What would you expect a 3/4 year old to be doing?

Surely it depends on the horse? Our foals born in France are more mature than same age born in the north of UK, mostly.

We like to back in the autumn of 3rd year and turn away. Just gentle work. BUT a home bred CB filly was ready to back during the summer of her third year, her full sister is so big and strong we may do a bit of work with her at the beginning of her third year. A 3 year old, British bred was 6 months less mature than our home bred.

Our Shagya stallion was not ready to jump at 4 years of age, his full sister is,

It just depends on the horse.
 
Mine was backed this spring at rising 3, continued her training after thru summer and has been working well in walk and trot in the school with the odd canter, which has been surprisingly well balanced and nice. I haven't attempted to jump yet in the school, however she has done raised poles, and seen fillers at the side of coloured poles as a course, and popped over a water tray (75cm wide) and a few logs out hacking up to about 18" or so. She has also completed an intro test (as ok'd by the organisers) at a low level RC, of which she won. We had comments about her head carriage being too high - she was spooky(!) but did go very well for her first time out.

Due to time restrictions now, she's being ridden once every 2-3 weeks, although that's been more due to my health and fatigue (long commute to work plus every bug under the sun being thrown at me!) but I plan to try ride her every weekend where possible and continue to get her hacking out in company and introduce solo hacking too once were hacking in company again. She's safe in w/t/c with another horse out hacking, either in front or behind, and will walk and trot alongside another horse.

As she's half cob, and her full brother didn't finish growing until he was 7, I'm wary about pushing for too much too soon as she isn't even 4 until may. She will begin dressage at bigger venues from January, providing I can put in the time to get her ready and fit (we don't have electric so the dark nights are very limiting as I don't get home til 6.30, and leave home at 6am for work).
 
Rollin said:
Surely it depends on the horse? Our foals born in France are more mature than same age born in the north of UK, mostly.

We like to back in the autumn of 3rd year and turn away. Just gentle work. BUT a home bred CB filly was ready to back during the summer of her third year, her full sister is so big and strong we may do a bit of work with her at the beginning of her third year. A 3 year old, British bred was 6 months less mature than our home bred.

Our Shagya stallion was not ready to jump at 4 years of age, his full sister is,

It just depends on the horse.
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Definitely agree with you. I think it's right to look at the horse in front of you and you just know if they are ready or not (racehorses excluded of course and people wonder why there are so many rejects).

I deliberated with my 3yo and decided at the last minute this autumn that she should be backed. It has suited her and she has turned out to be a very sensible sort - nothing like the little monster she was in the field. If she wasn't so bored (she has a herd upbringing on huge acreage) and causing so much trouble, I wouldn't have taken any notice and backed her as planned next year.

I will turn away as she is still young, she still needs time to mature. Probably not if she was backed at 4 or 5.

Paddi22... I don't know about the Irish way of backing and then hunting. I sit on the fence. Seen an equal amount of damaged horses and sensible ones.
 
depends on the horse both mentally and physically.

my mare was started at 3.5yrs, w/t/c in the grass school and w/t out hacking alone and with others, she saw traffic from tracks that ran alongside really busy roads (A12 included) but did not go on the roads-she was under saddle for 3 weeks. the idea was to turn her away for the winter but I feel over whilst walking the dogs and fractured two coccyx so was not comfortable enough to ride a youngster until she was almost 6-the lengthy break did her good and meant I could get on with getting her fit and crack on with the work
 
paddi22 said:
interesting discussion, nice to hear everyones opinions.

what's anyone's thoughts on the way we do it here in ireland in places, which is to back and send off hunting young?
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most of what I see from Ireland breaks or is broken, I am not talking just the cheaper end of the market either and I am a stickler for horses being fit before their work load increases.
I think the get them out doing attitude is good for some horses mentally but for me more of the ground work needs to be done so they are fit, also I don't understand why they cannot be left a bit longer before the whole process starts as I is very hard on a young body to go hunting
 
Goof will be 3 in 2015.

As long as he grows/matures a bit between now and then he will be lightly backed March/April time. But that will be mainly walk in-hand work to get him accepting the contact and *leg* and stretching. I will do minimal lunging as hate it, just enough to get him to w/t/c off a voice aid.

He'll do lots of de spooking work and general pottering in hand and with tack on, loads of leaning over etc so he's getting exposure without wear and tear. Loading practice ,trips out, will take him teaching with me to teach him to stand on the lorry quietly etc.

Then ill get on and get him w/t/c under saddle and then he'll go back out again until probably Sept when he will come in to *proper* work to prepare for 4yo classes in 2016.

If at any point he is still too gangly then we will just wait until he's filled out, nothing is set in stone but i dont want to leave him until he's a strapping 4yo stallion full of the joys before i get on!!!!!!
 
My pony was backed at 3 by previous owner, walked and trotted around the field, I got him at 3.5 and did a few hacks then chucked him in the field. Just before he was 4 (in May) I started hacking him a few times a month, and started a bit of schooling.

Now he's almost 4.5 and a young girl rides him twice a week hacking and has started some jumping with him, and I lunge probably once a week inbetween. He enjoys his work and never had any problems, we don't have a school so whenever the ground dries up he will start some proper schooling work :)
 
I think it very much depends on their attitude and temperament, probably more than their physical development.

Most 3yrs old are physically strong enough to be lightly backed (get used to tack, sat on, walked about and a little trotting maybe, plus going out inhand/ponied to see the world).

However plenty of horses are not mentally ready, and some need to be doing more than that already.

My now 4.5yr old was backed last summer at 3yrs old. Sat on and gently hacked basically. He NEEDED to be doing stuff. He was starting to injure himself in the field whilst hoonying about like a lunatic and becoming destructive (ripping rugs, destroying anything he could get his teeth onto. Even turned out 24/7 with firiends). He settled down, enjoyed his work and was chilled and relaxed in the field. He then stopped work because he was booted (not his fault this time) and within a couple of weeks he was bored bored bored and starting messing about and destroying things again. The work he was (and still is) doing isn't much but an hours hack or half hour in the school (mostly at walk) is enough to break up his day and put his excess energy to good use.
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
Goof will be 3 in 2015.

As long as he grows/matures a bit between now and then he will be lightly backed March/April time. But that will be mainly walk in-hand work to get him accepting the contact and *leg* and stretching. I will do minimal lunging as hate it, just enough to get him to w/t/c off a voice aid.

He'll do lots of de spooking work and general pottering in hand and with tack on, loads of leaning over etc so he's getting exposure without wear and tear. Loading practice ,trips out, will take him teaching with me to teach him to stand on the lorry quietly etc.

Then ill get on and get him w/t/c under saddle and then he'll go back out again until probably Sept when he will come in to *proper* work to prepare for 4yo classes in 2016.

If at any point he is still too gangly then we will just wait until he's filled out, nothing is set in stone but i dont want to leave him until he's a strapping 4yo stallion full of the joys before i get on!!!!!!
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Pretty much the track I am on with my 3 year old Logan, who turned 3 in May this year. Hes coping well with it all although he is a gelding. I am hoping to have him sat on before winter sets in - just enough to have him walk round with someone on his back then I will turn him away for rest of the winter and start some proper work with him in Spring 2015 and take it from there. :)
 
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