What do you do with your 1 year old?

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SamanthaG

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We had this on another forum and it was very interesting to see what everyone does and how differently people do things, some said they do nothing until they are 2 and others are lightly lunging so its almost one extreme to another.

Since we are considering a yearling I thought it would be nice to get an idea of what we are going to do so I can try and plan my days. Its been a long time sine I had a youngster, my last warmblood I raised is now 16 years old! I am sure things are done differently now.

So some tips would be wonderful
 
The last foal i raised is also 16 this year! things have changed alot or maybe its jsut we hear more opinions now we have the internet, with my foal who is a yearling this year, at the minute we are just doing basic manners, at 1 it will be walking in hand, voice commands but only in short bursts we will do some in hand shows as well. She may be bitted at 1 as shes v strong otherwise will leave till two. I dont do anything like lunging or proper work till 3, the only thing she will have done is wearing a bridle, and being led out to see traffic/the world and desensitising to scary things.
 
Absolutely nothing! Only an idiot would lunge a yearling! All my yearlings have learned to lead, have their feet picked out and are groomed, other than that they are allowed to be what they are - babies!

I dont lunge until they are three, to do it anytime before that is asking for damaged joints.
 
Yes I didn think lunging was taking things a bit too far and asking for trouble later on.

Apart from leading, catching, grooming, feet. What else do you get them used to? When do you start taking them to see traffic etc
 
PurplePickle said:
The last foal i raised is also 16 this year! things have changed alot or maybe its jsut we hear more opinions now we have the internet, with my foal who is a yearling this year, at the minute we are just doing basic manners, at 1 it will be walking in hand, voice commands but only in short bursts we will do some in hand shows as well. She may be bitted at 1 as shes v strong otherwise will leave till two. I dont do anything like lunging or proper work till 3, the only thing she will have done is wearing a bridle, and being led out to see traffic/the world and desensitising to scary things.
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Yes I think you are correct, when I had Minnie you tended to just hear the opinions of the yard you were at or your horsy friends and I had a book called foal to 5 years but apart from that didn’t get told much else. Cant now imagine being without the net lol
 
Once they are leading out confidently and you can move them sideways forwards backwards etc, you can start walking out on roads, short bursts and slowly building up the length of the walks, I would only do it a couple of times a week at that age.
 
Thanks, when you say a short bust how long approx?

We are lucky that the yard drive is next to a fairls busy road so, we will be able to be near the traffic but still safe behind a secure fence, so it will be ideal for getting them used to the noise at first
 
mine do very little but i do take them to one or two shows to get them use to the environment of a show. other than that out by day in by night in winter and out 24/7 summer
 
SamanthaG said:
Apart from leading, catching, grooming, feet. What else do you get them used to? When do you start taking them to see traffic etc
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Mine see traffic from the day they first go out. I purposely put them in paddocks beside the road, so they have normal traffic passing by but also HUGE farm machinery, and I mean HUGE, all that 30' across the road. There are always cars and trucks coming in and out of this place, I drive the quad in fields and up through the barn. My horses don't bat an eyelid.

I seem to do more with mine than a lot of people, but only for a bit each day, after that they STILL have 23.5 hours of their day out with their herd to be babies. I am hardly depriving them of their babyhood, or company.

One argument I often read against doing too much with youngsters is that it can make them bolshy...not quite sure how that works.:confused:

Mine don't EVER get fed by hand, they don't even KNOW how to eat from a hand. I don't have shy, or headshy colts, they are all polite and friendly and a pleasure to be around. They are all blanketed, have had a saddle on them, have been bitted, walked over poles (those would be the ones in the gateways) they tie, wash, load, back up, stand, get over, ground tie. Of course, I do choose to have an 'easy' breed here so that actually makes me a cheat.

Each to their own though, at the end of the day you have to work with the animal you have in front of you and go at their own pace.
 
I do nothing with mine whatsoever apart from when they are weaned a week in the box head collar on taught to lead and then left till their 3,4 and sometimes even 5 if i dont feel they have physically matured enough
 
emm0r said:
I do nothing with mine whatsoever apart from when they are weaned a week in the box head collar on taught to lead and then left till their 3,4 and sometimes even 5 if i dont feel they have physically matured enough
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Are they living out then 24/7. The yard we are at all have to be in at night in the winter, so would have to be lead in and out, the paddocks are a 15min round trip from the stables, on a grass track that leads through the individual paddocks.
 
My rising 2-year old is in every night in winter (yard rules), so every evening she is led in, tied up, feet washed (a work in progress but improving daily), feet picked, rug on/off, and then in the stable for the night. She leads alone or with my other horse with no bother, and will be bitted in Feb. She has also been out to shows, and sees the traffic on the yard without batting an eyelid. When I've had something like a plastic bag she has been allowed to explore it with my supervision (me holding it, her seeing if it's food) so they are no longer a problem. She is also now being led around both the indoor and outdoor school, and once she is bitted she will be taken for walks.
 
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