What fun stuff do you do with your youngsters?

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Blondie1

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Hi there,

As title really. My 4 year was backed 2months ago and we are progressing very well. When the dark nights set in when we can only work in the sand school after work i wanted some 'fun' stuff to do with my girly to stop her getting bored just schooling.

So wot 'fun' stuff do you guys do with your youngsters/newly backed babies?

Thanks
xxx
 
Hiya, I'm hoping to back my 3 year old over the winter, so at the moment I'm taking it slow and doing fun things with him such as going in the school and doing inhand and getting loads of obstacles out i.e. cones/ barrels/poles/ flags etc and getting him going over/ around different objects to get him youst to them. But you could easily do this ridden.

I'm also going to get some umberellas/ tarpaulin/ childrens pram and other scary objects out to get him youst to those aswell, but try to make it interesting rather than scary - so make it a bit of a game!

I'm also just starting to go out for walks in hand and just doing different things every other day. I only do short sessions with him so he doesnt get bored and it keeps him interested.
 
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Ben and I do the following, he is not backed so it is all on the ground:

He has a load of plastic barrels, cones, poles and an exercise ball (human type) in the sand school, we play with them, this last week we did jumping - the smallest of cross poles and free schooled over them in trot, he loves this. If you have an older wiser horse, it is also really good to pop the two of them in the school, the older one 'shows them the ropes'. Ben got loads of confidence from going in with a friends horse the other day and is noticably far more relaxed in the school since then. He also loves to pick his exercise ball up and carry it over the poles! Lol! :D:D when he gets bored of it, i kick it around and he runs up and bounces around it doing mini rears :D:D

We also do halt, walk on halt, back up, moving hind quarters from the ground, and lots of streeeeeetching games with treats.


Walking in hand around the yard and up the lane and down the bridle path.

For me I am to keep a lot of it very fun, but combining every 'game' we play with bombproofing and preparing him to be backed and ridden on in the future.
 
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domane said:
Two of mine aren't backed yet but yesterday we did this with the 2yo.... (vid)

Click to expand...



What a fantastic video and this is exactly what I plan to do with my foalie once shes a little bit bigger, will save so many scares later on in life! Lovely horse and so great to see someone handling a youngster and giving them a great education :D
 
loved Domane video, though I was not sure what he was going to do with the unicorn!!!!!!
OP add pole work if you can and hack at the weekend. If you can get her to a few dressage things she will find that exciting!!
 
Pole work - gets them used to coloured poles and also gives great fun going over them/slaloming in between them. Cones are great to introduce bending and for changing rein. Transitions to keep their attention and get them working forwards, spiralling in and out of circles to introduce moving away from the leg and again bending, keeping the circles relatively big and doing it in walk first though xx
 
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