute lesson and that was a big ask.

I only started asking for canter about six weeks ago, as she just wasn't up to it before then. I alternate schooling and hacking and the idea is to get her out as much as possible, without scaring the bee jeebers out of her. Now that we are into winter here, it will be two or three days a week but I will keep her ticking over.


She has her second outing in a crowd this weekend, so if that goes well we might try for a walk/trot dressage test next month. But we will see.
 
Last edited:
I have 2 3 year olds, 1 i broke in april rode away for 4 weeks & now she's turned away :)
my other 3 year old will be broken in September then ridden away then turned away for a month or so

Over winter they will do a couple of weeks work at about 3/4 days then a couple of weeks off.
Then next spring they will start to do little comps etc
 
I backed mine at 3. Turned away all winter.

Brought back into work in March. Will "work" until October and run off in the hills for another few months with the herd. Next year I plan to start some proper training as she rises 5.
 
I bred my three year old. At the moment I can take her for walks, brush her, change rugs, have her feet trimmed, travel her in the lorry etc. I was planning on having her broken this September but she is physically very immature so going to leave her until next year. Will start long reining a few months before breaking :-)
 
I bought my 3yr old QH as a two year old last June direct from the stud. He didn't arrive exactly as expected... I could see his spine, hips, shoulders, chest etc There are photos in my HHO album because I lose the will to live with photobucket!

He was as good as feral with minimal handling; he was only so easy to move as he was a bag of bones. So all previously made plans were out the window for that year.

From day one it's been about handling: getting a halter on, pressure/release to learn to lead, picking up feet, moving over etc. His hooves were desperately overgrown so being able to handle his feet to get them trimmed was a must.

Then things like getting him used to the sound of velcro (it was terrifying apparently), wearing a rug, being towel and "girthing" him with stable bandages and weight tape.

As he got healthier I "played" with him in the school leading over poles, around cones, over tarps and between jump wings and narrow passageways. I didn't have a trailer at that point but when we moved yards he loaded straight away with no issues I think because I'd spent so long getting him walking over and through such a variety of things.

All in walk and no lunging. He knows walk, stand, over, back, up (for feet) and down (to lower head). His manners are really good and simple things, like standing rock still in the field in a howling gale to have rug changed, make life so much easier. He's a wee gem :)

He turned 3 in April but I've no plans given he's a year behind physically. We moved yards over winter so I haven't done much with him so will start "playing" in the schools with him and once my big horse is hacking out I intend to pony the youngster around the farm.

My youngster has a full brother that's a year younger and he's already in tack and long reining in prep for ridden showing classes this year. I know it's the done thing to start QH/western horses very young but I'm not in any rush at all with mine.

I'll see how he goes this year and will no doubt get him wearing a saddle and if he is able might have a sit on him at the end of the year but no rush. I can already lean over, jump and flap about beside him and he is perfect. All "school" sessions are 10-20mins for baby brain.

The plan was to show in Halter this year but I have zero motivation to compete so we'll see how things go.
 
My 3 yr old is quite mature, she arrived 3 weeks ago having had good basic handling so I have bitted her, got the roller on, been generally de-sensitising her to things above her and flapping around her and started to lunge for a couple of mins each way in walk and trot. She'll be backed and hacking for 30mins topped over the summer and then will be turned aeay until next Spring.
This is her-
image.jpg1_zpsa2mzcftp.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top