What do you do with your youngster?

[Halfpass]

As I am sure you are all aware I have just bought a 2 1/2 year old. At the moment i'm teaching her to lead, tie up, pick up feet, be groomed etc etc and I just wondered what everyone else is up to with their youngsters and what age they are. It will hopefully give me an idea of what to do next as she has come on in leaps and bounds in just the week i've had her

 

[Theresa_F]

All are different and Chancer is my first and probably my last as I plan to keep him to the end of his days.

Chancer will be 21/2 in December.

He wears tack, long reins, works on a lunge - round the school rather than on a circle, loose schools. He does 3 and occasionally 4 sessions a week for no more than 20 minutes and our sessions normally do two things, ie 10 minutes in hand work and then 5 minutes on the lunge or 5 minutes in hand and then 10 minutes long reining.

I started this at 18 months and have taken nearly a year to get to this stage doing everything very slowly and carefully. I started him young as he was getting very bolshy and he seems to really enjoying his sessions and is a very well behaved youngster nearly all the time now.

He also goes to show, out on walks, led out off Cairo etc and I do like to expose him to life so he is desensitized to as much as possible and will hopefully end up bombproof. In the autumn we went out past the combines and tractors within a few feet - as Cairo is so steady, he didn't react at all.

I have just sat on him and am starting to back him - the plan is to do a little every other week to give him plenty of time to get used to things, taking four months to get him to the point of being able to hack out, rather than the conventional way of leaving it until they are older and backing and schooling in a few weeks. My plan is by March he will be able to go out on a short hack at a walk. Only very basic schooling at a walk, until he is 3.

Chancer is mature for his age and a steady breed, - gypsy cob. He has been checked out by my vet and physio who confirm he is physically ready to be backed.

Sorry to waffle, but hope this helps.

Hope you have as much fun as I am having with the little stinker - I don't regret buying him at all.

 

[4whitesocks]

would introduce stuff like plastic bags & scary objects so she gets used to them...considering all the talk on here against sedation for clipping I would start to desensitise....

 

[AmyMay]

Think Chancer is going to be the most fabulous little horse.

 

[Salcey]

Show her as much as possible so as Theresa_F says, they will then end up being well grounded desensitized youngsters

 

[filly190]

I would get her used to scary things, such as bags etc and lead her along the roads with an older horse if possible to get her used to traffic.

I have used a massarger on mine, so that when she is eventually clipped she's used to the noise and vibrations.

If you have a steady horse, you could even do a little ride and lead in the paddock.

Boxing and short journeys are good and you could teach her a little ring craft and maybe take her to a local show, in hand which educates them.

I am planning to take my yearling out and about next year so she can see as much as possible.

 

[Super_Kat]

Stick her in a field and look at her

She's totaly bombproof, loves people, absolute sweetie and takes everything in her stride so I don't feel the need to do muych with her at this point because she had so much done with her last year.

 

[Ginn]

I have done very similar things to theresa F with Tills:

I got her at 15 months and first thing she learn't was basic manners, to lead politely and to tie up (she was already happy having her feet etc fiddled with).I then introduced a simpple rubber snaffle. Last March I enlisted the help of a local instructor who will also take us both through to ridden work and she now does lots of inhand work including moving over, back etc and both longreins and lunges (though not on a circle - only around the schooling area). She walks and trots over and between poles, in and out of cones, over tarpaulin etc. She also happily works in a roller and has a saddle but has on walked around in it as it needs re-fitting. All sessions are kept short - usually 20 mins to half an hour and we always end on a positive note, keeping things varied so she doesn't get bored.

I have no transport so no shows

but the last few months I have started taking her out for walks, usually anything from 10 - 40 mins long and she has been brilliant, going past all sorts of scary things, in and out of puddles etc.

 

[juliehannah58]

My little girly is about 2yrs old now (not having bred her and no papers it's all guess work by her teeth). When we got her in Feb she was friendly but hadn't been taught anything, within a few days she was picking up all her feet and now she picks them up before you get there! She ties up, wears her bridle, has been lead out on the lanes to get used to traffic, been to 1 show and we practise her loading every week (she runs in there now and loves it!). She wears a lightweight half panel saddle lightly girthed and has done some long reining and I've sat on her twice now and just walked a few steps. She just takes everything in her stride and last night instead of trimming her beard I clipped it with full size clippers!! As I have made her watch me clip all my others many times she was no problems at all!

I try and do as much as I can with her just so she can experience life and then when it's time to back her hopefully it won't be a big deal at all. It helps that she is so laid back about everything! We plan to back her properly and have her hacking out a couple of times a week in Autumn 07, then rest for winter and coming back fro proper work in Spring 2008.

 

[ihatework]

Currently my 2 1/2 year old is in the field, gets a pat , some food and hay and that about it!
Over the summer he did some light longreining around the woods, wore a saddle and bridle and was handled everyday.
He's good to lead, farrier, rug etc.
Also took him to a couple of shows and he went straight into lorry and a trailer.
He lives by the edge of a motorway so is traffic proof and lives under an army flightpath so is helicopter proof too

 

[Christmas_Kate]

3yo, just moved to a new home so he's not one anything much recently (though we'll be doing some work if it stops raining today!!).
He has worn all tack, had rugs on, lunged, longreined, popped a small jump on lunge, seen traffic (is terrified of drains), been taught a few manners as part of a herd, and is currently on a farm /hunt yard, where he'll see lots going on. I plan to walk him out loads. He's been backed but as he's already done alot for his age I want to take things easy with him and leave him until next spring to bring on.

 

[bellaboo]

Only 6mths!!! Weaned, Picks up feet, loves being groomed, goes for little walks, and stands there and looks beautiful in the field! Want to show her in the spring, and am gonna get her used to as many different things as poss. Never too early to start!

 

[amandaco2]

7 months old now buts shes been at the point shes at now since she was about 5months old.
she leads, ties up, loves scritches, feet are fine with me and farrier,shes been led beside and in front of mum on quiet roads and is fine with cars and vans and skips, wears rugs, doesnt mind plastic,unbarellas,dogs,cats, walks and leads over plastic, trots in hand.shes been to one show and was very well behaved.shes been a horse box once and loaded fine that time and we do abit of practice when we can.she doesnt mind being touched anywhere and doesnt mind me putting my finger in the corner of her mouth.shes had clippers run over her and her ears trimmed (outer fluff only)shes also fine with girth pressure (i hug round her and put abit of pressure on her) and shes even fine to be sat on (when shes laying down i can sit on her obviously not applying much weight!)
shes just so well behaved!lol.its hard to remember how young she is.mum is more of a handful most of the time.sometimes i worry shes TOO quiet but then i see her in the field and shes a little live wire!lol.must be daddys excellent temperment in her.

 

[Tia]

By 2 and a half mine have been ridden out alone and in company for at least 6 months, are almost totally unflappable with anything that comes their way. Perfect with farrier, stand well for the vet. They may have seen cattle and gently worked them (depending on which horse I am talking about), they can trailer perfectly and generally are just good guys.

Depending on the horse again, but most of them have had all the groundwork done previously to them being ridden. Grooming, feet picking, leading out, tying up, bathing, getting used to clippers, rugged, leg wraps on, used to seeing weird things like umbrella's, tarpaulins, plastic bags etc, used to large trucks and tractors and all the haying machinery etc I have already done with them at months old rather than years old.

Sounds like you are doing just fine in the short time you have had her. Keep it up and you'll have a sweet horse under you.