Would you send a horse away to be broken in or

J

Jaffa

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 November 2010
Messages
121
Location
England
Visit site
Do it yourself with an instructor ? I have had him since he was a baby but down to time I think I'm going to struggle putting regular hours in to keep up the homework so to speak.

What would you do ?
 
We sent away- Al (rider) lacked both time and experience, and we felt the mare needed the foundations laying and the consolidating as well and as firmly as possible. It was exactly the right choice, and the mare came back full of confidence.
 
I don't have unbroken horses now when I did I started them off got them to the just off the lunge stage then sent them to a friend for a bit more plus riding away mine where home bred and itdid them good to go to a strange place and my friend was very good at riding away and they saw lots of farm traffic etc.
 
If you don't have a wealth of experience then why on earth would you expect to teach a horse how to do something you don't know how to do? If you are experienced, have successfully trained horses and have the time to do it, then that would be OK. It's what professionals are for, I would have thought?
 
If you don't the the time or the experience to do it yourself, even with help, then the best thing you can do for your horse is to send it to a recommended professional. Good luck!
 
I have a 4yo who has just restarted ground work to prepare for backing. I plan on backing her under the guidance of my trainer, but I have never started a horse entirely from scratch before (owned her since unhandled 2yo), so I have also put the money aside to send her away if she proves too sharp/ too much for me. She is an absolute sweetheart to own so hopefully we should be okay, but you never know until you try and whats most important to me is that she is started correctly not whether I get to do it myself or not. I also should have enough time for her as whilst I have another 2 in full work I have just finished Uni and taking the summer off in lieu of a gap year, though currently the weather is meaning I'm struggling to have a consistent training schedule with her, fingers crossed weather gets better! I think it may be a sticking point if you will struggle to put the time in consistently, but only you know how much time you can give him and what his temperament is like etc :).
 
I do mine myself (with assistance when required). I'm not a professional, but I'm fair, patient and experienced and not afraid to ask for help! I got my last mare from a well-handled but unstarted two year old to doing affiliated elementary dressage successfully before she retired with kissing spines. She was pretty well bombproof and would go anywhere and do anything, hack, hunt, jump, etc, so I don't think I did a bad job of it!

I'm currently backing her successor. She's a much trickier personality, so I did consider getting someone else to do it. But ultimately I've persevered and she's now done all the groundwork basics, hacked out in-hand and led from my other horse, had me sit on her a few times (without batting an eyelid) and we're about to start quietly hacking out under saddle.

Doing it around work doesn't give you the same time and consistency that is usually encouraged, but to be honest I haven't found that a problem. I actually find with Bug that doing something, then having a few days where she isn't working because I'm flat out myself gives her time to think and digest, and means she comes back into it the second time with a lot more confidence. It's been a slower process, because I do keep picking up and putting down with her, but I have a calm, keen, and respectful young horse (which is far cry from the stroppy demon, badly-handled, two year old diva I bought!), so I figure it's working!
 
Last edited:
Horses for courses, I used to break them all myself from showing in-hand to ridden showing, hunting etc. The last one I did most of it then got someone else to hack out with me for a bit, then we swapped over, then because of time constraints plus no manege, wet winter etc. I sent him down the road to my friend where he grew up and learned herd manners etc. So now I have a nice well rounded horse who anyone competent can ride, safe in traffic because I did all the long reining as a youngster, can go in a school with other horses because he got used to it at my friends yard. So it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other really, but if you confident and competent then I would say try with the instructor first and if you really haven't got the time/inclination send away for as long as you are comfortable with, but visit frequently and try to ride from there too.
 
I'm pondering the same - my last youngster (a lot of years ago) went to an experienced friend for about 6 weeks - backing, all fine. However another friend sent her youngster away and it didn't work out (youngster I believe was completely stressed out). I'm going to wait and see for another year and then make the decision but there are a lot of pros & cons for each option and I think it completely depends on the youngster & finding the right trainer if you do send away.
 
I have (sort of) backed mine myself. Owned him since he was 15mths and prior to that the only youngster I had was a 4yo already back and done quite a bit. However, we did partially back a younger horse a few years back.

To be honest mine was fairly straight forward and I had guidance from a trusted instructor to get the basics (ir groundwork etc) in place. I don't have all the time in the world as work full time and we have our own land without the luxury of an arena or even a flat, safe area to ride/lunge in. Therefore I used a couple of neighbouring livery yard's arena's when needed but most of my 'backing' was done out hacking with a steady 'nanny' horse (after having lead out and ridden put with a person with me).

Howevet, we have had some set backs when he lost it at a little show I took him to and then another shortly after and I ended up unable to ride for a good 3 weeks as a result as I injured myself (he bronced me off). However, I don't actually think this would have been any different had he been professionally broken as the incident happen because he lacked confidence it would seem in that environment - I had shown him in hand from the age of 2 so he had seen the showing 'world' as it were.

I am now working with an instructor again and, if I feel he needs it I may ask her to work him for a week or so just so he gets a bit of consistency to get over this issue.

However, I still think I would do it myself if I had to again. I have heard or known of too many horses who have been sent to so called professionals who have not done well as they have been asked too much too soon. I am in no particular rush and would just rather have a rounded horse at the end of it so, if we have to go back a few steps then we will. At least I know I am not having to sort out issues caused by someone else!
 
Ive sent mine away, and its really working for both of us. Harry is doing really well, hes happy and gaining in confidence. He's getting the best start possible, and will stay where he is until his trainer is confident i can do him justice.
 
My nearly four year old has just come back from being backed, and I am over the moon with the whole experience. I've owned him since a weanling, he is a laid back horse and a bit of a worrier - I sent him away because I wanted him to have the best start for him and knew I wouldn't have the time or experience. I dithered for a while on who to send him to but the young event rider I chose was recommended by a couple of people, and also I'd been delivering feed to her for over a year and liked what I saw, a busy, workmanlike but calm atmosphere. She kept me up to date, I could visit when I wanted to and at five weeks I went and rode out Tinner, and didn't stop grinning for day! He was there for eight weeks in total, and I rode him out seven times - with one other, a group of horses, on our own, and finally to canter through the bluebell woods on him. He's now back home and the work she put in is really paying off and I've had a follow up call from her, and the reassurance that she'll come out if I have any problems.
 
I sent mine to a professional who could commit more time on a daily basis to be consistent with my mare. I made sure I was able to visit and be invovled wherever possible though.

If you have the time and a trainer who can spend time with you both I imagine it is perfectly possible to do it yourself
 
Thanks very much for replies. Sadly I think with work and family time is going to be a struggle. I can do so much myself (am experienced and confident enough) but I think the wisest thing to do is send him away. They can put more miles on the clock in 5 weeks than I could in the entire summer.

He lunges already and long reins happily, in hand hacks we do each weekend.

So he'll go to school in the next month :)
 
I had the best of both worlds - I sent us both away. That way I knew exactly what he had and hadn't learnt, and my horsemanship got a big brush up too. The lady I went to did as much work with me as she did Wolf, and she got me working with and riding other youngsters while I was there so that I could get myself back in the 'babyhorse' mindset when we got home.
 
We've started doing our own, but only Highland ponies which probably don't count!

Frankly, starting them from the ground is what I enjoy about horses and having trained other species I understand the nuts and bolts of training and animal behaviour. Once they get a good foundation from the ground (to coin a phrase!), backing should not be such a big deal.

I've found there are knowledgeable experienced people out there who are happy to manage a couple of afternoons a week, enjoy working with horses, but can't take on a full time job because of kids and other commitments.

My first helper last year was ex-racing yard, show jumping, and x-c. She was a single mum with a complicated life, so horses were a relief. The latest is similar, without the complications and has a background in show jumping. Both found my Highlands easy going.

I haven't worked out the costs but I suspect this is also a cheap way of getting yoiungsters started. Both are now hacking out, one ridden by my regular and the other ridden by someone found through a local free ads paper.

Of course, you have to be careful who you trust your youngsters too but I think I know enough to make a judgement. That includes knowing that at over 70 it is probably not a good idea to do the backing myself! Anyway, I enjoy the company and the chat....and it seems to be a system that's working.

First day hacking out, first trip to the beach.... 3.5yo and 3yo.

 
Jaffa, I wouldn't worry about getting much done in a short time- if you spend the whole summer in bits and pieces, the end result will be the same but the horse has had much more time to process the whole thing.

My four year old (who is in the back of the box on his way to his first training weekend under harness ATM!) was my first homebred end-to-end project. Like others, I've dipped in and out of youngsters but never had a chance to do it all myself. I've backed, ridden away and handled youngsters but when I bred my 4yo, I put a plan in place before birth- he was always meant as a replacement for his mum so he will be with me for life... And any niggles that he has are purely my fault. So. The plan was to do some in hand work and a bit of showing til he was four, break him to drive then break him to ride at five- both professionally. It didn't really work that way! He is in with an older herd and was very playful as a three year old- doing a bit of work kept his brain ticking over and gave the others a break. So he was backed at three, and sat on or longreined no more than once a week. If we went showing, we did that instead, not as well as. The result has been a steady four year old, who I can leave for days or weeks without riding and know that I can hack him out at walk on a long rein when I do get back on him and be totally safe. He doesn't hot up, and I can trust him implicitly! However, for driving, I sent him away to a pro- I'm not experienced enough, and as others have said it does them good to go somewhere else and see life a bit. He coped fine, on the face of it, was there for 7 weeks as I wanted him schooling a little while he was there. He has had a little wobble (bucking...!) after he came home which I suspect was just a brain/processing niggle as I've dropped him back to three/four times a week and he's settled back down and stopped. as I'm in no rush with him, and don't intend to be competitive really until he's 6 or so, taking my time and ending up with the right result is fine by me ;)

All in all, a long and rambling way of saying- a bit of time between sessions won't do him any harm at all and allow him time to process, rather than going from doing nothing to being worked 6 days a week- good luck though! X
 
I did mine myself and I loved every minute of it. I've been involved in backing youngsters before but never done the whole process on my own before. So far so good, no real mishaps although its probably taken me a good while longer than if I sent him away. I have been having regular sessions with a sympathetic trainer who has helped me through some of the more awkward bits.

It does help that my youngster is super calm (most of the time).

Why not use a professional? Well two main reasons for me, most importantly I really wanted to do it myself and increase my knowledge and experience. It has been very rewarding, so much so that I might buy another baby next year so I can do it all again. Secondly, I am very wary of so called professionals in my neck of the woods. Friends of mine have now sent their 4 yr old to 3 different 'professionals' but they are still having problems riding away as pro no, 1 rushed her so much. I think in this case I made the right decision!
 
I think it depends on your experience. I will do my 2yo KWPN myself.

A friend made a fair point when it comes to backing horses. If you have had them from a baby, like I have had mine, you have spent time with them, and they have come to trust you, then why would you send them away to a scary new place, with people they don't know or trust doesn't really make a lot of sense!

But like I said, it depends on your experience level. If you really don't know what you are doing, I would send away.
 
I'm going to send my pony away to the producers for him to be backed :) but hopefully ill have him lunging and long lineing and hell know voice commands, also hell have a saddle and bridle on defiantly will have had somone lean over him and perhaps someone on top and him being lead around and then hell be going to them.... Well that's how it's planned out in my head hahah wether it goes that way is another story haha!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top