What are your rising 6 year olds doing?

KarlyHT

KarlyHT

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Hi all, I know lots of this has already been asked and I have read all the previous threads but some more advice wanted.

I have a 16.2 ISH, 5yo (6 mid April) who was brought up nicely, backed slowly, hunted twice (as they always seem to do in Ireland!) then came over to UK. She has since done team chase, xc schooling, dressage and some flat work schooling but from the feedback from my farrier and back specialists and numerous very well qualified instructors she has been pushed too far too young.

I have only had her for a month and have had her back sorted, teeth done, amazing remedial shoeing to sort her feet etc etc etc.

My question is... I am taking it slow... Very slow with her progress. Hacking twice a week involving hills, tracks and roads (normally around 45 minutes one session and 1.5-2 hours next session at only walk and trot, lungeing once a week in a Pessoa, and one schooling session for 30-45 minutes (normally a lesson with my instructor). She is turned out for at least 6+ hours per day and is stabled overnight. No jumping or exciting stuff till I am confident she is muscled and balanced enough.

Does that sound as though I am on the right track? Want to take it very slow but almost conscious of holding her back as she is a very talented mare with good breeding and lots of siblings who are competing at a high level!

Thanks for reading!!
 
Hi all, I know lots of this has already been asked and I have read all the previous threads but some more advice wanted. This is also in tack room but I very much would appreciate the opinion of people in competing and training as that is our ultimate aim to compete although at a fairly low level!

I have a 16.2 ISH, 5yo (6 mid April) who was brought up nicely, backed slowly, hunted twice (as they always seem to do in Ireland!) then came over to UK. She has since done team chase, xc schooling, dressage and some flat work schooling but from the feedback from my farrier and back specialists and numerous very well qualified instructors she has been pushed too far too young.

I have only had her for a month and have had her back sorted, teeth done, amazing remedial shoeing to sort her feet etc etc etc.

My question is... I am taking it slow... Very slow with her progress. Hacking twice a week involving hills, tracks and roads (normally around 45 minutes one session and 1.5-2 hours next session at only walk and trot, lungeing once a week in a Pessoa, and one schooling session for 30-45 minutes (normally a lesson with my instructor). She is turned out for at least 6+ hours per day and is stabled overnight. No jumping or exciting stuff till I am confident she is muscled and balanced enough.

Does that sound as though I am on the right track? Want to take it very slow but almost conscious of holding her back as she is a very talented mare with good breeding and lots of siblings who are competing at a high level!

Thanks for reading!!
 
I have a 7 year old warmblood gelding who I have brought on very slowly and will only be starting to compete "seriously" this year. He also has a lot of talent and very good bloodlines but I was very aware of the damage that can be done with pushing them too fast too soon particularly with his breed as they are known to be slow to mature and he's certainly been babyish until this year.

There's nothing wrong with taking it easy at this age. You've got years ahead of you with the horse to be out and about, don't feel like you have to do it all now! Don't forget that a horse's skeleton takes many years to mature and their brains can take even longer :D if you want a horse that will stand the test of time physically and mentally you're much better off listening to what the horse is telling you in term of readiness to move forward rather than other people's or your own expectations of the stage you should be at.

I've seen many horses broken down at the age of 8, 9 or 10 due to too much concussive exercise for example jumping at too young an age.
 
I dont have a 6 year old but my friends is jumping 1.10/1.20 + and on the sunshine tour at the moment. Its a class horses. I would expect a 6 year old to be jumping newcomers + really but I am a show jumper so I would! For one that hasnt started off show jumping I would still expect it to be able to go out and jump some BN and discos :)
 
Riding your horse twice a week, is not enough to build muscle and strength. You should be trying to ride it out at least 5 days out of 7 doing steady road work, hill work and some of that Pessoa stuff possibly one a week. You could substitute a hack with a day of the horse spending a couple of hours on a horse walker if you really had too (and had access to one)
Too much too young? Not always, and I have had some cracking Irish youngsters, that you keep going, but just cut down on the 'fun' a bit (hunting / team chasing) to get them a bit saner, if anything. The Irish are generally great horse people, and traditionally they work themselves and their horses hard from a relatively young age - not always damaging themselves or their steeds in the process! In the world of racing you had Red Rum who raced at 2, and then went on to win three Grand Nationals - please can everyone remember that most horses / ponies are really quite tough, and actually enjoy having their minds and their limbs stimulated as much as possible! It was not that long ago that a 14.2 cob, from the age of about 3-4 pulled a cart 5 days a week, went hunting on the Sat, and had Sunday off!
 
Great advice, thank you! Dressedkez she is ridden 3 x per week as a minimum (2 x hack and 1/2 times schooling). I do have a walker but she is not currently on it every day as worried this may be too much? Thoughts welcome!

I do want her to be a long term horse and not just a short competition Prospect so the responses are interesting. Reason why I wanted HHO advice!!
 
I have a rising 6 yr old 16.3 warmblood :) only had him 9 weeks!!! He is bred to sj and has done some BS with his breeder so jumping wise he is great, his flatwork is his main issue so we are working lots on this! He is ridden 5x a week alternating between schooling and hacking he has a dressage lesson once a week! I have competed him in sj and he did his first xc last week!! But his jumping is good :) i think it all depends on your horse as to how much you do with them, if she was pushed quite a bit as a baby it wont do her any harm to chill for a bit and let her figure things out! But at the same time if you feel she is muscled enough to jump then theres no reason why u cant jump her at home but only when you feel shes ready :) i hope you have lots of fun with her :)
 
I have a rising 6 year old TB who I am aiming at 95 cm eventing and the 5 year old young event horse class here. She gets worked most days but I don't ask too many questions of her as she does feel immature still.
 
If you're happy and your horse is happy your probably doing something right and as she's a long term horse you're probably better off taking it slower.

If she starts playing up or seems reluctant to work in the school then id recommend doing more in the school like trickier movements, the start of lateral work etc and build up from that. Also out hacking make sure you're doing lots of varied routes. I only say this because I have a lovely 6yo who has a very active mind and loves being challenged, when he had some time off he was a different pony and was much happier doing things.
 
I think every horse is different and you should do what you feel is right for your horse and you. I have one, now nearly 26, been sound all his life until pulling a tendon recently (jumped out of his grazing pen following colic surgery, then cahooned around the field like an idiot) who was very mature and was jumping Foxhunter by the time he was 6. Also have 3 of his nephews, one of which has been incredibly slow to mature. He is now rising 6, did a few shows last year and has had the winter off. Will be brought back into work very soon and am hoping he will have grown up! Just goes to show that even with similar breeding they can be very different.
 
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My 6 year old ISH had a slow start last year as had been backed and turned away at 3 then brought back in as a rising 5 year old and rebacked. Then I bought him! He (normally) works 5-6 times a week, did a few dressage competitions last year and lots of clinics. He hacked a lot as well last year as was green with a big G when he arrived. This year I am moving with my YO to a smaller yard with better facilities and he will be cracking on with the aim of BE90 poss 100 depending on how he goes. Last year he physically matured more than mentally. At one point he was going so well we were going to take him to BYEH but in our dummy run (so different yard, fillers, lots of horses) he had a meltdown so knocked that idea on the head. He has now been out a lot even if it is just a clinic so doesn't care about being in a different environment.
 
My rising 6yr old is in work 5/6days a week. hacking, flat and jump, Sometimes working twice a day. He is off to his second ridden show today for a bit of jumping at a local show.
 
My ID will be 6 at the end of June, he is worked 6 days per week doing a mix of hacking and schooling.

He is competing approx twice a month doing BD Prelim and Novice qualifiers....last year we got to Areas at prelim and recently did winter regionals too. My aim is to get to areas/regionals again.

At home he is starting to work on some of the elementary tests, but due to his size and breeding he needs more time to establish before I move him up.
 
I have a rising 6 y/o - currently worked 6 days a week, though mostly hacking.

We've done lots of hacking and hillwork, some schooling (currently looks quite weak), a small bit of baby SJ schooling, planning to get out XC this week and aiming for BE90 type events this Summer. We have yet to go to a competition though!
 
I have a 6 year old who doesn't turn 6 till may. I recently had a scare that he may have done his suspensory and on advice from the vet have really reduced the amount of schooling he does and the amount of repitition of movements.
He is welsh x appy and aimed at top level dressage. He is currently worked 5 times a week. 2x school for 30-40 mins with lots of walk breaks. He is schooling at elem level and dabbling with some of the medium level lateral work.
We are competing at novice and aiming to qualify for novice regionals.
The other 3x he is is hacked or lunged. The hacking involves 30-40 mins on roads with lots of trot work to keep his weight down and fitness up since he is a massive good doer.
Lunging is with bungee for 20mins and usually involves pole work.
 
That should be he hasn't done his suspensory but vet said out of all possible injuries, suspensory is most likely due to his shape.
Can't edit as on my phone :(
 
My KWPN turns 6 end of June. Aiming for him to be a ride and drive all rounder which he's making slow progress towards. Has done a couple of indoor driving ODEs and a fair bit of nov BD over the 2 seasons he's done though only one every few months. Schools at medium but we've gone right back to basics to make everything fun and correct. Just touching on jumping but neither of us find that easy, he was bred for it but I wasn't!
Worked about 6 times a week. Lunged a few times, driven a few times doing both schooling and the odd hack out and then ridden a few times, mainly schooling. He often gets worked 2X a day at the weekend but has days off in the week. He doesnt really hack as we only have road work and I dont like taking him without company but I don't have any. He's very physically immature looking and needs to grow into his 17hh frame but is actually stronger than he looks :)
 
Mine just turned six and he's hardly done anything! We are riding every day for between 20 mins and half an hour while he regains fitness after weeks of box rest following a cut fetlock. I am only walking and trotting. He's done very little before he came to me but as a result of lots of groundwork he has lovely self carriage. Aiming for canter in the next three months! We will build this up but he's the most immature six year old I've ever met, so I'm not worried, we have years to achieve what we want to and I'd rather take the time now to get it right at his pace.
 
My rising 6 y/o is slowly coming back into work after injuring herself, so aim to hack 4/5 times a week (or a light school if i dont have time) and lunge 1/2 times a week. Mostly walking with a few trot transitions at the minute, im just being careful due to the amount of time she had off and her leg, fortunately we have a giant hill that is very good for those muscles ;). My aim is just to get her back into full work and maybe do a prelim test by the end of the year :).

It wont do your horse any harm to slow down, it'll probably be good for her head as well as her body to have a break ;), especially after doing so much so young. I'd just increase hacking if you want her to muscle up more :)
 
It's reassuring to see what a difference there is between them all. Mine is probably somewhere in the middle - he can cope with decent length hacks, schools nicely in walk and trot with canter a work in progress, and we are jumping grids but only small. Popping logs in the wood, puddles and ditches and hope to do some small XC schooling soon. Progress has been hindered by struggles to get a saddle that fits.

I'm sure she'll tell you what she can cope with. If she seems happy, enjoys work and is keen then you're doing the right things. Personally I don't like too much pessoa work and lunging for a young horse, once a week max.
 
My rising 6 year old gets worked 5/6 days a week, hacks for 1 & 1/2 about 3 times a week schools 1/2 hr the other days mix of flat and jumping. Hes hunted a few times this winter and had weekly sj lesson until start of hunting season but hasnt been to a show as yet so hoping to get that addressed. Hes an ID and has grown about an inch this winter and really matured in his body losing quite a bit of weight so now looks just right. I will keep him but if I were thinking a short term competion prospect i think i would be cracking on now for sure.
 
My rising 6yo is schooling, hacking and jumping a small fence now and then. I would like him to still be fit, healthy and competing into his 20's so there's no rush for us. We might hit our prime at 15 rather than 8 but I can handle that :)
 
Ridden 6 days a week, occasionally twice a day, mix of hacking, schooling, small jumps. Schooling sessions are 45mins - 1hr, hacks are anywhere from 1hr upto 2.5hrs. First outing and show are next month :)
 
Exercised 6 days a week; mixture of hacking, schooling and lunging/long reining and the occasional some small jump too. He had his first outing at the weekend and we will be doing a sponsored ride next month. Also hoping to take him to a few shows over the summer.
 
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