Training schedule for a 4 year old cob

[Zipzop]

Interested to hear how other people bring on their youngsters. I have a four year old, very immature looking cob who had been lightly lunged, tacked up and had someone sat on him before we got him.

When i say training, I don't mean intensive workouts, I mean what do you do each day, how many days a week, in hand/ridden, hacking out etc.

We also have a 3 year old who hasn't done anything yet, an insight into what you do with your 3 year olds would also be interesting.

Many thanks

 

[JFTDWS]

I have a four year old QHx, who was backed at the end of summer. She's working under saddle usually 3/4 times a week and being ponied out around the place a couple of times a week. I don't usually lunge her at all. On occasion I may work her through some in hand stuff if I have a reason to, but not routinely. She does basic schooling 1/2 times a week, and does "other" work 1/2 a week - basic polework / TREC obstacle work / polocrosse practice. She had her first outing to a TREC competition last weekend and has one planned to polocrosse training (in with the beginners!) after Christmas.

I would hack her rather than pony her, but I don't have anyone to hack with and I draw the line at serial hacking in this weather anyway! Basically she does about half an hour in the arena or an hour ponying out 5 or 6 days a week - which given that she spends the other 23-23.5 hours a day in the field isn't too bad.

 

[splash30]

My ridden cob (now 8, 9 in 2 weeks, where did those years go) was backed as a 4 year old, light hacking, light schooling - he could do 20 mins max attention span of a knat. And I took him to inhand shows for mileage. He was very poor when came over from Ireland. Now looks like a bullock.
I bought another 3 year old cob this year who is a late foal (Aug)who looks fugly, so bum high, weak and prob won't do anything until he is 5 or maybe a light backing end of 2018 the put away until 2019.
They are all different but depends on the brain, strength and ability. Just do what you think is right.

 

[TGM]

They are all different, but this is what we did with our now 4yo warmblood - bearing in mind daughter who is training him is away at uni for a good portion of the year.

THREE YEARS OLD
Introduction to saddle and bridle, lungeing and obedience to voice commands, leading out on foot and from another horse around quiet lanes, a couple of in hand shows, then end of the summer backing and then riding in walk and trot for two weeks including short hacks alone and in company. Then turned away for the winter.

FOUR YEARS OLD
Brought back into work at Easter - mixture of hacking and flat schooling in walk, trot and canter. Then turned away for a few weeks whilst daughter went back to uni for exams. Then restarted mid-May and worked four to five days a week - mix of hacking, schooling and introduction to jumping with a lesson once a week. Then as things progressed during the summer, more jumping, Pony Club rallies, first dressage competition, a couple of cross country schooling sessions. Then when daughter back at uni, OH took over and has hacked him about four times a week, alone and in company. Daughter has been back for a couple of weekends to school him and take him autumn hunting. Daughter due back in a couple of days and during Christmas break will do more schooling and jumping, take him to a PC rally and perhaps a couple of small competitions, weather permitting.

 

[spugs]

Mine came to me at 3 broken in and had been hacking solo and in company. She’s very mature both physically and mentally and has a lovely nature.

She was 4 during the summer and on a weekly basis we hack 3/4 times a week for up to a couple of hours alone and in company. I don’t really school very much as I dislike it but I’m planning on trying to once a week in the future.

We’re currently trying a little bit of everything, during the summer we did a bit of intro dressage and showing and since then we’ve been on a Pleasure ride and out hunting for the first time recently.

She boxes up every weekend to go to the beach/woods etc and I just get her out as much as possible to as many different places. It’s working well for us but as I said she’s very mature and level headed.

 

[tallyho!]

I backed mine at three. Took 4 weeks from saddle touching the back to rider able to stop, go, turn and bend. After that anther 4 weeks of light (I mean light - 30mins) hacking with company and then turned away for 4 months to grow and develop a bit more.

In her 4th year, took her in-hand to some shows after a month or two of light hacking again, in company and without. Started some basic in-hand but mainly focused on forward out on hacks. Winter roughed off and turned away again, again another 4 months.

Her 5th year more of the same, more shows. A bit of jumping, a bit of schooling but we had saddle issues which were resolved and some serious attitude this year to deal with! I have actually lost count of how many times I was jettisoned as a form of dismounting. Winter off again - clearly the girl had "growing pains".

Her 6th year she mellowed, more dressage and a bit more jumping - without fear of flamboyant dismounts I might add. Did a fun ride or two - short ones to start with and we got longer towards the autumn. More of the same stuff as last year and now she's back in the herd for the winter in the rolling hills.

I might actually work her one winter ... secretly, I've got used to this easy winter lifestyle though and it doesn't take much to get going again in spring. Who knows

 

[Tiddlypom]

I sent my homebred away to be started in the autumn of her 4th year. She'd had a couple of major seedy toe resections at ages 2 and 3, so I waited until that was all fully grown out before she went.

She did lots and lots of long lining first, as I was especially keen that she should be strengthened and straightened after her issues.

She was then backed and ridden away before coming home for a winter holiday.

She went back to the yard as a rising 5yo, and they carried on and introduced more flatwork and basic jumping, along with hacking two or three times a week. She did a few baby competitions, progressing to finishing clear XC at her first BE80 in the September, a year after she went to be backed.

She started 'proper' work this year as a 6yo, and is strengthening and improving all the time.

 

[scats]

Not had a 4 year old for a while but I backed mine in the February of his fourth year, he did a combination of long reining and light ridden work until the Easter and then he started hacking. He was hacking on his own pretty much straight away and hacked the whole of that summer, with perhaps one to two very light school sessions thrown in. By late summer he was doing poles and small fences. He had a bit of time off the following winter and then picked him back up as a five year old and cracked on from there.

 

[Cortez]

If it's very weak and immature I might wait a bit before asking anything serious, but still work lightly on the basics. At rising five he's still a baby, but a bit of balancing and strengthening work would certainly help him to progress and be ready for proper grown up work in a year or so. Just leaving them to "mature" in a field won't be strengthening bones and ligaments, nor helping with building muscles in the right places as much as progressive exercise.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Interested to hear how other people bring on their youngsters. I have a four year old, very immature looking cob who had been lightly lunged, tacked up and had someone sat on him before we got him.

When i say training, I don't mean intensive workouts, I mean what do you do each day, how many days a week, in hand/ridden, hacking out etc.

We also have a 3 year old who hasn't done anything yet, an insight into what you do with your 3 year olds would also be interesting.

Many thanks

I would turn away an immature 4 yr old, which has been backed, leave it to grow up physically and mentally. I wouldn't lunge immature joints but would handle everyday, maybe bringing in overnight depending on the yard routine, possibly long-reining or in-hand work in reasonable weather, especially on the road, to maintain familiarity with sights and sounds. I wouldn't do much at all in bad weather as I like to set my youngsters up to succeed.

ETA, I find that grazing on hillsides develops muscles, ligaments, balance etc.

 

[rara007]

Mine is more a pony and I’ve had him less than a week but his current plan is coming in once daily for a dry off (and some of his friends get hard feed). He’s expected to behave like an adult by now with regards to feet/manners and I don’t specifically do behaviour based stuff beyond consistent handling. I aim to work him about 3 times a week, if it was summer it would be 6 but time and weather is short in winter. Aiming to long rein approx once a week, drive out round the roads once or twice and either ride or driven school on the other day depending on how he develops. Currently working on rhythm and contact!

 

[tallyho!]

There is an article which is written by Dr Deb Bennet:
http://www.hoofrehab.com/ArticlesPDF/Timing and Rate of skeletal maturation in Horses.pdf

It's useful, but lots of people have different ideas. I agree with most of what she says and I don't feel like I've overdone it on my horse according to her article (although she was sat on by a light rider at 3.5yo (actual age, not the racehorse age)) and there has plenty of rest periods where the horse is not stabled and allowed to roam a large acreage (I know this is not standard and feel lucky to have this).

However, there are other studies (mainly thoroughbreds as they are abundant and there's lots of people willing to invest in such studies) that show free roaming and exercise does have a positive impact on bone density and tendon strength.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00547.x/full

I'm sure the truth is somewhere in between for each individual horse, and I'm sure most of us would agree that backing at around 4yo and commencing "proper" work at 5/6 is acceptable.

 

[OldieButGoodie]

My 4yo is being slowly brought back to work after several months off with a splint. Splint was possibly/probably caused by him being broken in at 3yo and ridden hard (elsewhere not by me I hasten to add). He's now grown/filled out and I've started leading in hand and long lining in walk. Yesterday I took him for a short walk along the road with his companion which he found very exciting (he's been very bored during his time off)! In the new year, after his back/teeth/legs have been checked by vet and he's had a couple of physio sessions, I'll start lunging him. Then I'll get the saddler out to check his saddle. If all goes well I'll start having lessons on him and hopefully get him out to a few local shows/dressage. Nothing major, just in hand/novice ridden showing and Intro level dressage.