What would you expect a 3yr old to do?

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TequilaMist

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Just as title asked as a novice to 3 yr olds .Would you expect them to be balanced on the bit( I mean properly not just looking pretty) ?Or just straight and foreward and listening?
See a lot of youngsters 3/4 yr old that are truly on the bit,balanced and always wonder if good for them at such a young age.
So what do you think a 3/4 yr old should be doing?
 
well my rising 4(may) isn't backed yet but will load , vet, dentist ,farrier, ties up, lives in or out,wear all tack/boots, walk on roads, has dome lots of in hand/ bombproofing work, lunges (not too often), long reins (needs some work)
 
oops...will be backed, hacked, walk and trot may-October then will turned away until march of year 5 when schooling etc will start. very slow over here I'm afraid!
 
For a 3yr old - nothing except being a horse and growing! They should of course have had all the basics of farrier/vet/load/tie up/manners/walking out, maybe a bit of long lining but certainly no lunging until 5 or 6, but other than that I don't agree with light backing until 4 when they are more mature and can physically take it without damaging their joints - some I've left till 5 as they just haven't been ready physically or mentally.
 
Mine has been tacked up and walked in hand - thats it

Even if he were broken in I wouldnt expect him to be using himself fully I would only be expecting him to be adjusting himself to a rider and doing some very basic transitions
 
Mines 4 as well before he was backed and just got that done when he had op for tear in stifle
so will be brought back after christmas and new year sometime so will be 5.
We are slow here too.
Just you see how well some are going and tbh wonder if I am just behind in the times as wouldn't have thought to get a youngster to be so rounded and working to that level at that age . As I said very little experience of 3 yr olds so maybe was always that way.We had heaps of 4 yr olds over the time and they never worked to that level when we bought them but they were cheaper end horses. And I always worked to the theory that didn't want them rushing up levels -that they paid their dues and learnt from the beginning.LOL Yes knew they were ponies/horses..
 
mine was backed at 3.5yr, ridden for 3 wks-walk trot canter in shcool and hacking, then turned away. she is coming back into work now at 5.5yr, she is hacking out has walked in and out of ditches and popped over some small branches when out, no school work as she has a tendency to be sluggish when bored.

i think the most important thing is to get them going forwards, encourage balance and rythym-once those 3 things are established the 'on the bit' roundness follows. if the rider has an established balanced seat its a natural progression.
 
For me each horse has to be treated as an individual and so much depends on temperment, type and maturity as 3 yo's can vary a lot and some won't be ready to back.

First and foremost if they are physically ready to do a little work I like them to *think* and work forward and don't ask for an outline just an acceptance of a light, consistent contact which often leads to them naturally coming into a baby long, low outline. IMO asking for an outline at this stage often causes some tension and often results in a lack of hind leg activity. Starting this way I think they are better equipped to progress on the following year when they have become stronger and more mature and come back into work after a winter off.
 
I know a 4yo (turned 4 in october) that hunts.. (I don't know much about hunting but heard her owner saying she was mastering with her?) But she's an absolute cow on the ground!
I think a 3yo should have only had someone sit on it then at 4 lightly backed, turned away until a 5yo to start properly.
 
I agree with all the above comments. a 3 yr old is only still a baby. my 2 are both 3 next year. hope to back the larger one in the autumn then turn away for the winter. the other will be left til he is 4. However I do expect them to lead well, tie up, be groomed etc etc.
 
I would expect the average, well grown 3 year old (rising 4 at this time of the year) to walk, trot and canter, be on the bit but not "raised" into an advanced frame. Why on earth would you not want a horse to be working in a balanced manner, at any age? Every unbalanced step is doing damage; that's why we want teach them to carry themselves, and a rider. The idea that your "balanced seat" will automatically result in the horse going correctly is fantasy; the best posture has to be taught to the horse.
 
By the time my girl was three she'd been broken to drive, trained during her 2yo summer and broken to ride in the early winter. Then at three she was in training to race from March - May, racing from June - September. Hardly did any ridden work (bar me taking her out whilst in training to give her something different to think about), so there's been plenty to work on this year (she's now four).

I think expectations vary depending on the purpose you keep the horse for, breed, rate of development etc. At three we expect our horses to be racing (some in their second season), and we identify stallions that produce late-developing offspring so that we can steer clear of them.
 
My lad was not backed till 4 as he needed time to grow and be strong enough as 17hh. Then he was turned away and brought back in Jan of his 5th year. So as a 4 year old never done much, some hacking and a little basic schooling.
 
When mine was 3 rising 4 I rode him doing simple walk trot and canter and let him hold himself.

Horse at 3
ozzy176.jpg


Horse at 4
Ozzyvideos004-1.jpg


he has recently got bigger and stronger but I dont have any recent flat photos
 
My boy was broken at just over 2 n half yrs old, he had been broken for 3 weeks when we bought him untried from Malvern Sales. I was 14 at the time and i hacked for HRS most days from the off - i am now 33 and he is nearly 22, still as strong as an ox, mind of a 2yr old and looks like a 10yr old !! :)
 
I tend to back horses very slowly (I.e I only do them 2-3 times a week 10min sessions with say 3 weeks in work then a few weeks off etc) but I do expect them to work in an outline straight away (only in the school though!) as I figure a horse can carry a person easier when rounded over their back rather than being hollow, it means the correct muscles are building right from the start and also I think it's harsh to say 'ok just slop along' and then 'you are now 4/5 so you now have to work in an outline' I think this would be more stressful for the horse mentally.
Age wise, I treat each horse as an individual. I had a 4 year old exmoor who was massively bum high so pretty much just hacked her and then gave her lots of weeks off (hacking was mostly to keep weight under control).
 
Cortez said:
I would expect the average, well grown 3 year old (rising 4 at this time of the year) to walk, trot and canter, be on the bit but not "raised" into an advanced frame.
Click to expand...

Agree completely (assuming he's backed - I've got 2 this age still in the field waiting a 'slot'.)

This one I'm very proud of - he's been under the rider for 3 weeks, still being ridden with 2nd rein on the cavesson. He's balanced, he's forward, and about as bomb proof as they come while they still have a pulse.

And he shouldn't really be alive - he was the worst mis-presentaton I've had to deliver - AND orphaned at 8 weeks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47Fpkda1Aj8
 
I wouldn't actually be bothered about whether it was broken at 3 tbh. If it was though, I would just expect a natural long & low baby outline & forwards paces.
Handling wise just leading, feet, grooming etc, but don't actually mind 3yr olds that have done nothing. In an ideal world correctly handled & started 3yr olds are great, but I'd pick one that's not even halter broke over an over produced, badly handled one anyday.
 
Well, mines 3 and a half now and he has just recently been on his first little hacks with another horse, having been lead out a couple of times in hand and I have lunged him for about 10 mins 3 or so times (more to just get him used to moving with tack on and going away from me as opposed to using me for 'safety').

He was /is ready though, he likes to do stuff but we are working on the basics - moving off the leg, steering, stopping etc. we have trotted twice and I was very surprised how balanced he was. He had balance issues and i have had to work on slowing his pace down so he doesn't get unbalanced. He is tonnes better but I won't ride him down steep hills as yet as it's a big ask. I wouldn't expect a 3 yo to be working in an outline but they should be working towards 3 balanced paces and maintaining a rhythm.
 
im glad its not just me who think people push young horses to much!

its most notable with big dressage/jumping yards or 'high class sales'......im sure you all have an idea on these......

irritates me when i see.... 4 years old, trained to medium, competeing novice/elementary.... and the horse is beening pulled in the mouth to keep it in an outline while being shoved down the long side in an 'expressive' trot

surely its very bad for the horse to be put in this 'position' (cos i highly doubt they can carry themselves) when so young.....it must be better to allow them to get stronger and older then they will be able to work for a longer life?
 
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