is 14 to old to ask my horse to learn new dressage moves?

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keekee

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I am currently giving my horse 3months off whilst im in the last 3months of my pregnancy so hope to be back on her around dec time and up to now all we have really done competition wise is sj and xc but I really think we could pull some good tests out the bag as she moves beautifully I was hoping to get to elementry levell and teach her some new moves or will she be too set in her ways and get confused....
 
Older horses can still learn but it takes a bit longer than youngsters for several reasons - her brain is less plastic (doesn't change as much as a youngster) and her prior learning (both good and bad) may get in the way of learning new behaviours.

Keep it simple at first - break it down and keep it short and reward each 'try' or response she gives you which is the one you want. Ignore it if she gets it wrong.

Go for it - it will keep her young in my opinion!!
 
In my opinion definately not. My horse was 13 the last time i went out and competed, had last two years off just hacked now and then. He's 16 now and we've been out twice this year with good marks. Would have gone out more but
missed quite a few dates because of the weather. As long as training is correct and not rushed and forced don't see the problem.
 
Good grief I hope not! My 13 yo ex show horse is competing currently at Elem and I certainly would like to move up with him!
 
thankyou, this has made me smile she is a classy girl and I cant bare her getting old I have an excellent trainer and will keep u posted x
 
Yes they can! I taught my 20 yo TB half pass, pirouettes and flying changes. I am currently teaching a 17 yo ISH half pass, renvers, traver etc, he has learned it well (and quickly). I think deciding a horse is set for life with it's learning at 14 will stop you from enjoying your horse as much as possible. Go for it and teach the horse what you want to. It may take longer that when it was younger (you may be surprised and it take less!) but enjoy the horse!
 
I only just started doing dressage with my made about 2 years ago and she went from knowing pretty much nothing to now training at elem/ medium level. It takes her much much longer than my 2 youngsters to learn but as long as you keep this in consideration and are patient then they can make some real progress :) hoping to go out with mine this Saturday and attempt our first elem test!
 
mine is 20 and hoping to attempt some elementary classes this year. she loves the challenge of doing something new and helps keep her fit and supple
 
Mine did his first elementary at 19! ....he'd calmed down enough at that age to produce a decent test!

Be consistent and do expect it it possibly take slightly longer for them to learn the more difficult moved, but there is no reason you won't get there eventually. I fully believe work as they get older is key to keeping them fit, healthy and able! Mine is 20 still treated the same way workwise as my 6 yo, and can happily pass for an 8 year old.
 
Mine is 18 and learning loads of new things at the moment, she is nice and sane and easy to ride and cant see why it would be a problem really :confused:
 
I think it depends how good their basics are. If you have 3 good paces & basic lateral work its not too hard to go from shortening & lengthening strides to collection & extension, or from leg yield/ shoulder in to half pass. Likewise if you have functional balanced changes for jumping a course its not overly hard to tune them up. However if you're talking about a horse who can motorbike round a course clearing everything without having to be reliant on accurate flatwork & is very set in their ways you'd have to go right back to basics as a reschooling job.
 
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