Turning away a youngster

[lucyjane96]

Hi all,

I have a 3 year old who i have broke through the summer. He's been lightly schooled and goes like a dream. My plan was to turn him away for the winter starting in october until february, which he was, but i have hopped on him a few times to have a small hack around the fields to look round as hes at a new yard.

He has been known to be a handful in the past for me but at the moment is being spot on (just not sure how long it will last!!). A few people have said to me that they wouldnt turn him away at all as he will be a sod to bring back into work. i have always been really set on turning horses away to mature but now people have got me thinking! he wasnt naughty to break in but he doesnt lunge and we dont have a school (which is just as well because he naps so i tend to school on hacks and in the field).

What are your thoughts? i am really torn on what to do now!

Thanks

 

[ladyt25]

To be honest, I think it depends entirely on the horse and your situation. I backed mine back in Jan time (he was 4 in May). I think I may have sat on him in Oct 2012 a bit and the intention was to have him out and about this year and then probably would have mainly turned him away a bit over winter other than the odd hack at the weekend as, like you we have no facilities and I work full time Mon-Fri.

However, it all sort of went wrong and I am in the situation where he won't feasibly be 're-started' until next spring as a rising 5 year old as an when I can get a saddle that fits him (ie doesn't pinch his spine!) and he doesn't flip out about it! I hope he won't have forgotten the basics as he was hacking out quite well prior to it all going wrong!

I don't think a bit of a pootle about at the weekends etc will do your horse any harm if he is physically and mentally ok with it. Mine was and is still growing and has still gone through bum high stages etc this year so maybe, in hindsight I should have waited until the summer/autumn this year before backing him due to his growing pattern.

 

[lucyjane96]

thanks ladyt25, i am glad you have said that because i wouldnt physically be able to ride him through the week and keep him in full time work, as i work full time and the nights are well and truly drawn in. So a potter around the fields on a saturday afternoon every now and then will suit him well i think, but with this weather we are expecting anyway circumstances may mean he doesnt get ridden for maybe a month, in that case what will be will be i guess.

 

[ladyt25]

I think (well, it's what I am having to do anyway) is not put pressure on yourself to achieve x, y and z by a certain time. When you don't have facilities the you have to just do what you can.

Mine would probably be doing the same if I had successfully backed him as I can only ride at the weekends anyway. As I see it, they are sort of 'turned away' if that's all they're doing. Our simply doing little reminders for them. I can't see it can be detrimental. Some people never turn theirs away, others always do. Each to their own!

 

[Clodagh]

People keep telling me I should keep mine up (he is 3 and lightly broken). I don't have the time or motivation to ride a young horse consistently so mine ios out in the field having a holiday. I will tell you in March if I regret it!

 

[Madali]

I have a 3 year welsh d who I backed this year. I am not going to turn her away as she is clever and sharp and won't benefit from this. I do not ride her for very long as I just want her to enjoy life and understand what is all about. I took her and did a little intro test last week( naughty I know) and I will do this maybe once a month and take her out for an hour or so with the local hunt in a months time. She is like a sponge at the moment so am making the most of this special time.