Opinions - how much should you handle a yearling?

kc100

kc100

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So my new baby horse arrives at his new home on 16th May :)

I've bought lots of books and have spoken to lots of people since buying him, and am getting mixed messages on how much handling a yearling/2 year old should have. Some say you should let a horse be a horse in these years, living out and generally not being handled all that much apart from a bit of practice being led, picking up feet etc. Others say you should handle it as much as you can, taking for loads of walks, grooming, getting him used to the world etc.

I guess personally I'm somewhere in the middle - my yearling is going to be living out 24/7 with another 2 year old so he's going to get to be a proper horse for the next 2 years and has a baby pal to play with. But I also want to handle him relatively frequently - I'd like to get him used to being tied up and standing still, grooming, leading calmly etc.

Would like to know what everyone else thinks? Leave them alone and only handle maybe once a week just to remind them they do have to lead/stand tied up and be groomed? Or handle multiple times per week?
 
Personally I would have him living out with another youngster but also bringing in a few times a week to have a groom and a scratch and fuss, pick out feet and tying up, generally being polite when being handled and lead.

I wouldn't do much else with him to be honest but I think that consistent handling is good for young horses.
 
Its tricky to say without knowing what the baby has done so far.

Personally at a year I would expect them to tie up and have feet picked out- I know others disagree but its not good if you have a vet emergency and you cant handle them!
Also when they are small they are much easier to handle!

With my homebred, I had her out at her first show with mum at 6 weeks, then we went to BEF at 3 months, all winter she was handled daily and stabled at night (couldn't find 24/7 turnout for her). I chose to expose her early on and have shown her every year to get her to see sights and not be fussed by anything! Went to a county show as a yearling!

Last summer I had her walking out on hacks, then managed to get 24/7 turnout so she has had a whole year out with weekly grooming and "training" session.
She will come back to the main yard at the end of May to start backing prep as she will then be 3.
 
thewonderhorse said:
Personally I would have him living out with another youngster but also bringing in a few times a week to have a groom and a scratch and fuss, pick out feet and tying up, generally being polite when being handled and lead.

I wouldn't do much else with him to be honest but I think that consistent handling is good for young horses.
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This ^^^^ perfect
 
thewonderhorse said:
Personally I would have him living out with another youngster but also bringing in a few times a week to have a groom and a scratch and fuss, pick out feet and tying up, generally being polite when being handled and lead.

I wouldn't do much else with him to be honest but I think that consistent handling is good for young horses.
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I absolutely agree.
 
Living out with a bit of handling 2-3 times a week is what I have done with mine. I've seen people do the daily handling and night stabling and it seems to result in bolshy horses. Let them learn manners from other horses but teach them the day to day stuff like tying up and feet etc :)
 
dianchi said:
Its tricky to say without knowing what the baby has done so far.

Personally at a year I would expect them to tie up and have feet picked out- I know others disagree but its not good if you have a vet emergency and you cant handle them!
Also when they are small they are much easier to handle!

With my homebred, I had her out at her first show with mum at 6 weeks, then we went to BEF at 3 months, all winter she was handled daily and stabled at night (couldn't find 24/7 turnout for her). I chose to expose her early on and have shown her every year to get her to see sights and not be fussed by anything! Went to a county show as a yearling!

Last summer I had her walking out on hacks, then managed to get 24/7 turnout so she has had a whole year out with weekly grooming and "training" session.
She will come back to the main yard at the end of May to start backing prep as she will then be 3.
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This is exactly what I've done with mine except they come in at night (as all the other horses on the yard do, and they love the restful full barn at night) which they very much prefer rather than being out all day/night in summer. It has resulted in two well mannered 2 and 3 year olds who will go to occasional events (Futurity, carefully selected county level shows), enjoy being groomed, be bathed and plaited (very occasionally!), be tied up, feet picked out, good with the vet (mostly - we have had to do syringe de-sensitisation training with the 2 year old), load and travel fine; and have the dentist. We will start doing limited ground work and lead off a ridden horse/long lining with the 3 year old this summer then he will be lightly backed and ridden away as a 4 year old. Clearly there are other ways of doing it which are perfectly valid, but this works very well for me and means that they are gradually and sensitively exposed to all the things that they will need to do as an adult horse; plus if I need to have the vet or transport them in an emergency I know I should have no problems.
 
Thanks everyone - it does seem pretty varied in what everyone does with their own but at least it sounds like there is no 'wrong' way to do it!

As I mentioned he will be living out 24/7 with a baby (2 year old) to play with, and some other older horses to keep them in check.

So far he can pick out feet/lift feet relatively well, not brilliant at it but he does eventually get the idea when he's asked. He leads OK, calls a lot to his pals (has been living in a barn with LOADS of other yearlings for his first year of life after weaning from mum) and can get a bit excited so trots/jogs a bit. Never been groomed, never been tied up either and definitely hasnt travelled (so 16th May will be an experience!).

He has had the vet whilst I have been present (1st time was for the vetting, 2nd time vaccs and x-rays). He was sedated for the x-rays but for the vetting he was just held on a leadrope and he was pretty good actually, even though his friends were all staring over the wall at him he wasnt too fussed and only objected when the vet was really giving him a good poke around the mouth & ears, but again quickly settled once he realised he wasnt getting out of it.

I've toyed with the idea of doing a little bit of in-hand showing with him eventually, he will go on to mainly be a dressage horse so want him to be used to competition environments and not be phased by anything. The Klimke young horse book says they take theirs out to in-hand shows (as most DR horses do in Germany) so might follow that lead. I ride a hugely spooky horse for a friend currently so the last thing I want is another spooky monster, so I do like the idea of a bit of desensitizing from a young age.
 
We do a fair amount with our weanlings (compared to some other people); they know all the basics and how to lead, lift their feet for the farrier, stand quietly in hand, trailer, behave at new venues etc. Once they are yearlings we do little with them. Obviously checked, caught up daily for scratches and checks over and the odd walk once in a while, but nothing really much. It's the same at 2 years old and then at 3 years old we ramp it up a bit in readiness for those who are going to be backed that year. You can do as much or as little as you like tbh, but best piece of advice I can give you is, remember they're still babies, but don't molly coddle them; ask for respect from them when they are being handled and don't move on before they are comfortable with the previous stage of whatever you're doing with them.
 
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Mine have all had to be in at nights in winter and the colts/young stallions in at night all year round.

As yearlings they would all stand tied up, have feet done and lead nicely. During the winter months they've got used to being in and being polite and well mannered in their stables and at feed time.

So far they've grown up to be nice polite horses.
 
I would be doing the basics every day - catching in, tying up, picking out feet, a bit of fuss. With my youngster, I used to take him for a walk about once a week. I also used to give him his feed on the lorry ramp/in the lorry regularly so he was desensitised to that. I also used to make sure he spent a little time in a stable a couple of times a week - personally I like young horses to live out but it's important for them to understand stabling as it is often necessary as they get older. I would trot him up every once in a while so that I would be able to do this at shows etc. He went to a few shows as a baby just to get the experience of the hustle and bustle and atmosphere in the ring etc. He was always very calm and I think it's important that babies see a bit of the world so it's not so much of a shock to them when they come to be backed and ridden away and given a 'workload'.

Good luck with your boy :)
 
When i got mine i basically thought that I wanted to be able to do anything with her that I might need to do in an emergency... so head collar on, lead, touch every part of her in case of injury and needing the vet, feet picked up and used to being trimmed, tied up and generally start to develop a bond with them so that they know they can trust you in a crisis.

This doesnt need to be daily, like someone else said couple of times a week is fine if they are with other horses but i always checked mine over (including picking up feet) daily.

Occasionally I did more with her if we both felt like it, longer walk, meeting an umbrella/pushchair etc for the first time, we also wandered into and out of a lorry occasionally (not going anywhere). I wanted her to be as bombproof as possible as early as possible, i have not time for these difficult horses - its our hobby its supposed to be fun so make sure you get them set up to be easy to handle, respectful and polite :)
 
Agree entirely with SF, we have a rising 3 year old and a rising 4 year old, the younger of the two is a pleasure to handle, having had plenty of interaction with people. The 4 year old, bought last year, we were told was difficult to catch, so had been living with a herd from weaning until she was rising 3, when she was moved, backed and sold! (told was riding away, but I have not sat on her since we got her, as will start her again this year). She is learning fast, but having had to have vet treatment on a hoof, we have problems with feet and with the vet. She had a bout of colic last night, 48 hours after worming, I rather think the two are connected, as if they didn't catch her, I doubt if they wormed her!
 
I think it mainly depends on your yard set up ( ie if they have to be stabled at night, or can go out 24/7).
Also, if you wish to do showing, they will need to be able to walk and trot up, taught to stand up for a judge, and be used to having people besides you handle them.
We do showing, so ours are the above. They also have feet trimmed a few times, so we spend a lot of time picking the feet up out and also tapping round with a hammer so they generally behave decently for the farrier.
They have rugs put on, so they are used to them to stay clean for shows, we do not advocate rugs as a rule but it's an unfortunate necessity if you wish them clean or to keep coats down if you do county level.
I do think you can over handle, but most of that IMHO comes because people treat the youngster as a "cute fluffy thing" and forget about the big animal it will grow into, so it has little respect because it's not treated as a horse. If that makes sense!
 
With our yearlings they all lived out, got handled a couple of times a week, learnt to walk and trot on a lead, feet, tie up, bath and travel. They were all shown 2-3 times as a yearling over the year but never 2 weeks in a row. Generally as a 2yo they were left in the field to grow up and had minimal done with them, walk round, checked, patted, groomed in spring to get their coats out and had their feet done. I rarely see any point in showing 2yo's against 3yo's so I leave them.
 
With mine right or wrong I don't know but I bring in to brush, pick feet and feed 4 days a week. One of those days I take him for a short walk with my mare who is well mannered, we've come across lorries, bikes and other objects. I don't push scary stuff his way just what happens to be lying around on a day to day hack. He is good but I will do more as a 2 year old.
 
Not saying what is right or wrong, but to give some perspective - if you do 30 minutes every day, which is probably on the high side for most people, they are still spending 98% of their time just being a horse. Hopefully in the field with suitable company.
 
I agree with everyone else, to whatever extent you want to handle them, it is important that the basics and good ground manners are covered such as feet, touching all over, leading calmly, tieing etc. then the rest is solely up to you! Also personally I think being able to seperate them from other horses, say bringing in for a little while then turning back out, is good for them to gain some confidence being on their own, so that they don't get panicked when separated from their friends.
 
I personally handle them very little, I breed my own, so once they are halter broken and pick up their feet I pretty much leave anything else until they are ready to be broken.

Obviously they are brought in for the farrier and dentist, but unless they were to be shown in hand I would leave them be babies.
 
I treated mine as a normal horse, he was turned out with other horses, during the day in winter & overnight in summer. I handled him, groomed, tied up, picked feet, & walked him out every so often.

He had a problem with his growth plates at just over 1 year old. He was on a sort of box rest for nearly 9 months. I'm sure that all the work I'd already done had prepared him for this. I did manage to negotiate careful t/o but it was such a delicate situation to ensure his mental health as much as his physical health.

I can't help but think if I'd turned him put with lots of other youngsters that his knee problem either would have been missed or the box rest would have been a nightmare. Who knows though? Everyone does things differently and I believe there's no wrong or right, just what is best for your horse as an individual. :)
 
Milo is just coming up to one year old now, he lives out in a mixed herd including another youngster. He is handled daily - pulled out the field, fed and popped back in the field. Most days he get s quick brush over and feet picked out. He stands tied up happily, has had his feet trimmed, bathes happily, leads calmly etc and generally is like an adult to handle and do things with but beyond getting pulled out and fed every day and the odd trip up to the yard (he's in the bottom field) I don't do anything with him. He did have a lot done in his first year going to shows etc which laid the foundations which are now easy to maintain - he is expected to have the same manners as an adult horse and the only thing I can do with the grown ups that I can't/haven't done with him is he hasn't had a bridle or saddle on yet (and won't for quite a while).
 
Mine have lived out 24/7 since they were born and whilst initially I did a little bit each day - catching, feet and touching all over - once they were comfortable with all that I found they let me know when they wanted to be ponies and when they wanted a new challenge. So they would do nothing for sometimes several weeks beyond the odd groom and loose handling in the field, but then when they were ready they would bug me if I tried to leave, which was when I took them out more, for little walks around the village, more intense grooming, clicker sessions etc. We would do this for a few days or sometimes a couple of weeks, and then one day they would come for their cuddles but make it clear they didn't want to "work", so they were left to be themselves again.
Interestingly a friend got a youngster the same age at the same time, hers has been treated like her other horse, in every night, turned out for a few hours a day, walked, bitted, longreined etc but she had to sell him a few weeks ago because he had absolutely no respect for people whatsoever, was friendly enough in the stable but outside had no interest in people, just what was going on about him and was becoming very dangerous with it. Mine love being with me and when out and about turn to me when they are worried and wait to see what they should do - I usually leave them to decide for themselves but reward good progress very quickly so they lose their fear and are just curious about new things.
I mentioned this on another group and someone copied the results of a study on racehorses, this is what she said

"In the April issue of Equess magazine there was an excellent article on the deleterious effects of spending too much time with a horse. There were several scientific references and explanations.

One I found most interesting was a study done in France comparing two race horse stables in their handling of weanling foals. One stable did minimal handling. Just enough to halter train them and foot pick-up. Other than that the foals were left to run in a large turn-out only brought in a few times over a six to 8 month period.
The other farm worked with the weanlings every day. They were walked around the stable grounds, introduced to Trailering , blanketing, grooming, bathing and all manner of husbandry experiences.

When the study followed up on the foals and how they did when sent off to the track for race training it was the colts with minimal handling that adapted the best and were easiest to handle by the race-track personnel . The foals given intensive handling were less confident and more difficult to work with.
Now both these breeding farms used traditional handling/training methods. My thought was the foals that were subjected to the least handling had less opportunity to have a negative association with people.

The article's point was this. Trying to cram a week's worth of training or just contact with the horse in one or two days a week is not as successful as being in the company of the horse for 2 hours or less 3 or 4 times a week."

I think if you listen to your youngster and go at their pace without rushing them, that is the most important thing. I know mine appreciate periods of not having to follow my rules (beyond being polite in the field) even if it is only for half an hour a day, but also each of mine requires different amounts of work, sometimes one does lots and the other isn't ready, then they switch. I find it fascinating just how much I learn about them by watching and "listening" to them, and it means when I do ask them to work they are really keen and enthusiastic, rather than fighting me because they wanted a lie in that day :-)
 
That makes it more confusing dollyanna! My yearling was stabled overnight in winter, out in a herd during the day, out 24/7 in the summer and apart from being led, feet picked out and groomed, he was left to run around and be a horse. He behaved well, coped with being stabled and fine with vet and farrier. Fast forward to rising 3 year old who is now turning into a bit of a monkey! I've been told I should be doing more with him as he's bored, or is he behaving this way because he was overhandled as a yearling? A friend has a rising four year old who they left out in the field with minimal handling until he was backed and dislikes the vets, can't stand bring in a stable even for an hour and fidgets continuously for the farrier!
 
I'm the first to admit I over handled my homebred made as a youngster. She turned into a thug aged 3, she'd been handled everyday being stabled overnight from a weanling in winter though she was turned away 24/7 from March until October every year. She would spin around and boot you before running off when led, had no concept of personal space so would walk into you. Being broken calmed her down and she's a dream under saddle, is incredibly bold jumping and pretty bomb proof. But she will take a mile if given an inch, her ground manners will never be exceptional due to her warped perception of human personal space. She's much better than she was, no more kicking and leads well. She's also extremely tolerant of things you do to her, so I guess there are positives and negatives from her handling.

I've bought a weanling who will be joining us September time and he will be out in a small mixed herd with youngsters and older horses 24/7 and brought in just a few times a week for a scratch and feet picked up, no more.
 
Hehe, sorry! In your examples, my humble opinion would be that yours is possibly just wanting more done NOW, not necessarily needed less/more done in the past. Your friend's maybe went too far and did too little - certainly mine were expected to stand for feet/grooming even when turned away. I guess it depends as much on the owner/handler as well, and of course the individual animal - as I said, my two certainly have different needs at different times. I'll be quiet now and stop confusing matters!!
 
Just to give my tuppence (again) - this is what I did with my boy...

He was out 24/7 and handled perhaps 1-2 times a week for a quick groom, feet picked out and a cuddle. In these infrequent and short episodes I was able to instill enough manners that when he broke his fetlock at 4 months the vet was able to sedate him loose in the field so we could get him in (he was lame to the point of non-weight bearing and wanting to lie down).

He was on box rest (12x18 stable) with his mum for 6 weeks, then yard rest for another 4 (stable opened to an area about the same) then 'garden' rest for 4 weeks. During his time 'in' I still gave him minimal handling but we interacted twice a day when I mucked them out.

He was weaned at 8 months and has since lived with a (barren) mare and a selection of geldings I have taken for backing.

He is a lovely polite boy who is a bit of a 'dope-on-a-rope'. I showed him as a yearling and the comments were pretty much that he was too chilled. I kept him entire to see if he would get a bit of presence but never showed him again as he was a weedy 2yo, I was without transport as a 3yo and as a 4yo couldn't find any local Welsh shows that would allow stallions. He was cut as a 4yo due to my neighbours mares trying to jump into his field.

All in all he is a lovely, polite 'person'.
 
As soon as they arrive here they are taught daily to lead, load and have their feet picked up. Once that is established they are turned away 24/7 in a mixed herd and are handled according to their needs thereafter. So may be caught to move paddocks, for the farrier and vet or simply to be cleaned up and taken to a show. They go to about 3 maybe 4 shows as yearlings increasing to 6 or 7 at two and do a full season at 3 by which time they are pretty much the same as any horse. They spend about an hour or so a week being handled the rest of the time they are out doing their own thing with others. Probably takes a week or so to get them to the point when they can be relied on to lead, load and have feet picked out maybe an hour a week to learn to be bathed and groomed for a show. They actually learn a huge amount at a show and they learn all about traffic and exciting things at the same time even if they dont do the class the first few times they go
 
My filly was out 24/7 and given a groom once a week. She loves being with people and always wanted cuddles. I showed her in-hand 4 times as education. In between these shows she was just in the field playing. As a 2 year old she was shown a few times and I have lovely memories of my then 4 year old son holding her at a show, grooming her and she was so relaxed.

She's a quiet well adjusted mare whom I am just starting groundwork with before backing later this year. I don't think showing her has affected her behaviour in a detrimental way at all.
 
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