The Great Age Debate - Page 3
© Sally White
The second is the type of work you do. A young horse has to learn how to balance himself with a rider on his back: he cannot do it automatically, and he must develop the relevant muscles. Asking a three-year-old to work in an outline, canter in circles (even big ones), or extend and collect his paces is like asking a ten-year-old child to do weight training. Even if he understands what you are asking him, he will have to really strain himself to perform these relatively advanced movements. Once again, you are risking long-term damage to joints and back problems. There is also the risk of mental strain, which will show itself in temperamental behaviour and a "bad attitude". The horse at age 3 is something like a teenager: if you ask too much of him, he'll get sulky and stroppy, give you lip and eventually just refuse!
And the third - a sensitive subject at the best of times! - is the weight of the rider he is to carry. Forget what you may have heard about measuring the "bone" a horse has to work out what weight he can carry. This all goes out of the window when talking about young horses, who may reach their full "bone" measurement long before they are physically able to carry the weight it suggests. Young horses, of whatever build, are much less at risk if a light rider can be found to train them under saddle.
A basic timetable which you could use as a starting point for a training programme, adjusting it according to your own horse and your own circumstances, is:
- At two years old:
- Introduce the horse to new tack and different situations
- At three years old:
- "Back" him - that is, mount and dismount, lunge him with a rider at walk only and in straight lines - and then turn him away again
- At four years old:
- Begin riding with simple manoeuvres, walking and trotting only in the school, not asking for collection and keeping circles very large
- At five years old:
- Introduce more difficult manoeuvres, such as canter in the school and smaller circles, and begin collection and lateral moves. You can also start teaching him specific disciplines, such as introducing small jumps.
- At six years old:
- He can begin full work and competition as an adult horse.
Many horse trainers would see this as a very conservative programme. It is, but that is only because it goes at exactly the same pace as the physical development of the horse. It has become customary in the horse world to move faster than that, but perhaps it is time to ask questions about the reasons for this perpetual hurry to have the horse grow up faster than he would do naturally.
