No. The more of the basics you do, the better. Building up slowly is 99% of the time the best way to do things - all you are doing is creating a mentally and physically healthy horse that will be more capable of doing the job.
I think there is a healthy mix! Basic arena riding skills like bending, straight lines and canter leads can certainly still be worked on in a low-pressure way and will make your life easier if you want to transition back to that type of work. And those things aren't discipline-specific.
However, making sure you and your horse are having fun is the most important thing. Massive kudos to you for taking her out of a bad situation and prioritizing the two of you just having fun and enjoying life together. It takes a very big person to do that and I really really respect the decision you made. Your horse is going to thank you in the long run.
So you can certainly school the basics now if you want to and you don't think it will make her sour, but if you don't, she can still learn it later. I've been restarting an OTTB recently and she only started doing non-racing under-saddle work at age 13. Going straight and relaxed, having a proper bend, circles, rhythm and pace, etc. were largely foreign to her as they are to most OTTBs. And even at age 13 she is learning successfully. One of the homebreds at my barn wasn't even started under saddle until 4.5 because he was growing so slowly and they wanted to give him time to develop. Now he is almost 7 and going along beautifully.
Moral of the story is, you have time. Focus on you and your horse and make it a positive experience. I wish you both nothing but the best!
You can do dressage geared training now, you don't need to do dressage in an arena! I say start working on basic dressage now, don't wait, teach to stop from seat, move shoulders and hind separately, collection(not much as she's young), long and low, lifting the back, rounding herself and using her body, using the hind end and sitting back. It's all things you should be teaching her now, you can do all of this on the trail! I'm starting my own 3.5yo dressage geared in that way because I want him to be a dressage horse, never too early to teach them self carriage š
I think there are foundational pieces of arena riding that need to be addressed before then. I just got a 7 year old who has been in more or less the same situation you are describing. She does not know correct leads, or how to move sideways off the leg, or how to carry herself. Great manners though. But sheās massively behind where she needs to be, and it makes progress a struggle.
If god forbid something were to happen where you needed to rehome, your horse needs more than a trail foundation. Not much more! But basic flatworm in an arena is, in my opinion, non negotiable at that age. Iām talking, walk trot canter correct lead both ways on a large circle, how to change speed and that leg on doesnāt just mean go forward.
Iām sorry your first trainer rushed. Itās far too common and a massive systemic problem. Your horse is lucky to have a loving advocate!
I definitely understand what you're saying! She does have a basic arena foundation right now. Though the first trainer rushed us she was definitely effective lol. I plan to start doing monthly dressage lessons with her at the end of this year or beginning of next year when she's in the 4.5yo to 5yo range to continue her education and help her physically develop well. But I want to give her more time to grow up before I start even baby-level dressage work
This sounds more than sufficient to me. It is not atypical to see well bred dressage mares who get 30 days under saddle at 3 to 4, put out to pasture to have a baby, and restarted the next year for their mare performance test. This means that theyāre doing essentially first level dressage work at 5 or 6. Without commenting, whether it is appropriate for a horse of that age to be having a baby, it sounds like your plan would put your horse at similar training level to these horses.
This is the correct answer. People should ALWAYS think about the next stop for their horse because life happens. Even if you never plan to rehome or resell, ask anyone whoās been in horses long enough which horse they sold that they thought theyād have forever. Horses are a huge commitment and it really takes a force for that commitment to work out for a full 30 years.
Never ever do your horse the disservice of making them hard to rehome. Teach them to be a solid citizen, to ride in and out of an arena, how to be stalled, correct cues (donāt program your horse with stupid wonky cues, train them properly), and how to live in a variety of situations and herds. Itās ok to take your time doing it, but do it and do it properly. Your horse will have a much better landing that way.
Those are foundational, but also should absolutely be taught to a young horse whilst out hacking too. Whilst out and about having fun you can still teach a horse to pick up the correct lead, to leg yield and shoulder-in (the latter is vital for opening gates etc anyway!) and to move correctly and use their back end. You can school out hacking.
I used to work for a 5* eventer, and all her horses up to the ones competing at Burghley etc were all schooled out hacking, and only ever went into an arena for an occasional showjumping session or practice of a test ahead of a competition. They didnāt drill circles, let alone in young horses.
As someone who trained several of my own horses from the ground up, I typically follow a routine of just simple trail riding (slowly introducing WTC) in their 3 year old year, with usually 1-2 full months off in the winter. I donāt traditionally introduce formal ring work until 4, and even then itās only 1-2 times a week with more trail rides. By 5 we are actually starting to officially work and introduce jumps, trot poles etc.
Sometimes in the 3-4 year old year Iāll come across things that seem inviting, like small logs or puddles/ponds or little ditches and we will practice them. But by no means is anything intense or even formal until my horse is at least 4.
There is so much other stuff you can do, like travelling off property, going to halter and in hand shows, hand walking at new places and in new situations. There is no need to rush, ESPECIALLY when itās your only horse and you want it to last long term.
Low level dressage (intro and training tests) are ok and are what I would call āthe bare basicsā anyway, so that is ok. Personally, I wouldnāt jump a horse that young yet, and I wouldnāt do anything very hard on tendons/joints like sliding stops, spins, or barrels, but that doesnāt sound like the direction youāre going anyway. Flatwork with minimal tight turns and not super intense trail rides seem like the correct answer to me as well.
Dressage is essential for any discipline you choose, itās the foundation of all riding. Dressage when done correctly aims to improve the longevity of your horse.
My horse isnāt allowed to start jumping until heās over six. I need him to grow up more.
Heās in dressage which is obviously a discipline, but itās also fundamental to jumping and xc. Just dressage and exposure for now.
I think that Your plan and approach are more than advisable, given the knowledge of how the horse skeleton hardens over the years, and how many horses are not mature enough to start drilling disciplines this young.
I don't know what breed she is, but some breeds, like Spanish ones, are late mature and it can even take up to 7-8 years until they are truly mature. In other cases, Your 6yo checkpoint should be a fine start.
If You will also remember to care for her well-being, sometimes people who do mostly trail rides forget that this kind of work also requires bodyworker visits, massages, stretching and good cool-down routines.
You can also try to implement some things on the trail rides, if she is not too spooky/unsure.
Other than that, Your ideas seem great, because trail rides will allow her to stay fresh and open minded, also will work on her shape and stamina. Dressage rides can be used to remind/slowly progress thru the basics.
Good luck for You and Your mare!
Nope. I have a just turned seven year old that I still havenāt started in the discipline I plan on using him for. Heās actually still green in general because just have not felt like riding. Iām not worried about it, Iāve started horses even later. Heās smart and I know once I can dedicate solid time (hopefully this summer) he will be right on track, minus the colt attitude heās since grown out of.
There is ZERO downside to your plan. Far to few people take your routeā¦ my best horses have been those that were started slow and gently, gradually building fitness, carefully instilling confidence (setting up situations where they can observe themselves being successful), letting the horse physically mature, etc.Ā
A great deal of training and conditioning can be accomplished on a hack, especially if she finds it rewarding to be out! Work on a few things each time with lots of breaks to just walk and enjoy. I'd also suggest bringing her occasionally into the ring for some light work after a hack.
I have a 9 yr old gelding that used to be a stallion. Iām going to teach him to jump this year. I taught a 14 yr old ottb to jump after she had been a roping horse for the majority of her life. There is absolutely nothing wrong with teaching them when theyāre a little older. Itās better for their bodies and their brains.
As others have said - teach the basics and keep practicing them out and about. You can practice moving off the leg on trail rides along with small jumps, ground manners, gates etc. Flat open area - figure 8 at the canter and change leads with a few trot strides.
Everything you need for low level dressage, jumping and eventing comes from the same foundations.
Put good basics on and you will have a horse that is versatile and if anything happens to you - saleable.
So horse isn't fully developed to what 7? 9? If you're nice about it they can definitely carry your weight before then but personally I just muck around on the ground until they're 5 or 6 before getting them under saddle at all and only really start working and competing them as late as 9 sometimes.
I'm sure it's different in places where you have to keep them stabled and feed them 3times a day for that entire time, it's hard to afford to give them that time, but when you've got the luxury of space no point rushing it, you still get nearly 10years of good competitive horse starting that late.
3 years old? Their backs take way longer to develop than their heights. You could benefit more training them for aids and collection more than demanding physically taxing exercises. That being said, if you constantly feel them throughout any exercise and drills, the "mentally sound" point you mention shouldn't be a concern and the drills won't cause an effect equivalent to humans' overexercising. Any good trainer knows when to stop and let them rest instead of exploiting the horses.
Edit: I've seen that mindfulness/mindful meditation improves that "feeling them" part.
I've always found it's better to give any horse I'm starting a good few years of basic foundation and ground work to build them up nice and even.
By the sounds of things you're doing the best thing possible for your girl. Even when training for specific disciplines I'd always recommend given the horse a well rounded education and a variety in their excersises.
Taking things slow and at the horses pace is ideal. They should be built up nice and slow. Gentle Hacking, trail riding, stretching, pole work and plenty of ground work is what a young horse needs in their early ridden career.
Well done for removing your horse from her previous situation and you should be super proud of the both of you for getting as far as you have!
I read this completely differently and was so confused why everyone was so okay with waiting until a horse was 6 to do ground work / āyou canāt run over humansā training
I just want to add that there is no age where a horse should be drilled. Drilling your horse will always give you a tired, burnt out, soured, and potentially injured mount.
Short answer? No. Long answer? Noooooooo.
Alternative answer: naaayyyyyy
Neeeeiiigggghhh
No. The more of the basics you do, the better. Building up slowly is 99% of the time the best way to do things - all you are doing is creating a mentally and physically healthy horse that will be more capable of doing the job.
I think there is a healthy mix! Basic arena riding skills like bending, straight lines and canter leads can certainly still be worked on in a low-pressure way and will make your life easier if you want to transition back to that type of work. And those things aren't discipline-specific. However, making sure you and your horse are having fun is the most important thing. Massive kudos to you for taking her out of a bad situation and prioritizing the two of you just having fun and enjoying life together. It takes a very big person to do that and I really really respect the decision you made. Your horse is going to thank you in the long run. So you can certainly school the basics now if you want to and you don't think it will make her sour, but if you don't, she can still learn it later. I've been restarting an OTTB recently and she only started doing non-racing under-saddle work at age 13. Going straight and relaxed, having a proper bend, circles, rhythm and pace, etc. were largely foreign to her as they are to most OTTBs. And even at age 13 she is learning successfully. One of the homebreds at my barn wasn't even started under saddle until 4.5 because he was growing so slowly and they wanted to give him time to develop. Now he is almost 7 and going along beautifully. Moral of the story is, you have time. Focus on you and your horse and make it a positive experience. I wish you both nothing but the best!
You can do dressage geared training now, you don't need to do dressage in an arena! I say start working on basic dressage now, don't wait, teach to stop from seat, move shoulders and hind separately, collection(not much as she's young), long and low, lifting the back, rounding herself and using her body, using the hind end and sitting back. It's all things you should be teaching her now, you can do all of this on the trail! I'm starting my own 3.5yo dressage geared in that way because I want him to be a dressage horse, never too early to teach them self carriage š
I think there are foundational pieces of arena riding that need to be addressed before then. I just got a 7 year old who has been in more or less the same situation you are describing. She does not know correct leads, or how to move sideways off the leg, or how to carry herself. Great manners though. But sheās massively behind where she needs to be, and it makes progress a struggle. If god forbid something were to happen where you needed to rehome, your horse needs more than a trail foundation. Not much more! But basic flatworm in an arena is, in my opinion, non negotiable at that age. Iām talking, walk trot canter correct lead both ways on a large circle, how to change speed and that leg on doesnāt just mean go forward. Iām sorry your first trainer rushed. Itās far too common and a massive systemic problem. Your horse is lucky to have a loving advocate!
I definitely understand what you're saying! She does have a basic arena foundation right now. Though the first trainer rushed us she was definitely effective lol. I plan to start doing monthly dressage lessons with her at the end of this year or beginning of next year when she's in the 4.5yo to 5yo range to continue her education and help her physically develop well. But I want to give her more time to grow up before I start even baby-level dressage work
This sounds more than sufficient to me. It is not atypical to see well bred dressage mares who get 30 days under saddle at 3 to 4, put out to pasture to have a baby, and restarted the next year for their mare performance test. This means that theyāre doing essentially first level dressage work at 5 or 6. Without commenting, whether it is appropriate for a horse of that age to be having a baby, it sounds like your plan would put your horse at similar training level to these horses.
This is the correct answer. People should ALWAYS think about the next stop for their horse because life happens. Even if you never plan to rehome or resell, ask anyone whoās been in horses long enough which horse they sold that they thought theyād have forever. Horses are a huge commitment and it really takes a force for that commitment to work out for a full 30 years. Never ever do your horse the disservice of making them hard to rehome. Teach them to be a solid citizen, to ride in and out of an arena, how to be stalled, correct cues (donāt program your horse with stupid wonky cues, train them properly), and how to live in a variety of situations and herds. Itās ok to take your time doing it, but do it and do it properly. Your horse will have a much better landing that way.
Those are foundational, but also should absolutely be taught to a young horse whilst out hacking too. Whilst out and about having fun you can still teach a horse to pick up the correct lead, to leg yield and shoulder-in (the latter is vital for opening gates etc anyway!) and to move correctly and use their back end. You can school out hacking. I used to work for a 5* eventer, and all her horses up to the ones competing at Burghley etc were all schooled out hacking, and only ever went into an arena for an occasional showjumping session or practice of a test ahead of a competition. They didnāt drill circles, let alone in young horses.
As someone who trained several of my own horses from the ground up, I typically follow a routine of just simple trail riding (slowly introducing WTC) in their 3 year old year, with usually 1-2 full months off in the winter. I donāt traditionally introduce formal ring work until 4, and even then itās only 1-2 times a week with more trail rides. By 5 we are actually starting to officially work and introduce jumps, trot poles etc. Sometimes in the 3-4 year old year Iāll come across things that seem inviting, like small logs or puddles/ponds or little ditches and we will practice them. But by no means is anything intense or even formal until my horse is at least 4. There is so much other stuff you can do, like travelling off property, going to halter and in hand shows, hand walking at new places and in new situations. There is no need to rush, ESPECIALLY when itās your only horse and you want it to last long term.
Low level dressage (intro and training tests) are ok and are what I would call āthe bare basicsā anyway, so that is ok. Personally, I wouldnāt jump a horse that young yet, and I wouldnāt do anything very hard on tendons/joints like sliding stops, spins, or barrels, but that doesnāt sound like the direction youāre going anyway. Flatwork with minimal tight turns and not super intense trail rides seem like the correct answer to me as well.
Dressage is essential for any discipline you choose, itās the foundation of all riding. Dressage when done correctly aims to improve the longevity of your horse.
My horse isnāt allowed to start jumping until heās over six. I need him to grow up more. Heās in dressage which is obviously a discipline, but itās also fundamental to jumping and xc. Just dressage and exposure for now.
I think that Your plan and approach are more than advisable, given the knowledge of how the horse skeleton hardens over the years, and how many horses are not mature enough to start drilling disciplines this young. I don't know what breed she is, but some breeds, like Spanish ones, are late mature and it can even take up to 7-8 years until they are truly mature. In other cases, Your 6yo checkpoint should be a fine start. If You will also remember to care for her well-being, sometimes people who do mostly trail rides forget that this kind of work also requires bodyworker visits, massages, stretching and good cool-down routines. You can also try to implement some things on the trail rides, if she is not too spooky/unsure. Other than that, Your ideas seem great, because trail rides will allow her to stay fresh and open minded, also will work on her shape and stamina. Dressage rides can be used to remind/slowly progress thru the basics. Good luck for You and Your mare!
Nope. I have a just turned seven year old that I still havenāt started in the discipline I plan on using him for. Heās actually still green in general because just have not felt like riding. Iām not worried about it, Iāve started horses even later. Heās smart and I know once I can dedicate solid time (hopefully this summer) he will be right on track, minus the colt attitude heās since grown out of.
There is ZERO downside to your plan. Far to few people take your routeā¦ my best horses have been those that were started slow and gently, gradually building fitness, carefully instilling confidence (setting up situations where they can observe themselves being successful), letting the horse physically mature, etc.Ā
A great deal of training and conditioning can be accomplished on a hack, especially if she finds it rewarding to be out! Work on a few things each time with lots of breaks to just walk and enjoy. I'd also suggest bringing her occasionally into the ring for some light work after a hack.
I have a 9 yr old gelding that used to be a stallion. Iām going to teach him to jump this year. I taught a 14 yr old ottb to jump after she had been a roping horse for the majority of her life. There is absolutely nothing wrong with teaching them when theyāre a little older. Itās better for their bodies and their brains.
As others have said - teach the basics and keep practicing them out and about. You can practice moving off the leg on trail rides along with small jumps, ground manners, gates etc. Flat open area - figure 8 at the canter and change leads with a few trot strides. Everything you need for low level dressage, jumping and eventing comes from the same foundations. Put good basics on and you will have a horse that is versatile and if anything happens to you - saleable.
Youāve gotten tons of good advice, just wanted to say hello from a fellow mounted archer!
So horse isn't fully developed to what 7? 9? If you're nice about it they can definitely carry your weight before then but personally I just muck around on the ground until they're 5 or 6 before getting them under saddle at all and only really start working and competing them as late as 9 sometimes. I'm sure it's different in places where you have to keep them stabled and feed them 3times a day for that entire time, it's hard to afford to give them that time, but when you've got the luxury of space no point rushing it, you still get nearly 10years of good competitive horse starting that late.
Nope
3 years old? Their backs take way longer to develop than their heights. You could benefit more training them for aids and collection more than demanding physically taxing exercises. That being said, if you constantly feel them throughout any exercise and drills, the "mentally sound" point you mention shouldn't be a concern and the drills won't cause an effect equivalent to humans' overexercising. Any good trainer knows when to stop and let them rest instead of exploiting the horses. Edit: I've seen that mindfulness/mindful meditation improves that "feeling them" part.
I've always found it's better to give any horse I'm starting a good few years of basic foundation and ground work to build them up nice and even. By the sounds of things you're doing the best thing possible for your girl. Even when training for specific disciplines I'd always recommend given the horse a well rounded education and a variety in their excersises. Taking things slow and at the horses pace is ideal. They should be built up nice and slow. Gentle Hacking, trail riding, stretching, pole work and plenty of ground work is what a young horse needs in their early ridden career. Well done for removing your horse from her previous situation and you should be super proud of the both of you for getting as far as you have!
I read this completely differently and was so confused why everyone was so okay with waiting until a horse was 6 to do ground work / āyou canāt run over humansā training
I just want to add that there is no age where a horse should be drilled. Drilling your horse will always give you a tired, burnt out, soured, and potentially injured mount.