What are your 4 year old doing?

[Rosiejazzandpia]

As in title really.
My four year old cob mare is sucessfully hacking out for short rides alone and in company now that we're at our lovely new yard. We had a short canter in company last night, our first time and I'm so impressed with her! She's going out 3 times a week, just hacking as we have no school but I'd love to know how this compares to other 4 year olds of HHO users

 

[spugs]

Mine is hacking alone and in company nicely and seems to take most things in her stride. We've cantered up a few hills which she really enjoys! Schooling we have a nice walk and trot with canter coming along and getting more balanced but needs work. She'd popped one tiny cross pole but I'm leaving that for now. We've been to a local show and went in inhand classes and the local dressage to do an intro test, she's been great at both but loading/travelling she needs more experience of which is hard with no transport. We also need to continue to develop our standing still at the mounting block skills!

 

[TGM]

Our 4yo was lightly backed at the end of last year and ridden for two weeks under saddle then turned away for the winter, then rebacked this spring, so has now done a total of 10 weeks under saddle. He hacks nicely alone and in company and is good in traffic including with tractors. Works sweetly in the school in all three paces and getting more and more consistent in the contact every day. He has a naturally balanced canter that makes life easier, although sometimes strikes off on the wrong lead on one rein. He works nicely over trotting poles and jumps small crosspoles, which he really seems to enjoy. He went to a couple of busy shows inhand last year and behaved very sensibly. He has been on two ridden outings this year - one with a companion to lthe local gallops where they hacked around together first, then he went round on his own. The other was on his own to a Pony Club dressage practice where he was very well behaved if a little tense to start! So far has been excellent to load, going straight on every time. He can be a little fidgety to mount, although again this is getting better day by day and yesterday he stood like a rock!

 

[TGM]

This is him last month at the gallops having a canter with his friend (he is on the right):

And this is him hacking around on his own:

 

[spacefaer]

I'm just helping a friend back her homebred 4 yr old. He was too weak last year so he'd had another year to mature - he's about 16.3, with soft, warmbloody joints.

He's done about 4 weeks so far - she is riding him loose in the school and field in walk and trot, and has been for a couple of hacks up the road. He's ready to get out of the school and go hacking - and he'll do that until the autumn.

She has done a lot of groundwork with him, and he has been away to stay at a couple of groundwork clinics. He's taken everything in his stride so far - we have done everything at his own speed.

The plan is to work him until the weather gets bad, then turn him away until the spring. Next year will be the beginning of his eventing career (hopefully!) He'll probably do some baby dressage tests this autumn, just to get him out and about. There's no pressure on him as she already has two competition horses, so has enough to do with them as well!

 

[amandaco2]

Mine is just backed, hacking out along and in company on quiet lanes in walk and trot, walking and trotting in field. I have no arena either! She's been sat on about 10 times so far

 

[TotalMadgeness]

My connemara gelding was backed in March and I bought him in May from a dealer. Just doing a bit of everything at the moment - long lining, flatwork, jump schooling and hacking with company. Started lessons on him last week too. Now hoping to take him to a local show in July and a local dressage comp in August. He's coping nicely with it all and seems very willing for his age!

 

[Beth206]

This thread makes me feel so much better about my mare :-D

She is still a little croup high and can be quite unbalanced, I don't have an arena but a reasonably flat field where I school her around twice a week. We walk, trot and do lots of big circles, serpentines and figures of eight - she is still too unbalanced to canter in the school.

We hack out in company once or twice a week and I hope in time we will be able to hack alone - we had a few incidents hacking out in winter which knocked my confidence. We walk, trot and have the occasional canter/gallop out hacking which she loves and gets very excited about - that much so last time we had a gallop she was so busy prancing around feeling all proud of herself she tripped over her feet and grazed both her knees!

She tires herself out reasonably quick so we school for 30-40 minutes and hack for no longer than an hour but I am trying to build up her stamina slowly.

She was shown in-hand last summer before I bought her and this is something I would love to continue but I am without transport at the moment.

 

[Lydiamae]

Ah I like this thread! I always feel like my boy is behind but he seems to be just fine!

He walks and trots well in the school, however rushes. His canter is balancing but only gets his leads correct 50% of the time. He is worked 3/4 times a week with a combination of lunging with and without pessoa, hacking, free schooling over small cross pole and schooling in the manage.

He does lots of inhand showing, we are usually out once or twice a month with him, and he has his first county level in a couple of weeks. He did one walk-trot dressage test in March which we were rubbish at but enjoyed never the less.

I am trying to build his muscle correctly at the moment and develop his top line. Its all quite tricky when 31weeks pregnant, but hopefully after September I can crack on with him and prepare for ridden showing next spring

 

[Rosiejazzandpia]

Lovely to know I'm not as far behind with my cob as I thought! Although she came to me backed we spent a good two months undoing previous mistakes in order to get her accepting tack. Lucky for me we have progressed, and she stands to be mounted beautifully which is always a bonus.
Lovely to see everyone else's horses as all horses at my yard are older so I have nobody to compare my mare to

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Faffing around in a field with the Welsh cob due to lack of time to break him. But that will all change next week.

 

[JJS]

Mine is raising her baby BOGOF! Before that, we were at a similar level to most of the rest of you. She was hacking out nicely in company, although we did have a few confidence issues revolving around going alone, and could walk, trot, and canter well both in the school and out and about. She did have the occasional nap, but we were working on that and had pretty much ironed it out. Hopefully once her filly is weaned we can pick up where we left off without having regressed too much in the interim.

Pre-baby

https://instagram.com/p/BJVtAJ3ARgI/

https://instagram.com/p/BRgnGsLgkla/

Now

https://instagram.com/p/BV2poxmAHvM/

I was another who worried that we weren't quite as advanced as we should have been, but it seems that we were actually progressing in line with most others

 

[Rosiejazzandpia]

Mine is raising her baby BOGOF! Before that, we were at a similar level to most of the rest of you. She was hacking out nicely in company, although we did have a few confidence issues revolving around going alone, and could walk, trot, and canter well both in the school and out and about. She did have the occasional nap, but we were working on that and had pretty much ironed it out. Hopefully once her filly is weaned we can pick up where we left off without having regressed too much in the interim.

Pre-baby

https://instagram.com/p/BJVtAJ3ARgI/

https://instagram.com/p/BRgnGsLgkla/

Now

https://instagram.com/p/BV2poxmAHvM/

I was another who worried that we weren't quite as advanced as we should have been, but it seems that we were actually progressing in line with most others

That's perfect, foaly is adorable

 

[JJS]

That's perfect, foaly is adorable

Thank you!

 

[Spottyappy]

Faffing around in a field with the Welsh cob due to lack of time to break him. But that will all change next week.

Mine is the same.
He's still quite an immature Welsh cob, so am possibly going to continue faffing and break to rider next year unless he matures more later in the summer.

 

[millitiger]

Hacking twice a week in company for about 40 minutes.

And that's it!
He's quite big and doesn't need to go in the school yet so we will just up the hacking as he gets stronger.

 

[Northern]

My girl has just come in to work from a five week break! She's mostly hacking out (about 20 minutes) to build some muscles, and we've had a jump/dressage lesson the last few weeks. She's hacking alone nicely, I am trying to find some friends to give her some experience in a group. Shall see if I'm successful. I am aiming to school her once a week, just simple stuff to enable her to be a bit more supple and balanced. Canter only on hacks at the minute.

 

[JustMe22]

Mine is off the track so already fairly well developed in some ways but very behind in others! He's done a few Prelims with good scores and I'd like him to do a Novice at the end of the year when he's turning 5. He needs to work ideally 6 days a week to remain sane, so we do that.

Of those days, he hacks out 2-3 times a week, but can't manage a group canter yet without going a bit mad so it's generally an hour or so mostly in walk with a little bit of trot. Sometimes at weekends we'll do a longer hack.

Then he normally lunges once a week over trotting poles when I'm in a rush and because instructor has said he needs to build up muscle and this would be a good way to do it.

And then we school 2-3 times a week too, mostly dressage. He'll jump maybe once a fortnight in a group lesson at the yard over very small fences and tiny gymnastics, but there is generally quite a bit of flatwork first and then some hanging around as everyone takes their turn over the exercises etc and they're adjusted according to ability. I think the group lessons are great for him to get used to. We then have a private dressage lesson once a week.

 

[Rollin]

One of three pure bred Cleveland bay fillies, full sisters, bred here in France. All are March/April foals lightly backed at the end of their third year.

This four year old is at a 75cm SJ competition - but under French rules we can enter as a 'training' session so her results do not appear on her record. She will do two more 'training' SJ sessions this summer. In between we hack her out and she has schooling sessions. She is ridden 5days a week usually for only 20 mins.

 

[Rosiejazzandpia]

One of three pure bred Cleveland bay fillies, full sisters, bred here in France. All are March/April foals lightly backed at the end of their third year.

This four year old is at a 75cm SJ competition - but under French rules we can enter as a 'training' session so her results do not appear on her record. She will do two more 'training' SJ sessions this summer. In between we hack her out and she has schooling sessions. She is ridden 5days a week usually for only 20 mins.

Beautiful!

 

[Rosiejazzandpia]

Well after praising my little mare tonight she decided that hacking out with three others was far too much fun. Went to have a trot and ended up with 6 bucks and a lot of cantering. I surprised myself at keeping calm and in control, haven't sat through bucking for at least 5 years!
No harm done, saddle fitter is coming next week and vet/dentist the week after to see if anything needs tweaking or if the bucking was just pure brain overloading excitement.