Youngster needs breaking

[Tailnmane]

Hi Everyone,
We have just purchased a lovely youngster from Holland, he's green as grass but has a lovely temperament and very trusting were looking to get him broken in so has anyone got any good recommendations? We were told about Ryan Shannon yet we've had good and bad reports someone said he's fantastic and yet a handful have said there horses came home in poor condition "HELP" !!!! Were based in the south west.

 

[popsdosh]

Hi Everyone,
We have just purchased a lovely youngster from Holland, he's green as grass but has a lovely temperament and very trusting were looking to get him broken in so has anyone got any good recommendations? We were told about Ryan Shannon yet we've had good and bad reports someone said he's fantastic and yet a handful have said there horses came home in poor condition "HELP" !!!! Were based in the south west.

You can say that about several yards that back horses for a living. Realistically you do not pump food into these horses for a reason. The art is getting the right balance.So I would not let that put you off using him.

 

[TarrSteps]

You can say that about several yards that back horses for a living. Realistically you do not pump food into these horses for a reason. The art is getting the right balance.So I would not let that put you off using him.

I would agree. While obviously you don't want the horse malnourished, it's quite an intense period in a horse's life and it's not unusual for a horse to look a bit light, which many people misconstrue now we are so used to horses way up the condition scale. Plus, you don't want a horse at that age and stage carrying too much weight anyway! This is further complicated because many horses will have growth spurt when they start work, which is another reason they can look on the thin side. They are essentially teenagers taking up a sport and everyone knows how kids can eat!

But the worst thing to do at that point is to start socking food to the horse, making it silly, increasing the chance of injury and complicating the training practice. The weight comes back on naturally when the horse settles in to the new work level and/or has an easy period.

So a pro yard that has young horses on the slightly light side, especially relative to how many people keep their horses, would not worry me at all if everything else is positive. Most good studs would fall into this category.

 

[popsdosh]

So a pro yard that has young horses on the slightly light side, especially relative to how many people keep their horses, would not worry me at all if everything else is positive. Most good studs would fall into this category.

Totally agree if I sent a horse away to be backed and it came back not looking slightly lean it would cause me to question what work it had done!

 

[smja]

Exactly - always increase work before food to avoid trips to the hospital!