How much to do with a 5yr old?

Firewell

Firewell

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I'm confused!

There is a post in NL from a lady having behaviour problems with her 5yr old. Some of the responses are that the horse should be turned away as the view is it is struggling mentally. It has only been trained to pop a jump.

It's got me thinking about how much is too much with a 5yr old?? I know horses are all different so it's hard to quantify but in my mind a 5yr old horse is an adult horse and should be capable of regular training?

My 5yr old is going through a bit of a kevin stage at the moment. It feels to me as if he is getting stronger, becoming more aware of who he is and naturally trying to test the boundaries. However NL post has got me worrying he is mentally tired?!

His 'kevin' moments consist of being a bit spooky and whipping round out hacking and occassionaly *trying* to buck when he is excited or feeling a bit arsey. I say 'trying' because I normally catch him before he can do anything, I pull his head up, growl at him and generally tell him to sort his life out ;). He is definitly a bit more kevin like in his attitude at the mo!

I ride him 6ish times a week for between 20 mins and 1 hour hacking, schooling and jumping. He is ready to do a Novice BD test, can jump an 85cm course with fillers out at different venues and he has been XC schooling. He can do small grids confidently and smoothly. I generally take him out in the lorry twice a month, wether it to be going to do a prelim dr test, clear round sj, a clinic or xc schooling.

Does this sound ok?? I never push him to jump big, or work him untill he is falling apart. I always end on a good note, sometimes this will be after 15 mins or it my be 45 mins. If he has a harder session I will spend the next day hacking round on a long rein.

He's had a few days off recently while I have been away. He had 8 days off at the beginning of July and 4 days off not long ago. My mums instinct is that his kevin stage is due to him feeling well and a bit fresh after his recent breaks. She thinks I need to be working him properly and consistently to work him through his kevin stage.

He's due another 2 weeks off in sept and in the winter he won't go out as much in lorry, will prob have a break over Xmas and then really crack on when he is 6 next may.

Does this sound ok? Or too much?? I want him to be fresh into old age, I don't want to burn him out... At the same time I want to keep his work consistent. He's a young, fit, clever tb and he needs to be kept busy.

What are you guys doing with your 5yr olds??
Thoughts??
 
sounds fine to me :) i wouldn't worry, there are some 'interesting' opinions in NL! ;)
My 5 year old tends to work about 5 days a week, usually schooling x3, jump x1 and a hack. but it will vary (so for example, he went on camp this weekend and so jumped 3 days in a row, had a day off and has been schooled today). like yours he is going through a kevin stage, which has meant i have worked him more and he seems to be coming out the other side of it :)
 
I dont have a 5 yr old ATM - mine is 4. And although I call her my ''baby'' I am constantly told by my trainer that I should not think of her as a baby - she is a horse in work and should be treated as such. She is on a similar routine to yours - hacked out 3 times a week, one flat schooling session and competed / xc schooling / sj training once a week, and then an hour lesson (although only 30 - 40 mins ''proper'' work ) with said trainer. She is worked 6 days a week. So I would say that the work schedule is fine for your 5 yr old. My 4 yr old is also jumping courses of up to 90cms - 1m. She was aimed at BYEH but had to WD due to my injury.

I am a firm believer that young horses will tell you when they have had enough work. 'Baby' has never told me. However, her sister (who is now 8 and doing * eventing) told me enough from quite a young age. She was mentally immature and that was fine, she went back to the field and when she came back into work as 5 yr old schooling still blew her mind, so she was my hack for a summer! She learned to really enjoy having a rider and she moved forwards, popping small logs and going through water but nothing formal! Another winter out and she came back as a 6yr old ready to work. She has taken her time and it is probably only this season as an 8 yr old that she is really firing on all cylinders! That said, you really don't want to push them to their ''limit'' as a baby - they will hint to you and you have to listen. It can be difficult to tell when they are just being naughty and spooky or actually telling you that they can't handle any more work. From what you have said I would be inclined to say that this is your horse being spooky and would work through it, but you have to stay tuned into them.

Good luck with you youngster, but at 5 I would class him as a horse - not a baby. Mine isn't a baby either - I must keep reminding myself of this otherwise I shall still be calling her ''baby'' when she is 14!!!
 
My current 5yo was backed in May, so that limits what we do. She's hacking for 90mins or so in walk each day, plus 10 min trot in the school or lungeing. That will gradually turn into more trot/canter and less walk to up her fitness and strength.

At 5yo my TB was hacking for miles and miles each day (think 4hrs or so) and loving it. She was much more mentally mature at 5 than my current one though.
 
I think that sounds fine! My 5 year old does about 5 days a week at the moment (because of my workload). I try and get her out competing a couple of times a month. I should be out and about jumping her, but I've had no one to help me (pole putter upper!) so have concentrated on the dressage with her (which she excels in!). She's a big girl and still got a lot of growing to do so I've not tried to push things too hard with her. I have friends who've basically burnt their 5 year old out, pushing it too much as a four year old and it's really plateaued with its progress and is going backwards now, which they're finding very frustrating.
 
Excellent, thanks for the replies. I was happy with him, that post got me worried but I will carry on as we are :).

He raced once as a 3yr old but was too slow and so he didn't do a right lot after that. His old owner got him when he had just turned 4 and she mainly hacked him, did some reschooling and took him to one show.
I got him at 4 1/2, he was pretty weak and stiff when I got him so I've just built him up slowly to what we are doing now. He's mentally very mature, not a lot phases him and he is better when he has things to concentrate on. He loves schooling and playing over grids ect. He goes all floppy eared and compliant :)

Your replies make me feel good about continuing with what I have planned and working him through his freshness! :)
 
What you're doing sounds fine :)

My 5yo is doing less, only because she's still bloomin' growing so her flatwork is more like a 4yo than a 5yo. Her first ODE is in a couple of weeks (only tiny, 2'3 :o )
 
Also, on a slightly different note don't feel pressurised by what other people think you should be doing. Just because your horse is five doesn't mean it should be doing BE100 eventing (as has been expected of me!)!
 
My 5 year old is ridden about 5 times a week (3 times after work is plenty for me!!) and this includes one lesson. Havent been going overboard on competiting and have maybe been out about 8 times this year including 3 odes - BE90. He is due to go to his first BEYH tomorrow.
 
I think the 5 yr old in NL hasn't done a lot before has he?

I got my horse at 5 and he'd pretty much been broken, sat in a field being spoilt rotten and finally gelded at 5 yrs. He was pretty difficult out hacking for around 9 months and we just did basic but regular schooling.

Now, he's hacking out beautifully and competing at a low level (dressage, jumping and just started eventing) and sounds at a pretty similar stage as your 5 yr old but I feel he's a bit behind other 7 yr olds due to his easy life before (not a problem, he'll catch up in his own time). He's doing small grids on a regular basis too and I'm also a great believer in variety (at any age and for my own very limited concentration span).

OH is a firm believer of regular “work” (hacking included) at the right level for the right amount of time being the solution to a lot of problems. We currently favour working my horse twice a day for relatively short periods.

OH is currently training a lovely young mare of 3 yrs 4 months for somebody – little bit of hacking and a little bit of lunging. We went out hacking together and she was better behaved and less spooky than my muppet-boy :rolleyes:. OH expects her to be in full work (for a 4 yr old) next year.

I am sure it all depends on the horse, their breed/type and their experience up to that age. An experienced rider should know what a young horse is ready to do and when in my humble opinion. (PS I am not an experienced rider but have seen OH work small miracles with my horse and others just coz he knows what he's doing)

Good luck with your horse, I'm sure that he'll tell you himself if he's fed up :)
 
Noodlejaffa said:
Also, on a slightly different note don't feel pressurised by what other people think you should be doing. Just because your horse is five doesn't mean it should be doing BE100 eventing (as has been expected of me!)!
Click to expand...

Lol, thanks 4 that. It is so hard to not worry, am I doing too much, or not enough... eeeek!! I think I would die if I tried to take him round a PN right now ;) I don't know about him not being ready, it would more likely be me not being ready and having the mental breakdown ;) :)
 
Sounds fine to me. Mine was 5 a month or so ago and is doing less than yours, schooling twice a week 1 flat, 1 jumping, hacking twice plus lunging once a week. I sometime ride him a extra day depending on how he feels that week. Mine still has some growing and filling out to do so im in not any rush with him, i think he has potential to be very, very good but in time.
I have only just got transport so the plan is to crack on now with getting him out and about but only with things like clear round, xc schooling and hacking, nothing with any real pressure. I think in the winter i will do more comps but it really does depend on how he goes.
Im not one for making firm plans and goals as horses have a knack of doing the oppisite.:rolleyes:
I know mine could go out tomorrow and pop round a BN, i could scrape round with him but thats not how i want to do things. I know people expect a lot from both of us but i will keep my head down and plug away until we're ready, hopefully it means i wont make a t*t of myself when we do venture out. It can be really hard to not get hung up on other peoples expectations and what they think you should be doing.
 
Crack on, as you say your horse is fully mature. You only have to look at the age classes in affiliated competitions etc.

B.E. eventing 4yo classes at 90cm

5yo at 1m.

You dont bring them on to that level, hanging around.

Just be sensible, and go with what you feel your horse is ready to do, and at the level you are comfortable at.

I had a lovely 3yo coloured cob last year and i did about 5 funrides on him, nice and steady popping the odd fence, perfect, he was happy. He is now sold to a lovely home who adore him.
 
sounds totally fine to me :)

Star doesnt work *hard* when ridden, ie barely breaks a sweat, but he is asked for 30-40mins of total concentration and to apply himself mentally.sure he gets lots of walk breaks, but i dont think its too much to ask them for them to give you their full attention for under an hour a day! IMHO a lot of amateurs are too soft on them, treat them like puppies and then end up with monsters of 6/7yos! which someone else has to sort out....

my general rule is 4 days a week of work as a 4yo, 5 days as a 5yo and there after 6 days a week where possible.not always in the school ,mine do steady hacking and polework too, but regular work keeps the kevins away.

when Star went through his naughty phase opinions varied greatly but in the end i went with varying his work a bit more but really making sure he knuckled down and did exactly as asked, exactly when asked ie got after him a bit.he is now back to his normal dope on a rope self, and has not self combusted with the stress.

he will compete up until the festivals end of sept, then train over winter until March 2011 and come out at 6yo/medium next year. i cant let him down totally because of his sticky stifle, but he will have 2 weeks after the festivals where he does nothing but hack, and then the same over xmas, if i could let him down, he would have a week totally off each time instead, but i cant, so 2 weeks hacking is the best i can do, probably every other day.

i had best not seek out that NL post and add that my 5yo does changes, and some pi/pa had i?!
 
It sounds like your boy is fab firewell and doing very well for his age. My 5 yo has been out competing all summer BN/Disco and some 1.05s she has some qualifiers including KJ scope which she will be going to but she is about to be introduced to dressage by me(has done BS with OH) and I will expect to be doing Novice tests on her as she is well capable. You know whats best for your horse and Im sure he would let you know if it was too much or too little
 
They let you know! I've reduced work on my 5yr old and upped work on my 6yr old! 5yr old is just not seeming her normal happy self and i think I've pushed her a bit hard. I find with my one she likes to have a week of quite intensive work then a week of relaxing fun hacking, i try not to jump too much at home either.
 
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