The Great Age Debate - Page 2
© Sally White
The ages above vary slightly (by about 6 months) according to the breed and type of horse, and the growth plates between the 32 vertebrae continue to fuse until a horse is up to 8 years old.
So it's clear from this that a horse's knees will not be ready to take weight until he is 3 years old. His hocks will continue to be weak until he is four, as will his hips; and his back is vulnerable until he is at least five and a half.
This is perhaps the most powerful argument against the riding, especially in advanced training or competition, of horses aged two or younger. It is borne out by the number of racehorses who started young who suffer physical breakdown, sometimes at a tragically young age. Horses ridden at the age of two - quite apart from being emotionally immature and less able to deal with the mental stresses and strains of competition - suffer more from developmental diseases and structural problems. They are at risk from navicular, splints, ringbone, and tendon weakness. The practice of "firing" - passing a hot needle or laser through a horse's damaged tendons to cauterise the nerves and stop pain, allowing further work - came about as an attempt to lengthen the working lives of horses put on the racetrack too young. Training intensively and riding an animal this young places him in serious danger of physical and mental damage - a factor which is becoming more widely recognised by vets and other equine professionals as time goes on.
But even at the age of three - the age I first rode my horse, and a popular choice for anyone starting a riding horse - you can see from the figures above, the hocks, hips and back are still very immature. This is where the whole issue becomes more of a question of personal judgement, with a number of different factors to take into account.
The first of these is the amount of work a horse is asked to do. When I started riding my youngster, at about three and a half, I began with short sessions, no more than 15-20 minutes. Even now, when she is 4 years and 2 months old, I don't work her in the school for more than half an hour, and I don't hack her out for more than a couple of hours. I also don't ride her that often - no more than three times a week. I am, maybe, unusual in that - many people I know with young horses try to do a little riding with them each day. But I take the view that it's better, if you do want to train every day, to vary things by introducing a little lungeing, loose-schooling or long-reining instead of riding. This develops different muscles as well as keeping life more interesting and working on all of her different skills.
