What do you do with your yearlings ?

[BBH]

Can anyone help me as to what a yearling should be able to cope with in terms of her development. So far we have happily covered,

Socialising with both horses and humans ( she was feral when we bought her )
Taking her out of the field on her own to groom without tantrums
Being lead,
Rugs being worn and changed
Legs / all over body cleaning and grooming
Sprays ( canter coat shine )
Picking out feet
Vet involvement ( micro chipping and jabs )
Getting her used to water on the floor ( she was precious when we got her home and wouldn't walk through puddles )
I've introduced her to traffic and have started walking her up and down the road ( we saw her first huge jcb this morning )

I've got my friend coming round later as she has a bicycle and can show her this ( I don't have a bike )

We are working on basic commands now ie stand, walk on etc whereby early on if I stopped so did she and know I am asking her to stop.

I do something learning wise for 10 mins a day and the rest of the time she is in the field with her pals.


I want her to be a well adjusted citizen and wondered if there is anything I am missing or what everyone else does.

xxx

 

[Maesfen]

What you've already done is absolutely adequate and far more than I would do with mine unless I wanted to show them. I honestly wouldn't do any more, she's only a baby and doesn't need to know more than basic handling IMV. She's had a good grounding, now I'd turn her away completely to grow and have fun; you can always do a few minutes with her the day the farrier does her feet just as a small reminder but they don't forget the basics.

 

[eggs]

I agree with MFH9. You have done good basic handling - in fact more than I do with my yearlings. I am still always amazed at how little, if anything, they forget when they have been turned away for a while.

 

[Faro]

Another one in agreement here with MFH9.

You're right to keep any learning sessions short, and even then they don't need to be every day. My yearlings were all handled daily simply for checking over, but anything "special" only ever happened on the occasional weekend - the occasional walk in hand up the track etc. It certainly wasn't done to any timetable. The most important lesson in a yearling's life (in fact a youngster of any age) is the lesson of simply "how to be a horse".

And again in agreement with MFH9 and Eggs - they don't forget!