What level are your 5 year olds at?

3Beasties

3Beasties

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Just wondering what you are all up to with your 5 year olds? How often do you work them? How often do you compete?

I bought a 5 year old at couple of months ago, we're taking it very slowly after some initial issues but once we have built up more of a relationship and I have had her wonky bits straightened up I will start getting out and about a bit more.

I'm not in a major hurry with her, I am new to the whole competing and getting out and about thing so we can plod away and learn together at our own pace!
 
My 5 year old is worked 5/6 days out of 7 made up of a variety of lunge, school, hack, jump.
He gets competed (dressage mainly with a few SJ thrown in) normally every two three weeks but really depends on availability of comps and my time, this can include clincs too.
 
Mine hasn't done a huge amount this year due to moving house, getting married, honeymoon etc. But he's done a couple of local SJ, a Le Trec - he loved the endurance part was 20km and he came 2nd v.proud! Also had a go at a pairs HT. He is not very brave jumping so after Christmas that'll be another task of mine!

He hacks alone (very spooky) and in company, flatwork is very good now, very balanced in canter and doing nice lateral movements. Apart from that he has quite an easy life really! Next year I will be cracking on and want to start doing a bit of dressage and more XC schooling (oh yeah he did a bit of that at the beginning of the year, and beach ride....lol)
 
Field ornament at moment waiting to go to vets monday with suspensory ligament check and possible operation.:(ah well winter off and fresh start in spring hes worth it :D
 
Hi, I've had my 5 yr old since a a just broken 3 yr old. I think she is generally quite advanced for her age physically. She is worked 4-5 times a week - 2 schooling, 1 jumping, 1 hacking - at least thats the aim! I have recently stepped up her competing and she is jumping either once a week or once a fortnight. She is doing BN and Disco. I am going on holiday next week though so will give her a couple of weeks off to relax.

You are very right not to rush yourself. Its easy to get caught up in what other people are doing but as long as you are happy that your horse is progressing at the right rate then thats all that matters.
 
Supanova said:
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You are very right not to rush yourself. Its easy to get caught up in what other people are doing but as long as you are happy that your horse is progressing at the right rate then thats all that matters.
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I agree with this. It's very easy to get caught up when you see horses of the same age as yours jumping huge fences or working perfectly in the school but it all boils down to the individual horse! I get quite frustrated by Billy's silliness with jumping but I know it's because he's mentally not ready to take it up a level yet whereas others at 4yrs are more advanced than him in this area. All part of the joys of bringing up a baby :D
 
Mine doesn't get ridden as much as i'd like now the clocks have changed, but I do try to hack him two mornings a week and then have a lesson and compete at the weekend. He did some small hunter trials in the spring before being selected for the riding club quadrille team, which pretty much put an end to jumping over the summer. It did however improve his flatwork considerably and we affiliated BD in August and he did his first elementary a few weeks ago and won!
Hoping to spend the winter working on his jumping ready for some ODE in the spring, took him out to a clear round and he popped round the 2'3 sweetly which I was really pleased with as he hadn't seen a jump for about 4 months!
Going to a SJ comp on Sunday which will be his third ever jumping competition away from home so actually quite far behind when it comes to coloured poles.
 
We have had our Cult Hero boy about three weeks now and while I'm pleased that he has had an easy start to life and not been overdone or pressured it does mean we are working on some 4yo issues like straightness and encouraging a longer outline. He has his first proper away lesson on Monday night and then we'll be going to schooling competitions to let him see life. He learns quickly and so will develop quickly I think but we're in no hurry to go any faster than he can absorb. The plan is for him to event next season so it's the right time of year to be doing all this.
 
My 5 year old is schooling elem level dressage and competing novice.
I work him 5 times a week. School him 2-3 times for 40mins and hack him 2x a week. In the winter this involves going for Canters round a large field. Then the odd week I will lunge him or do pole work/ jump him.
 
Before Bee was broken, she was competing at prelim dressage and 65cm-70cm jumping, and schooling over 85cm ish. Lots of hacking though, and schooling twice a wekk, not intensively. She was only re-broken this summer though as she's an ex-racer... Al was aiming for 90cm eventing next year. Fingers crossed...
 
Ridden 6 times per week varying between flat work, poles and hacking.

Competing prelim BD, Novice unaff. Was ready to go BD novice then he hit the Kevins! So I'm spending some time working on basics!
 
Mine is finally growing up - taken most of the summer!. Will be doing his 3rd dressage on Sunday and was placed in his 2 prelims last time out. Seemed to have turned a corner with his jumping fillers. This has been a very long road so will not be competitively SJ till after Xmas but he is now jumping pretty happily and improves each time. Been out XC schooling which he loved and I will hunt him after Xmas. He now hacks solo as well, even looking after other babies which is a big step up as was sharp and spooky to begin with. He will be eventing next year, I hope to be able to start at 90 so fingers crossed!
 
Mine is very advanced for his age and has always found things very easy from day 1, and gets easily bored if not challenged! He was novice eventing (and winning) at the end of the season but is now turned away again for a few months. Was ridden 4-5 times a week and competed a couple of times a month but I tended to do a period of events and then give him a few weeks of nothing to chill. I think they are all very different and you have to work to your own horses needs, I have certainly not had a 5yr old going so far so quickly as this one before!
 
I don't currently have a five year old, but when I did I would expect them to start more consistant serious work, go to competitions on a regular basis (say twice a month over the summer) and begin to collect a little for short periods. They are still babies, but need to lay down the muscles and mental concentration for proper, grown up work.
 
Deseado said:
I don't currently have a five year old, but when I did I would expect them to start more consistant serious work, go to competitions on a regular basis (say twice a month over the summer) and begin to collect a little for short periods. They are still babies, but need to lay down the muscles and mental concentration for proper, grown up work.
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I wish! mine was backed and turned away as a 4 year old, then back into work after Xmas. He was going out on short accompanied hacks and could walk and trot in the school when I bought him in April. We really didn't get past base A for most of the summer and my initial plans of BYEH were shelved as he just wasn't mentally ready. Now he has suddenly clicked on and is going great guns but my summer was mainly spent hacking, and hacking, and hacking! NOT the season I had planned!
 
Mine has been competing (and winning) at BE90 this season.He has just had 3 weeks of hacking following the end of the event season, and had his first schooling session since eventing on Tuesday which went very well. Plan is to do some dressage and SJ over the winter, so that by the beginning of March we are doing consistently well at Novice BD dressage and SJ 1.05 BS tracks in preparation of moving up to BE100 early next season
 
With absolutely NO disrespect, have never seen people take things at such a snails pace like you chaps over in the UK. Everything seems to be turned away at the drop of a hat, people have conniptions if, god forbid, you ride a three year old, and horses are just about fit to do a walk-trot test at five. How are horses supposed to learn anything or build muscles and balance if they have no consistency or continuity. I've bred, broken and trained horses for 40+ years, havn't had horses break down or go catastrophically lame or crazy, and I would expect the average 5 year old to be capable of an Elementary level dressage test, with a year of competition experience at Prelim/Novice under it's belt.
 
Cortez said:
With absolutely NO disrespect, have never seen people take things at such a snails pace like you chaps over in the UK. Everything seems to be turned away at the drop of a hat, people have conniptions if, god forbid, you ride a three year old, and horses are just about fit to do a walk-trot test at five. How are horses supposed to learn anything or build muscles and balance if they have no consistency or continuity. I've bred, broken and trained horses for 40+ years, havn't had horses break down or go catastrophically lame or crazy, and I would expect the average 5 year old to be capable of an Elementary level dressage test, with a year of competition experience at Prelim/Novice under it's belt.
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God I wish. My four year old (who will be a five year old in six weeks in my eye) is hopelessly babyish.

She spent her entire third year being broken and having surgery! got her backed and then she was off again! Cow bag!
 
My 5yr old is worked 3/4 times a week & all he has done this year is hack & a little bit of jumping, so haven't done much although next year I plan to really crack on with him & get out & about. I am now working him couple of times a week on a pessoa, under physio instructions as he is very weak on his back end, so we just building him up. Can't wait to get him up & running as he is so much fun :)
 
Mine is on his end of season hols after doing 1x BE80, 3x BE90 and 4x BE100 this year. He is showjumping at Disco and aim is to move up to Newcomers before the start of next years eventing season (fingers crossed, we'll see!). Competed BD at Novice and did his first Ele (unaff) before going on his hols... now covered in mud and looking like a happy hairy oik! ;-)
 
Since MH hasn't posted herself...

Fitz has done 5yr old classes this yr and quite a few novices, q for winter regionals scoring up to 76% (proud auntie moment).

He's training medium and will do elem in the new year.
 
I agree with cortez. My previous horse at 5 was jumping newcomers. My current horse would have jumped the 4 year olds this year but was sore due to growing too fast so missed out. He has started back under saddlw recently and as soon as my menage is done next weeks had about 10 weeks to prepare for blue chip qualifiers! Not sure if he will do the 5 year olds due to his late start but I will see how he goes!
 
Cortez said:
With absolutely NO disrespect, have never seen people take things at such a snails pace like you chaps over in the UK. Everything seems to be turned away at the drop of a hat, people have conniptions if, god forbid, you ride a three year old, and horses are just about fit to do a walk-trot test at five. How are horses supposed to learn anything or build muscles and balance if they have no consistency or continuity. I've bred, broken and trained horses for 40+ years, havn't had horses break down or go catastrophically lame or crazy, and I would expect the average 5 year old to be capable of an Elementary level dressage test, with a year of competition experience at Prelim/Novice under it's belt.
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I am not particularly experienced in training young horses, but part of me agrees with this. I don't think horses should do too much before they are fully physically mature, but i don't get all this "turning away" lark. If the horse is only worked for an hour 5-6 times a week then how can that be too much for them? Yes its a good idea to give a week or two off occasionally, but i don't see the need for full months etc.
 
Isn't it each to his own?

There are those who are professional, semi-professional etc.; those who like myself are working full-time in jobs which are extremely long hours and the horse is more of a hobby.

That said, my boy turned 5 at end of July just a month after I bought him. He could go in straight lines and jump like a stag (i.e. launched himself from afar at speed). So to answer the question, we have gone back to basics over the last 4 months and worked on flatwork; poles; grids; a couple of xc schooling sessions and hacking. I can only hack one day a week at the weekend as have a lesson or clinic the other day and school during the week. So he gets worked 5 or 6 days a week.

We are planning on doing prelim dressage and some sj over the next month to build our confidence in each other and increase this to novice dressage to go BE in the spring.

However at a clinic 2 weeks ago with a well-known eventer, I was told "your horse will be 6 on 1st January". This is true, in theory, but so what. It's not going to change him or me!
 
by the end of a horses 5yo would expect it to do a neat leg yield and shoulder in, a baby half pass and pop a single, clean flying change each way on the aids.

clear medium trot and canter and played with a few half steps.

should be well capable of doing all but the hardest elems.
 
Supanova said:
I am not particularly experienced in training young horses, but part of me agrees with this. I don't think horses should do too much before they are fully physically mature, but i don't get all this "turning away" lark. If the horse is only worked for an hour 5-6 times a week then how can that be too much for them? Yes its a good idea to give a week or two off occasionally, but i don't see the need for full months etc.
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It depends entirely on the horse. Some will take six times a week as a four year old, some will have their brain utterly fried. Some will be well grown and be physically capable, some will need time to grow into themselves.

I think it's impossible to generalise in either direction really. Some really don't need turning away but some really benefit from it. To imply either is the better option is to miss the point entirely. Horses are all different and have different needs in terms of management.

ETS: what you expect probably also depends on what you do. PS would expect something totally different from me as I expect my horse to learn to jump, hack and XC school whereas she has a strong dressage bias. I have to split the learning my mare gets between multiple things, if you can focus on one discipline you will probably progress down that route faster. IYSWIM?
 
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Prince33Sp4rkle said:
by the end of a horses 5yo would expect it to do a neat leg yield and shoulder in, a baby half pass and pop a single, clean flying change each way on the aids.

clear medium trot and canter and played with a few half steps.

should be well capable of doing all but the hardest elems.
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Do you go from horses date of birth or the 1st January date? (if the former if gives me another 7 months or so!)
 
jesstickle said:
It depends entirely on the horse. Some will take six times a week as a four year old, some will have their brain utterly fried. Some will be well grown and be physically capable, some will need time to grow into themselves.

I think it's impossible to generalise in either direction really. Some really don't need turning away but some really benefit from it. To imply either is the better option is to miss the point entirely. Horses are all different and have different needs in terms of management.
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I don't in any way disagree with what you've said, but i think in the UK in the main most people think that horses should be turned away, so i think there is a generalisation in that direction, which may not necessariliy be right, or essential, for all horses.
 
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