New horses - how much do you do with them?

[Jericho]

If you have just bought / taken on a horse, generally how long is it before you start competing or taking your horse to clinics / rallies etc? Should you spend time just bonding and hacking and schooling or do you think it is a good way of getting to know your horse if you start going to shows (i.e. just for experience not to come back laiden down with rosettes!) and doing things straight away (i.e within a few weeks). just interested really as I have a new horse who has settled really well and am hacking out like we have known each other for ages and I want to start being a bit adventurous with him rather than just hacking or schooling in our field and popping over the one fence we have! He is a tad unfit but working on that.

 

[Darkly_Dreaming_Dex]

I have always continued doing whatever they were doing at the old home so for example we bought a fit hunter mid season and thoroughly enjoyed hunting him the next day

We have just purchased a new horse on saturday and would have taken him to the sponsored ride on sunday if he hadnt hooned round the field overnight and yanked his hock (nothing serious, just being cautious)
If you feel like you are ready to do more then Kick On

 

[AutumnRose]

Depends on the horse, how old they are and how expereinced etc. I got a 5yo at beginning of August and took him out for 1st time about a month later because i wanted him to settle in and he'd only recently been imported etc etc. With something more expereinced i may have done things a little sooner. Even with an expereinced horse i'd probably wait a couple of weeks before i would take them out competiting, just so we could get to know each other a bit.

You sound like you've done lots of good ground work and are more than ready to start getting out and about

 

[Damnation]

I have had my mare a year and I have done no competing with her as of yet. This was mainly because we had lots of problems with her behaviourally and at one point she was unrideable so its only recently that she has started schooling nicely!
I am riding a horse for someone at the moment, a very laid back cob type and I took him to a show 3 weeks after starting riding him!

 

[sarahs1]

I always start as i mean to go on. If their fit ready to go carry on with them maybe start with a clinic, lesson elsewere.
I get horses in and will always carry on, as my arguement is you travel across the country for a class stable them their night before drag them out early next morning to jump they dont have time to settle in their they have to be on form and get use to it.
The way they learn is to get them out and keep doing it even youngsters start with dressage riding clubs keep it easy for them you will no when their ready to progress on.
I had foxhunter/1.30m mare that was really full of herself and naughty at home if she did not keep on the go doing a job some horses get bored seeing the same things everyday as i may say i would!. You get out their enjoy your horse you will learn so much more about it in differant situations and people will see and also help you learn more about it hope this helps x ss