Potention Competition Horse Buyer ..

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billbobaggin

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Ok here goes... no fighting this time!!!!

If you a competitive competitor and compete at affiliated level and want results and are looking for a new 3 yr old to bring on ready for competition the following year what would you expect the 3 yr old to be doing now? What would be the pros and cons of buying a 3 yr old that is lunging, long-reining and hacked out a few time in company with the above in mind? I am speaking in all disciplines but would like to have some constructive comments towards BE and SJ.

Just to make myself clear, I am looking for discussion rather than advice..
 
I work for an eventer who breeds and produces her own horses. They are lunged, long reined and sat on at 3 1/2, then turned away and at 4 start ridden work, hacking etc.

So a 3yr old that is lunging, longreining and doing a few hacks would be a bonus for us as it saves on the inital work, though they would be turned away when we bought it then brought back in to work as a 4 yr old. Providing the horse is well balanced and mature enough for the work it has done. But we wouldn't buy it if it wasn't.
 
Well I personally wouldnt look to be "fully" competing a 4 yr old anyway. Maybe one or two BYEH qualifiers for eventers, and very low level SJ. I brought my boy as a 3/rising 4 yr old, he had been sat on about 5 times,and was introduced to poles the day I went to look at him! He had been long reined, and thats it. He then spent 6mnths just hacking, with small amounts of schooling before he came into proper work. IMO, at that age, they just need life experience, so light hacking, learning what being a horse is about. Any more than that will shorten their working life IMO.
 
In the good old days you would expect a 3 year old to ave done a little, hacked around maybe popped a fence. As often as not they were out hunting as 4 year olds.
If someone else has ironed out the creases for me that would be fab. I would expect though to make an evaluation based on the horse as an individual. Some benefit from being left longer, my friend's 17hh 5yr old is really only just ready to start working properly and hasn't finished growing, I would be concerned had she done much as a 3 yr old.
 
I would expect a potential competition horse to have been backed and that's it at 3 years of age. I don't think a lot of horses are physically mature enough at this age to be doing a lot of schooling/jumping etc etc.

I have a 5 year old TBxWB and she was only backed last year for this reason, and is only now starting to be worked towards competing at dressage. I think it gives them time to mature to the work we require them to do.
 
There are some really good comments coming in on this one. With the bigger horses they will mature a little later than the littler horses/ponies. It is nice to see what a potential buyer would expect a horse of this age to of done before going out to view it.
In my view, if I was looking for one of this age I would want to see the basic understanding work done with a view of turning the horse away for 6mths ready to bring into work the coming winter ready for the new season.
What are people's thoughts on this? Are there people prepared to pay a good price for a horse that needs turning away once they have taken it home?
 
As an after thought... I remember at Carl Hester's demo he said that a young horse should be brought on slowly. He added that it is very rare that a horse that wins the young horse classes is seen further up the scale at a later age because they have done too much too soon. This has sort of stuck in my head...
 
No no not at all - I am not a dealer!! lol. I put a question onto here a couple of days ago about using a pessoa on a 3yr old and it sparked off some really contraversal conversations which made me feed quite mean about how I am training my 3yr old!! I am a private owner with young horse that is not my stamp and also worked out with pen & paper how much my horses and morgage are going to cost me and probably best selling my older youngster!! I am trying to get views of what people are wanting to see in a 3 yr old before/if I advisertise her ... just to clear that one up .. she is an absolute babe but I just wish house prices would stop going up!!

PS Hester and Paul Hayler are amazing... if you get chance to see a demo with Paul (Essex - Norton Heath or Towerlands) he will bring his 1, 2, 3 & 4+ yrs old in and demo how he trains each stage of his dressage horses .. great insight.
 
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As an after thought... I remember at Carl Hester's demo he said that a young horse should be brought on slowly. He added that it is very rare that a horse that wins the young horse classes is seen further up the scale at a later age because they have done too much too soon. This has sort of stuck in my head...

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I'm so pleased you just said that as sometimes I feel I should be out doing things with Axey and I really wanted to do the Shearwater and Rhinegold 4 yr old classes but only ended up doing 3 competitions all year
frown.gif


Sam x
 
I have bought and sold quite a few youngsters in recent years. My firts horse was a 2yo colt who measured approx 16.3hh when i sold him in the spring of his 3yo yr. In the six months i had him, he was gelded and when i sold him in the march of that year, he was just backed and starting under saddle on the lunge(2 days). The plan was to get him trotting under saddle and walking out the roads in company and then turn him out in April ( i was sitting my leaving) til the following December.
I bought a 3yo TB filly this June and turned her out until i arrivd home from the states in mid september. A friend of mine started lunging and long reining her 2 weeks before i came home, we then broke her and had her trotting in the arena on her own before turning her out in October. I sold her a week before christmas and shes starting work on the gallops by the end of this month. She wont run much til the autumn though. I think they are considering a bumper in late spring if she ready for it.
I like to back them in the summer and get them trotting under saddle, possibly cantering in the open field as its easier to get them cantering in the enclosed school afterwards. Then turnout at the end of the summer and ring in around christmas with the aim of first competition in Feb or Mrach. Theyd probably get a break around the start of summer - may/june and then come in to prepare for the pinacle of 4yo jumping classes, the millstreet discovery - unfortunately iv never actually managed to keep mine long enough, they always seem to get sold with the ride in the preceeding month or so! They would ( if i still had them!) then be turned out in early september til the following chrstmas.
 
I was a bit like that myself about getting out competing (especially with my foalie once it is ready) but then when I heard this from Carl it really made me think! I know I will not be out doing the young classes with my foalie, and I think it has done Grace the world of good not being made to work until she is physically ready. Now I can start her education and continue without worrying about whether or not she is ready for it.
 
There are many trainers/competitors out there that are not 'pet' owners - the horses are competed and are expected to deliver a result .. mares are generally competed and peaked very early on so that they can become proven broodmares to breed from ... same with some stallions, they are proven very early on and then sent to stud...
What are the comments on this, has anyone had experience of these types of yards?
 
With the 3yrold we like to start a little lunging and long reining in the spring/summer, then back them in the autumn and hack them out. Hacking is the key at this stage as it gets them out and about it will stand to all horses (no matter the discipline). Some if they are well developed may do hound exercise. If not they are let out for 3-4 weeks. Then brought in around Christmas/ new Year with more hacking and introduced to jumping. Expect by March to have 4yr old out a very low level dressage/jumping. Not concerned about results just as long as they behave.

The amount of work you can do with youngsters will depend on a number of things and each horse is different. Some professionals will do a lot more in a short space of time with young horses as they are selling them on and thats how they make a profit. Whilst amateurs (who maybe work full time) will take longer to produce horses.
Good luck and enjoy bringing on your youngsters, I love doing it and at the minute have a 2 yr old who is 16hh already, so we have decided to do some hndling with him and small aount of very light lunge work, before he starts to et even stronger and bigger. Fingers crossed he will make a nice eventer (but he could be more a show horse)
 
yes, the bigger ones do need something done with them before they get too big. My 2yr old at the moment is standing 16.3 and is too busy going upwards and not outwards .. my fingers are crossed that later this year he will start using some of his feed to fill out! He is being tied up, brushed, rugs changed twice daily and training him to wait before plowing into the feed-bowl! Just basics like this will help with the next stage of his growing up next year when a little light work on lunge/longreining is done.
 
I prefer to break horses in myself and then school them on. This way you dont have to undo anyone elses mistakes. The horse can then be schooled how you like it. I dont like to rush horses, I have seen to many people do too much too soon and ruin their horse. I will only do what I think the horse is capable of.
If you want to go out and compete straight away then dont buy a youngster.
 
Given the time of year, i.e, January are we talking rising 3 or rising 4, if I bought a rising 3 year old right now I would expect him to have done virtually nothing. Certainly not backed and ridden or lunged to any real level. If it was in the autumn then would be happy if he'd been lightly started over the summer.
 
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