Do ponies age 3 have to be turned away to mature

[xx ponyclubber xx]

oki this thread is due to what i read on horse mart ;D

well at the age of 3 do ponies and horses have to be turned away to mature what if they are a saint for there age ?? or really good ??

random mood soz guys ,

[xx ponyclubber xx]

??

[morwenstowstud]

Do you mean after being broken in? If so then no they don't HAVE to be. I personally would turn a 3yo away, or work it very lightly if it stayed in work. If a pony is mature enough mentally and physically to do light work at 3 then there is no set rule that says they should be turned away. If they were all turned away at 3 then there would be no fully schooled 4yo's on the competition circuit, and there are plenty of 4yo's that are fully schooled.

[june]

Have a look at this piece. Scroll down to the Ranger section. It explains how horses' bones mature and how the growth plates don't set in certain joints until they are 6. Working young ponies will put too much wear and tear on joints and very likely lead to soundness issues from a relatively young age.

www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

[morwenstowstud]

That's a very interesting piece. I have read it before. Just to say I wasn't condoning working a horse at 3. I was merely saying they don't HAVE to be turned away and many aren't. My personal opinion is that as a general rule a 3yo should not be broken in. Groundwork and light backing. Maybe some very light riding, but not broken in and full work. I prefer to start a horse at 4, sometimes rising 5.

[dreamerandmaz]

I have an Arab mare who was just 4 when she came to me, her attention span was that of a gnat LOL, she had a foal and completed most of her groundwork during her 4th/5th year, she is now back in work and ready to be backed, she is a different mare entirely, ready to listen, more mature and confident, she will be 6 by the time I get on her and hopefully a long term sound endurance prospect.

[morwenstowstud]

My little section A stallion has been 'started' half a dozen times now, and been worked for a few weeks then turned away again. He's rising 7 and still not been seriously schooled. I'd say this year he will finally be mentally and physically ready for full, continuous work.

[Azrael]

I think age to back depends a lot on the horse as long as its not stupidly young. Mia was lightly backed at 3 1/2 but wasn't really ready for real work and totally failed at being sound/healthy/cooperative for a while so had a lot of time off and is just starting work now at 5 1/2 and I'm glad I've ended up waiting until now. But Jay at nearly 3 has been sat on by a light people and will probably keep doing the occasional 10 mins of 'work' until she's 4-5 and starts doing something a bit more like proper work because that's what seems to suit her.

If horses are sent away for a few weeks to be backed then it can be a bit of an intense few weeks in terms of learning new things so a break can be beneficial. But if backed over a longer time at home with no pressure to get basic schooling done in a few weeks i think it can work really well to back at 3, keep in very light work and let them learn about riding more gradually over a long time, then there's no need for a long break after backing.

[hazelhorse]

This is an interesting thread and has raised different comments to a thread I put up about BYEH contenders put up for sale on Horsequest last week see ihdg.proboards91.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=talk2&thread=89215&page=1#1089283

The level of work given to some horses at a young age appalling, when they should still be learning how to be a horse and how to co-exist with us happily. Plenty of time to school and work your horse when he has grown up mentally and physically so that he will be with you for a long time. I can confirm the growth of horses until a greater age than you would expect. I have an ex-racer who was raced at two, three and four years old. I took him on at four and a half as a weak 15.2hh baby. He was 6 yesterday and is now 16.1 and a big strapping lad, so I will now start to work him again more strenuously, having allowed him a couple of years of only gentle schooling and hacking at most three times a week. I only hope that this period of rest will have allowed his body to recover from it's early stresses.

[rifleman]

I understand it can also vary dependent on the breed of the horse - albeit in general terms - with some breeds generally taking longer to mature physically than others.

Another DGer has mentioned that Lipizzaners are still physically quite immature at 3 years old - not really finishing their filling out for another 3 years or so - but, if given the time to mature before going into steady work, can keep going into their late 20s / early 30s. The North African Barb is much the same.

It may only be anecdotal evidence, but most of the horses I've come across which stayed fit and healthy to a ripe old age seem to have done their training and backing a bit later in life than many, with 4 - 5 years old being typical. A trainer I knew who trained and backed point to pointers for his brother (who bred them) would never back them until they were at least four and a half - and I don't recall him ever having one which broke down. In contrast, another trainer nearby bought his point to pointers from flat racing stables, so they all been backed as 2 year olds - and he had endless problems with lameness.

Given the choice, I'd sooner give a youngster another year to develop, be a scatty youngster with his buddies, and mature mentally as well.

It makes me cringe when I see pictures of 2 year olds being loose jumped over high fences - reminds me far too much of those youngsters from Communist countries who won medals at the Olympics for gymnastics when they were 13, and were wrecks by their early 20s.

Jack

[mags]

I know if it was my 3yr old and I wanted years of enjoyment I wouldnt take the risk and would wait a year or 2.You might cause damage, you might not. To me just the might is enough.

[jennyb]

Lipizzaners don't mature fully until they are 8yo. My own, at rising five, has only just been backed and is being ridden twice a week for about 15 mins a time. The rest of the time he is worked lightly from the ground.

[Amanda Seater]

I wouldn't back my 3 1/2 yr old Lipizzaner yet - he looks like about 18months I can see the temptation when they are mature looking though but it is the skeleton that counts.
I do in hand work with mine about 20 mins a day some days he just gets the minimum leading and feeding and feet picked out.
I was thinking of backing him in the spring - but I doubt it at the moment and it wil probably be spring 2010. By the time I do back him though he will certainly know the aids and be responsive, light and balanced so then he just has the weight of a rider to contend with.

[stybba]

What a brilliant thread!

This is a question that has been on my mind alot recently. I have a friend who has already sat on her 21/2 year old, and has been lungeing him, and can barely wait until he is three so she can leap on and start hacking around.

I can't help cringing when she mentions it, particularly as he is pretty underdeveloped for his age and breed as it is.

However, as I know nothing about bringing on youngsters, I don't feel I can offer her any advice.

[jennyb]

Amanda - Gazdag was backed in Nov/Dec, so was four years and nine months old, lol! I was very concerned to give him time for his back to muscle up and fill out before I got on him, he was quite thin and lean when he came over from Hungary. He's coped really well and seems to enjoy being ridden. Can't believe he'll be five in three months, doesn't time fly?!

Unbelievable, people thought I should have backed him sooner. I even had one lady, who teaches and runs a riding school and comp yard, say she would have backed him sooner, "when he was weak and less able to object" - I really didn't know what to say to that comment! Interestingly, he really hasn't objected to anything ridden (apart from doing flexions yesterday which he was NOT in the mood to do, cue much dramatic pawing of the ground ) because he has been so well prepped from the ground. I think if they buck/rear/bolt/otherwise misbehave, then some crucial steps have been missed out somewhere in the education.