Leading out a youngster

[Pollyhorse]

I have a 2.5 year old who I have done quite a lot with so far - natural horsemanship type games, lots of grooming etc. I've started leading her out on the lanes and moorland tracks around here, leading from my very sensible older horse. She's doing really well with it and seeing lots of new sights which she takes in her stride. How much is too much of this, is it OK to have the occasional short trot or is this risking damaging her legs?

 

[Dexter]

I may get shot down in flames! but you wouldn't be able to give her enough 'work' to damage her legs! Horses in the wild cover miles and miles every day! Even horses in small paddocks cover a fair wack. The issue is weight on their back. My weanlings/yearlings/2 yr olds do a fair bit in hand, limited by my ability to walk 10 miles a day The 2 yr olds will do a fair amount of 'ponying out' this year. Unless your talking miles and miles I wouldn't worry!

I consider walking out in hand and ponying from a sensible nanny to be the best education. The current 2 year olds were walked out in hand round an incredibly rough council estate. They learnt to deal with minor traffic, unruly kids wanting to pat them, squeezing through narrow gaps to go along footpaths, weird things at the side of the road etc, to put it mildly! etc, etc

I'm pretty confident that ponying them out round isolated bridle paths will be nothing to them now! and that will transfer over into their ridden work While I'm glad not to be at my previous yard, I'm slightly sad that my weanling will never have the opportunity to be 'life proofed' in the way the others have been Good job hes phased by nothing, as the chance I had to truely llifeproof him has been and gone!

 

[Dolcé]

I may get shot down in flames! but you wouldn't be able to give her enough 'work' to damage her legs! Horses in the wild cover miles and miles every day! Even horses in small paddocks cover a fair wack. The issue is weight on their back. My weanlings/yearlings/2 yr olds do a fair bit in hand, limited by my ability to walk 10 miles a day The 2 yr olds will do a fair amount of 'ponying out' this year. Unless your talking miles and miles I wouldn't worry!

I consider walking out in hand and ponying from a sensible nanny to be the best education. The current 2 year olds were walked out in hand round an incredibly rough council estate. They learnt to deal with minor traffic, unruly kids wanting to pat them, squeezing through narrow gaps to go along footpaths, weird things at the side of the road etc, to put it mildly! etc, etc

I'm pretty confident that ponying them out round isolated bridle paths will be nothing to them now! and that will transfer over into their ridden work While I'm glad not to be at my previous yard, I'm slightly sad that my weanling will never have the opportunity to be 'life proofed' in the way the others have been Good job hes phased by nothing, as the chance I had to truely llifeproof him has been and gone!

Completely agree with this, the more you do now getting out and about the easier it will be later.