What to do with a 4 year old? Ridden and ground work

Tiarella

Tiarella

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Hi, after my all round horse buying disasters, many viewings and many failed vettings, not knowing what I actually wanted, or what I wanted to do, I finally bought a 4 year old connie :) he is absolutely lovely, couple of minor leaping/bucking fits on the first couple of days, but really settled now and sooooo chilled!

He came over from Ireland in August and has done team chasing/hunting/sj until I bought him last week. I ideally want to keep him for life so at the moment I am backing off him and just keeping work quiet and minimal but still trying to teach him something/establish something each day.

We have done lots of inhand de spooking - so far he has accepted everything and isn't phased by anything at all, he just stands looking bored. Done some moving of the feet too and can now do turn on/about the forehand in hand.

Ridden work I am lungeing him for 10/15 mins before just to settle him(for my own sake, not his!) and then get on and do another 15 mins ridden in walk/trot at the moment, transitions, big loops/serpentines, turn on forehand.

I ideally want to hack him every day of the week but I work full time so limited to weekends this time of year and weekends so far the weather has been awful!

I am just after some ideas as to what I can do with him, how established your 4 year olds are, and what you are doing with them at the moment.

P.s. I haven't bought him to be a world beater, just a fun all round horse that I can do a bit of everything on at low levels.
 
he is just 4! Seems like he s already done a lot , so your regime is quite enough for him;physically he ll still need time to mature [ which is still 1-2 years off].
With our 4 year old ,we are riding amounts similar to you , and filly did her first Intro tests yesterday ;she s not yet ready or able to canter 20m circles.She is cantered online , and occasionally out hacking.We are actually doing slightly more than we d like, but she is weak in stifle s, and needs building up [vet advice] At 16.2 she is a big gangly girl , and strength will take time to acumulate.
As you are wanting an alreounder to keep forever , just carry on as you are , and allow him to have lots of downtime, turnout and R&R , as it sounds as if he s been worked quite hard before you bought him.
 
My two 4yo's have been ridden out all year. They're happily hacking around the roads with a range of riders, alone or in big groups. They're happy to have a huge blast in open country, and pull up calmly whenever, and have started popping small logs as and when we find them. One is also broken to drive, and getting on very well with it.

They are both entire, so this year has been about the basics of trust, ground manners, willing transitions, and working nicely alongside other horses. I want ponies who obey immediately because they are calm, confident and trusting, even with a child rider.

BUT I would not lunge or school them heavily at this age. Going around in circles on soft ground is just about the worst thing I can think of for a horse which is still growing.
 
Thank you both :) having come from a back ground where youngsters are backed at 2/3 and competed 3/4 doing elementary by 5 I feel like I'm taking things way too slowly, but he isn't a 6 figure dressage horse, just a dumpy connie :) yes he has done a lot in a short space of time - they sell well having seen the world so that's what dealers do to make a good profit.

He is a super good boy, and I just don't want him to break!!
 
Mine has been out hacking since spring - about 3/4 times a week over varied ground in w/t/c. We have been out to quite a few shows and he coped wonderfully, I think they see a lot out hacking and it's really useful.

Only been in the school about twice a month and only just now trying a bit of canter in there.

No lunge work :)
 
He sounds lovely, I do like connies.

Does sound like he's done a lot but it's nothing unusual and many lead sound happy lives - it's when the pressure to work is relentess that problems arise. A bit of hunting can do them good (a bit, by that I mean a few mornings) and it's not as if hunting is all flat out! Quite often its hang about here, hang about there - oh, off we go for a bit, shut a few gates, jump this twig. It's an education.

If you weren't happy with his education you wouldn't have bought him, would you?

My 4yo was backed a year ago, turned away over winter and we did no more than hack around the village and up the woods. We did try lessons but she just didn't have the strength so we worked on building that... in a very relaxed sort of way. 2-3x a week. Hack or mess about in the school (in-hand) work over cavaletti or crosspoles, that sort of thing) and she enjoys it.

Some horses are ready, some aren't.

Look at what you have and decide from there and most horses are quick to tell you if it isn't ready, and personally, I think it's good horsemanship not to push it. This winter, we'll probably do even less and I'm contemplating giving her another holiday...
 
Personally, I would turn him away over the winter and if I really wanted to "work" him, I would hack with a sensible companion at the weekends. I certainly wouldn't be lunging on a surface, if I wanted to keep the horse sound, long-term.
 
Interesting thread for me because I'm in the same position. Just bought a 4 year old sports horse who has done what I deem to be a lot - he's already been competing in eventing a few times which just seems too much to me. Like you, I want to keep him for life and have him as an all rounder.

So far I've ridden him in the school - max 20/30 minutes each time and mainly walk/trot transitions. Like you, I did start with lunging him before riding but have stopped doing that now, because I don't think it's good for him and now I'm used to him I'm happy to just get straight on. He's been out on a couple of hacks and proved himself to be very sane and well behaved. My plan for the rest of the winter is take him in the school a couple of times a week (max 30 minutes) - probably get some lessons on him and hack him out on short gentle hacks perhaps 3 times a week. Trying to keep him ticking over but not over doing it. I also work full time but quite often can spare an hour during the day to nip and see him but if I can't the yard where he is kept also has a horse walker so he can go on that occasionally as well just to try and keep things different.
 
If he were mine I would hack him at weekends and do in hand/straightness training type work in the week so that he starts to learn how to use his body but in a low impact way. I would then pick him up again in the spring.
 
I wouldn't lunge him. You're just going to get him fitter so any benefit in taking the edge off him now will soon be lost.

Ideally I would want to hack him regularly now, before he gets a lot stronger and more mature, so he gets used to things while you can still tire him out. You don't need to do loads just keep him ticking over.
 
If he's been out doing a bit then you shouldn't really have to do a lot in the way of de-spooking, etc: all that's been done for you already. He's rising five now, so ready to do a bit and will probably need to learn to go in a more organised way (flying around on the forehand is far worse than a little educated lunging). Hacking seems to be popular, but he'll most likely need to learn how to bend and carry himself and listen to your aids (we're generally not that great at all that fancy stuff over here in Ireland).
 
Thanks everyone for your replies, some great advice :)

I will stop with the lungeing now, I think it was just one of those 'in my head' things that would help stop him from acting up - not that he does anyway!

I've just come back from taking him on the roads for the first time with 2 sensible horses and he was super - wasn't bothered in the slightest by anything :)

he has been started really well and seems a level headed chilled chap taking everything in his stride.

I'm just struggling to think of more inhand games I can do with him?!
 
I have a pair of 4 year olds (4 in May and June 2015). They were both broken over the summer, one taking specialist breaking and the other I did myself. Both are growing again. The bigger one has done 3 baby dressage tests and travelled. The filly is hacking.

I work full time and although I do have some help with them, daylight and weather is now against me so they are living out and might be sat on at the weekends. I do think newly broken horses benefit from a little down time over winter and in the Spring they will be rising 5, more mature mentally and physically and there is lots to look forward to.

I know many people do a lot with 3/4 yr old horses, but my pair struggle to do an hour hack without getting tired and the gelding that has done the dressage tests slept all the next day. Maybe I am too easy on them !
 
Tiarella said:
Thanks everyone for your replies, some great advice :)

I will stop with the lungeing now, I think it was just one of those 'in my head' things that would help stop him from acting up - not that he does anyway!

I've just come back from taking him on the roads for the first time with 2 sensible horses and he was super - wasn't bothered in the slightest by anything :)

he has been started really well and seems a level headed chilled chap taking everything in his stride.

I'm just struggling to think of more inhand games I can do with him?!
Click to expand...

Loads you can do in hand... look up straightness training or look for in-hand stuff on amazon...

Lungeing in a 'run around in a circle on a rope' is definitely detrimental, however, it didn't start out that way... the art has been lost and it's not really looked on as right for people to recommend it online for young horses. If you wan't to do it and respect it's true purpose, I suggest you grab a few books... a good one to start with is "Correct Movement in Horses" by Klaus Schoneich. Whilst I lunge my youngster occasionally, it's best to do it knowing why...
 
my 4 year old is out in the field getting fat and hairy!

She was backed in May, just before we bought her, we then did a bit of schooling 1 dressage test, a riding camp and 2 mini hunter trials then she's been in the field since end of September. She's coming back in early December and i'll pick her back up quietly until the new year and see where it takes us.

I wouldn't worry about doing too much keep things quiet and pick up again in the new year - sounds like he's already done a lot this year so might appreciate some quiet time!
 
My lad has been hacking out mainly as don't have any facilities at home but we've gone in horsebox out to different things and get chance to ride in a school.

He is turned out 24/7 and I generally manage to ride him two or three times a week but varying what we do although it is mainly hacking but often box up somewhere new. The last couple of weekends we have been out and about taking advantage of local low keys training events at different venues - we done a little trec obstacle training (mainly in walk!) & couple of pole work lessons and working on getting the canter more forwards. We had a first pop over a low cross pole yesterday so just going to continue in the same vein as much as possible over the winter as time/weather allows.

It has also been very good experience for him to share a lesson with strange horses and get him used to them working in the same space and going at different paces and directions to him. He certainly has never felt tired during this at all.
 
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Hi guys :) just thought I'd look back at this post to refresh my memory.

Ive had 3 weeks off work so he has done 3/4 days a week of road work. He is absolutely brilliant - we have very heavy traffic incl artic lorries/car transporters/buses/tractors etc. Doesn't look at anything - such a confidence boost and feel like we've really clicked. Took him to a 50/60 clear round Monday which he popped round in trot - it was the first time I've took him out and ridden in an arena with other horses and then gone away from horses - just not bothered :)

Booked in for a w&t test on 23rd just to take him to a new place.

Very difficult to remember he is only 4 - he feels like a well established 10 year old!

Back to minimal work now I'm back at work on Monday and will pick up work in spring with a few fun rides.

Will post pics when he doesn't look like an over grown polar bear!
 
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