youngster advice

[brego]

I need a bit of advice, my youngster is 4 in March he is a 17hnds german warmblood who i have owned since birth, he was backed in september and is doing very well indeed, my only problem with him he gets so tired when working and runs out of steam very quickily is this normal his canine teeth are just about to come through, he has 2 feeds a day and i dont really want to pump him full of hard feed , any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Maesfen]

He's only a baby, a very big baby. It takes a long time for them to mature enough to be up for any work. The longer you take before you push him, the better for his long term prospects. Remember, you don't ask a boy to do a man's work, the same goes for very big horses too, they do need a lot more time to grow and mature.

 

[Kallibear]

Exactly as said MFH09 said. He's a big big baby who will still be growing and have little energy left for working hard.

At his age all I'd be doing with him is 15mins in the school or short hacking. Teach him the basics then let him take it easy. Spend the time getting him seeing the world (i.e hacking) rather than concentrating on schooling. It sadly seems to be the fashion to get the big flashy horses working asap when really they're not ready for proper work until at least 5yrs old, as they do mature slower.

 

[cariadssogreat]

To be honest if he was mine I would be inclined to get the vets to run a blood test just to err on the side of caution. Other than this as others say have a bit of fun with him as he is trying to put a lot of his energy into maturing.

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

he will grow for another 2 years! and probably gain nearly 2 inches in height! he is probably still very immature and not strong enough to do a lot of work.(despite looking well). if you are intending to keep him dont burn him out or force grow him with feed. he will probably do a growth spurt when dr green returns. i try not to work big youngsters whilst on a growth spurt as the bones are growing (to try to eliminate lumps and bumps). if you give him a holiday for a few weeks he shouldnt turn into a monster if he has learnt the initial lessons properly and will come back stronger and fresh in his mind.

 

[irishdraft]

I agree with the other posts I have a big ID rising 3 who will be lightly backed and hacked over the summer and then turned away until he's 4. Big horses take until they are 6 or 7 to mature.