Training plan for a newly broken 5yo?

FestiveFuzz

FestiveFuzz

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So assuming she passes the vetting on Friday, I will soon be the proud (and incredibly broke!) owner of a beautiful just turned 5yo 15.3hh Oldenburg mare. She was broken last summer and then turned away over winter as the breeder had too many horses and has since been slowly brought back into work this spring. This is the first time I've owned anything this young and green and I'm equal parts excited and terrified at having the opportunity to bring her on from the start and planning for her long term future.

I've made the decision to keep her on schooling livery at our yard for at least the next 6 months to ensure she's brought on correctly and I have the necessary help and support in place for when we hit the inevitable ups and downs that come with bringing on a youngster, but it would be great to hear from others how much work their 5yo's are currently in as I don't want to get it wrong?

At present the schooling package includes 3 days of schooling, 1 hack and 1 lunge session and on top of this I will be having a short weekly lesson on her, but already I'm worrying that's quite a lot of work for something that's only been back in work a few months. Am I being too precious?

I'm in absolutely no rush with her. My long term goal is to get her up to Elementary/Medium dressage and make sure she's just a nice, confident, well-rounded little mare. I have no plans to compete her this year, aside from maybe the odd Intro test to get her out and about and seeing the sights and sounds of somewhere unfamiliar but I'm kinda at a loss as to how much work she should be in as I don't want to push her too hard too soon.

Here's a slightly blurry token pic of the lovely girl in question (excuse my feet, the stirrups were too long and as I was just having a little play I didn't think to shorten them)

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Oooh, exciting and she looks lovely!

In terms of workload I'm a big fan of hacking for young/green horses. Can you arrange to swap one of the schooling days for hacking instead? So 2x schooling, 2x hack, and 1x lunge. And, if possible, the lunge too; but I'm probably in the minority in not lunging much when they're riding away well. I know this is probably not possible with a pro yard but would be nice if it is :). Will you be hacking her on the weekends at all?

As a 5yo last year mine was hacking 3-4x a week for up to 3 hours a time (mostly walk on roads with some short canters where the ground was soft enough) and schooling 2x a week for up to 30 minutes.
 
Little and often is what I do with youngsters, so I would rather they did something everyday for shorter periods.

I rarely lunge, so I would swap that day for another days hacking. I would also maybe use one of the schooling sessions for polework.

There is no right or wrong as long as you listen to your horse, keep everything interesting and stop before they get too tired - hope she passes the vetting and you have fun together this summer :)
 
Thanks guys, you're reiterating what I was thinking. I'm having a lesson with my YO tonight so will ask if the lunge or one schooling session can be swapped to hacking. I'm planning to hack her at weekends, but again, wasn't sure if working 6 days a week was too much.

In an ideal world I'll be able to swap one of their schooling sessions for an evening lesson so that weekends can be clear for hacking out as I feel it's important for her to get out and about and not just be stuck in the school the whole time.
 
Hack, hack and hack some more - nothing better for physical and mental development. I would only take her in the school once a week at least for the first month and hack the other 4/5 days.

Just to add I've just got a green 6 year old that had been out of work for 6 months. We've been hacking around 5 days a week and she's coming on great and the day we do go in the school she's got a better attitude towards work.
 
Agree with others see if you can switch a school to a hack. My 5yo does 5 or 6 days a week. Usually 2 hacks, 2 school, 1 jump and then a competition some weeks. I don't lunge mine as she is a spack on the lunge and so I don't feel it does her any good. I don't think the number of days is as important as the length of the sessions. I only school for 30-45mins, jumping is sometimes an hour, but that is with lots of breaks. Hacking can be a bit longer but are usually pretty relaxed.
I would try to get her out to more than a couple of intros though if you have transport. Doesn't have to be competitions, clinics, school hires with others or hacking in the box are all good experience.
 
That sounds like a good plan but agree with more hacking.

Are you considering any in-hand lessons? I have found these amazingly useful for lightness and response this year :). Something to do with her that isn't riding or lunging anyway.

I'm with muddy_grey, keep them short and sweet if on the flat. I rarely do more than 40mins. Jumping? errr... the mare is highly selective about jumps so I do those on the lunge! I hack for about an hour but occasionally 2.
 
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My 5yo has been riding away since she was broken at 4 and is regularly jumping and competing now so not in the same situation but my 4yo (this time) was broken over winter and I like to try do short bursts of work with him as much as possible, 6 days a week ideally. He has just started to jump so does bits of jumping, schooling & hacking all week. I like to drop the lunging completely if possible once they are riding as I feel they do more than enough with lines on in the breaking process but that's just me!

Good luck with her, she sounds fabulous :)
 
I have a filly that was backed late last summer and then wintered out. Started on her in March hacking out again showing her as much of the world as we could. She does 2 schooling sessions a week on grass as I think that teaches them far more than in a school, she has been in a couple of menages when we have hacked to them. She has been on the box 3 times and driven out somewhere, unloaded and hacked home and last night she did her very first intro test.

We plan to find more intro tests for her and a couple of local small hunter classes. Her flat work will continue but she is very quick to turn off in a school so we do it hacking or over fields. Mine is on the smart side and could be nappy so everything we do is made fun, kept short and well before her muscles ache. It is so easy to forget that even though they might look mature and strong they are not yet fully grown or anywhere near fit.

Good luck OP, she looks a lovely type.
 
I agree with all above - hacking hacking and more hacking. I have a rising 6 mare who was broken late and also has suffered some back problems due to ill fitting saddles. All I am doing for the next couple of months is hacking and Polework in the school. I've had her a month and already I can see the difference in her.

I personally think that you can learn a lot about each other hacking that you may not necessarily learn within the confines of a school.

I saw your previous post about her, and want to reiterate again, I think you'll have great fun with her. You have such a good support network as well, you'll be flying in no time :)
 
Thanks guys. I'm glad I wasn't too far off with what I'm planning to do with her. My aim is definitely to get her out hacking as much as possible as we have some lovely rides near us. I think it'll be weird initially as her schooling livery will mean most of her under saddle work will be done by the yard, but after seeing so many ruined horses whilst looking to buy I really want to ensure she has the best start to her education.
 
My 5yo works 5-6 days a week. I very rarely lunge, if I am going to do anything it would be long rein but that is only once a fortnight or so. I dont like the constant circles.
At the moment we are doing 3-4 hacks per week of minimum 1hr up to around 2hrs, 1-2 schooling sessions and have just introduced jumping so usually one of those sessions will include some small grids or similar.
She just hacked last year as a 4 year old, and is incredibly quick and willing to learn as things have been taken at her pace, I would think if she'd been on a regime similar to your OP she'd be rather fed up now, and not had the opportunity to see all the things she has seen on hacks.
 
samlf said:
My 5yo works 5-6 days a week. I very rarely lunge, if I am going to do anything it would be long rein but that is only once a fortnight or so. I dont like the constant circles.
At the moment we are doing 3-4 hacks per week of minimum 1hr up to around 2hrs, 1-2 schooling sessions and have just introduced jumping so usually one of those sessions will include some small grids or similar.
She just hacked last year as a 4 year old, and is incredibly quick and willing to learn as things have been taken at her pace, I would think if she'd been on a regime similar to your OP she'd be rather fed up now, and not had the opportunity to see all the things she has seen on hacks.
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Aside from the lunging I'm not seeing much difference in their regimes to be honest. She will be hacked out three times a week (twice by the yard & once by me), schooled twice (once by me & once by the yard) and then lunged by the yard once a week, although depending on how she goes we may drop the lunging all together and just add in another hack. Schooling sessions are kept brief and will include a potter down the lane to cool off. As stated before, we will only go at her pace and are happy to adjust things accordingly.
 
I would never think about doing that much schooling with a newly backed horse or one that's just starting out green. A horse needs to grow mentally, work things out and gain confidence. Not asking too much more of them. It also needs to have fun while being ridden. My horse trainer says only hacking for the first 6 month with our 3 1/2 year old. You could probably cut that down to 4 months with a 5 year old. But schooling to start off is a no, no. We do 6 months of fun hacking, then a season of hunting to build confidence and strength and then training begins :)
 
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Don't wish to hijack thread but quick question for those who have responded - how much do you do in the school before you start hacking? My recently backed 4yo is walking/trotting off lunge in the school and I want to start her hacking asap but concerned about how much 'precision control' should be established before venturing out. I have long reined round tracks and down the lane but she can be a tad sharp and it seems a big step to venture out of the safety and confines of the school!
 
5yr old cob came home Saturday from being broken. He will spend the next 6 weeks hacking in walk and eventually some trot once he is fitter.

After that he will hopefully do the odd schooling sessions and maybe join in with our RC training evenings once or twice a month - depending on work shifts.
 
Lulup said:
Don't wish to hijack thread but quick question for those who have responded - how much do you do in the school before you start hacking? My recently backed 4yo is walking/trotting off lunge in the school and I want to start her hacking asap but concerned about how much 'precision control' should be established before venturing out. I have long reined round tracks and down the lane but she can be a tad sharp and it seems a big step to venture out of the safety and confines of the school!
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I started hacking as soon as the basics were established e.g. walk. stop. turn. back. on rein and leg aids.

I am a firm believer in the "school" as being everytime you get on, no matter where you are. There is no reason why you can't practice stop and go out enjoying a hack. Or using turn on the fore or quarter to open a gate or close one.

I built my "precision" control mainly on hacks. We don't have a permanent school (in winter it magically morphs into a bog) so I do shoulder in, travers, renvers, quarter in all as I'm walking along. I can do half pass from one side of the lane to the other. We volte at crossings and in cul de sacs. Not all the time obviously! It is meant to be relaxing after all.

You make it normal by what you do. If you only do meaningful stuff in the arena and hold on for dear life out on a hack, what is the point. The whole point of these exercises is to make a safe horse. So go ahead, just get out there and enjoy what you can both do in a relaxed space. Why waste a good opportunity? :)
 
Lulup said:
Don't wish to hijack thread but quick question for those who have responded - how much do you do in the school before you start hacking? My recently backed 4yo is walking/trotting off lunge in the school and I want to start her hacking asap but concerned about how much 'precision control' should be established before venturing out. I have long reined round tracks and down the lane but she can be a tad sharp and it seems a big step to venture out of the safety and confines of the school!
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Pretty much as soon as the horse understands stop, start, turn.
However the hacking would be very much stage managed in the early days with very good nanny and nanny jockey, minimising traffic etc
 
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