what do u do with your 2yr olds ...........this?

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tinap

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Just reading some lovely fb posts from a girl I know about how her new horse is going fab, trotting over x poles, cantering in circles & on the lunge (all ridden). Thought I'd comment about how lovely he is & then read that it is 2yrs old!! Someone commented that they thought it was a bit young to be ridden to which she replied 'well its 3 in June!' - I've seen status about it being ridden for a good few months too.

I said I agreed about it being too young but its a lovely pony though.

Just had a lovely message about how I should keep the frig (but not that word!) out of her business & how Im not her friggin (again use your imagination on the real word) mother!

Wish I'd have kept my gob shut now but it really annoyed me!!!
 
That sounds like far too much at that age.
Schooling in circles and over poles is tough work and I do not think a rising 3year old should be doing that. My 2/3yr old is not yet backed and I certainly wont be doing this, she will start off with a little pootle/hack around the block for 20mins when I do start (potentially much later this year depending on how old she really is, not sure if she is 2 or 3 you see, different vets says different things). My point is, that is far too taxing for a very young and growing horse imo. I think it can be ok to long rein gently schooling at 2 but not riding a growing horse on tight circles etc
 
Oh, that's naughty! Its not open anyway :( she's just deleted me & I can't back on to see if I'm getting proper slagged off yet!!
 
Years ago we broke and rode a 2 yo chestnut mare because she was such a cowbag in the stable. She had been kept on a small allotment before we got her
Best thing we ever did as she went on to be a superstar
We we carefull not to over do the riding though
 
Sounds like an awful lot to be doing with such a baby. I have a real concern that someone I vaguely know is going to start breaking their youngster this summer.. she's a big strapping girl standing at nearly 16 hands, but the fact remains that she is only 2 (!!!) in June.. hmm.. hope to be proven wrong
 
I think its good that horses are long reining and being walked out (inhand) and experiencing new things from a young age. Maybe lightly backing the horse now wouldnt of been so bad but the horse is still developing and its not good for the horse physically to be doing this much esp circles etc. I had a companion pony who was only 4 years old as he had damaged his leg and was permenantly lame as he was backed at 2 and showjumping by the time he was 3 (not by me) apparently he enjoyed it lol. But perfect example how pushing them too far at a young age can leave lasting damage. Poor cracker was finished before he even got started. I hope this doesnt turn out to be the case for this horse.
 
I agree too much to soon. I sold a filly to a friend years ago (she bought it before mare was covered so I suppose more of a surrogacy?!). The filly was clydesdale x so pretty slow maturing (I broke her elder hald brother at 4 and turned away for 6 months). She started lunging her when she was 2, crosspoles etc, fed her stud mixes and high protein foods (against vets advice)to get her to grow faster and she had to be PTS at 3 :mad: She had grown too fast, her tendons and ligaments couldn't keep up with her bones and the workload put too much pressure on. The vet tried a few things but she could hardly walk at the end (after 3 months box rest with all sorts of treatments). I never spoke to the girl again as she assured me she new what she was doing before she bought foal, was at a very professional yard and never occured to me she would be so irresponsible.
 
our lad is a big youngster, 2 in may and standing at about 16.1. he will be left till he is 4 due to the fact he is so big and permanantly growing. his brother however was backed at 2! ( not by us btw..!)
pet hate is people backing early because 'its bug and will get to much for me unless i get on it now'. surely if the handling and ground work is all done properly it doesn't matter how bug or old the horse is when you sit in it?!
 
My youngster is 3 in May. when I bought her I intended to back her later in summer, but looking at her now, she is so immature physically that I have decided to leave it to the end of next summer when she is 4. But she has been taught to lunge (once a week for 10 mins and only in walk and trot), long reins from her headcollar, but my favourite is to just pop her headcollar on and take her on in hand hacks. She is very bold and whilst she would cope with backing mentally, physically it just isn't worth it. But I'm pretty sure that the groundwork will be so good by the time it comes to getting on that it will be very uneventful!
 
My two year old is backed and jumping :eek:







Well, my dog's sat on him, and he jumps out of the field :p
 
Great, safe in the knowledge that it will be useless by 5 then!

In some cases I think it's ok to 'back' something at late two-rising three, by that I mean, tack it up, sit on in, maybe walk three or four steps then get off.

I've had done two trad cobs, that follow that example, both very physically mature by rising three, so were backed. Then left until a little over 3 when we started to do a bit more.
My section D was the same actually, just backed at rising three.

I know of a race trainer, who has things in (non-tb) for breaking at two, I saw some of them in the stable, and they just look so baby ish, the facial expressions :(
 
This is my wedding present last year (20 years) from my hubby - he's a 2 year old Arab-Barb. The yard manager took one look at him and told me to throw him away for another year before he'd even touch him. I'm looking forward to seeing what he looks like this summer when I go back.
picture.php
 
My Two, Two year olds are currently in a field, looking like Muddy yetties, scoffing their faces with haylage having time of there lifes. Ill start mouthing one of them as he irish draft x and isgigantic and can be a bit silly so want to have control of him. but thats it till they are at least 3 and half when i will slowly start backing.

IMO Two is far to young.. there still babies, apart from all the damage happening it blows their brain!!!
 
Beautiful Millreef!!!

It made me really uncomfortable when I read what she had put which was why I had to say something, although I did try & do it in a non picking, have a go way. Obviously didn't work lol !
 
Tinap555 said:
It made me really uncomfortable when I read what she had put which was why I had to say something, although I did try & do it in a non picking, have a go way. Obviously didn't work lol !
Click to expand...

You don't come across as a nasty person so I think you probably hit a nerve there. Don't worry - stay off facebook and come here instead:D
 
My 3 year old is rising 4 and only now am I thinking we might bring him in and start the breaking process. He has been well handled andthen turned out with his granny to grow a bit more - last year he still looked such a baby. I won't be keeping him, but he is a fab youngster (biased, I know) and I want him to have the best start. :)
 
My now five year old was racing at two and then retired to me also at two. She had me sit on her with a saddle on twice a week for two minutes just to keep her under saddle, turned away that winter for four months until she turned three then same again for a few month then slow hacking for half hour. Still never been lunged now. Not a huge fan of it unless you need to do it for medical reasons or to be able to get on. Such a strenuous thing for a horse and way too much for a two yr old. Just in my opinion.
 
I've had similar disagreements with similar people on Facebook, the worst case being a rising TWO year old being XC schooled and "hopefully hunting by the following winter" aside from the fact they'd be laughed off the field it's just plain stupid. The fact their so defensive screams that they know it's wrong to me, just can't be bothered to wait i guess.
 
Here's an advert I saw on a popular horsey facebook page the other day:

"hi i have a 2yo clydesdale x cob roughly 14hh to make 15.1hh/15.2hh backed and very very well behaved lives in or out done pony club with previous owners good with other horses passported and microchipped i have had my 7 yr old nephew ride him on the roads, field and school 110% bombproof doesnt mind any farm machinery motorbikes busses lorries etc, all bay four black knees four white stockings lots of flowin mane tail and feather absoloutly beautifull"

I was absolutely astounded. My friend commented saying
"a two year old thats not already just been sat on, but has been backed, taken to pony club with PREVIOUS owners, ridden on the roads and schooled? clydesdales and cobs are both slow maturing breeds.. WOW is all i have to say, hope you don't expect him to last long poor lad.."

and was promptly told by the horse's owner to stay the EFF out of her business and then threatened her saying that my friend wouldn't last long if she made anymore comments like that! I couldn't believe it. My filly is 2 in June and I wouldn't dream of doing any sitting on her until she's at least 3 as she's still very babyish, as expected.
 
I wouldnt have thought Pony CLub would have allowed a member to ride a 2yr old at rallies, so dont know how true that would be anyway. Im way past PC age now so maybe things are different.
 
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