When is the best time to back and break?

[Hanstag]

I'm going to view a 2 year old Arab x gelding this weekend who I am very keen on the idea of buying.

Now I have never bought an unbroken horse before and want to do right by him nice and slowly, spending a good couple of years bonding, handling and getting him experienced to new things before I consider getting him broken in - but I'm seeing a lot of different information around on when is the best time to back and break youngster - was just wondering what your experiences were? Thanks

 

[Suziq77]

IMO the autumn is a good time, provided you have a school and some quiet hacking for use over the winter, then you can do it gradually and turn away for a few weeks before bringing them back into work at the start of the spring when the weather improves.

It depends what you want to use the horse for and you also need to take account of its mental and physical maturity. Some horses take longer to mature physically, some seem to "need" to be doing something at a younger age. I wouldn't back anything before 3 although I'm aware some people like to start the larger more mature ones in the autumn of their 2 year old year (intro to tack, possibly working up to being sat on) before they fully fill out and find their strength.

Don't push for too much too fast and tailor your plan to the horse. Make sure you have experienced help, this is a very important phase for a youngster and if things start to go wrong you often only have one chance to put them right before it becomes a problem.

 

[Victoria25]

I bought my arab when she was about 3.5 years old - never had a saddle on - only been shown in hand ... I spent around 7 months bonding and doing lots of ground work with her and did everything by strong voice command (walk trot and even canter - yes canter!) ... then actually got on her when she was just over four ... x

 

[Jade&Syrah]

Every horse is different and they all mature differently. Some horses cope at being backed as 3year olds, others are too immature to even think about backing them. I know some horses who weren't backed until they were 5. Only you can decide when you know the horse well enough

x

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Mental maturity rates do alter horse to horse, however the skeleton matures at a consistent rate and the breed & gender of the horse do not matter. The final bones to stop growing are the vertebrae (spine) at approx 5 1/2 years old. This article is very interesting (sorry, to all those that have read it before).

http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

With my own horse (3 years old), she is learning to be lunged and starting to wear a saddle at the moment (very short sessions, not every day). I also lead her out down the lanes in hand. She will be backed at 4 years old and then lightly hacked with some basic schooling. I won't do anything too hard/demanding until she is 5+.