please explain being broken to 4yr old comps

[katylee]

tried to make the subject title simple! can some one please explain how horses are ready for these 4 year old eventing competitions? what age do they break them? is it just that the riders are really good so what would take me 6 months would take a pro a week! and does that mean that some are competing before they are actually 4? thanks!

 

[Rachel_M]

Well, if you start to back a horse from the beginning of the year when it turns three (a lot of eventers are TB/ TBx's who have the general January birthday), you then have an entire year to gently back the horse and school on for four year old classes.

I am sure a competent non-pro could correctly back a horse and do some schooling given an entire year.

 

[Sarah_Jane]

Mine I hope to do the 4 year old Pavo's later in the season. She was broken in the Autumn as a 3 year old and then turned away. I then bought her in January and slowly brought her back into work. She is physically quite mature but very green. We have taken things slowly and not done any intensive work. She did her first dressage test last month and I hope to do her first jumping competition at the beginning of next month she has been xc schooling once and trotted over small logs and through water etc. She will actually be 4 this week but I don't feel she has done too much and I hope to be able to do a Pavo class in July and August with her.

 

[tigers_eye]

I sent my horse away to be broken in the January of the year he was 4, he was a thug and I was too scared of him to have done much with him. He came back after 2 months, he had hacked in company, popped a small fence on the lunge without a rider, and could master stop start left and right in the school. We did a BE 4yo class by the middle of july - he was really quite straight-forward and unquestioning, I think we'd done 1 clear round and 1 xc schooling session.

 

[sw123]

We backed ours at the end of her third year, had her hacking around and working well on teh lunge etc and then turned her away until Feb of her 4th year. Got her back up hacking around and started more work on the school, popping a fence and then going to local training shows. First lot of cross country schooling early may and then a BYEH class or two and then off to PAVO. If they have the right groundwork (and that doesn't mean too much work) they can do well without months and months of schooling.

My 4yo last year did 3 BYEH qualifiers and 1 PAVO qualifier where she qualified for the finals and so did the finals where she was 6th with a holiday in the summer and before the finals.

This years 4yo was backed last Oct/Nov Turned away until March, he's been in work since then mainly hacking and training shows, 1 BSJA show last week, 1 XC school and will go to Houghton next week for the BYEH. Got 3 of them planned and again a hol in teh summer beore PAVO at the end. He rides really sweetly on the bit, off your leg and v responsive and balanced now.

 

[katylee]

thankyou everyone for going into such great detail. it is really interesting what everyone does with their youngsters. in my daydreaming moments it will give me something to aim towards! i am going to watch your reports this year with interest! goodluck.