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Opinions on Riding a 2yr old?

4K views 43 replies 23 participants last post by  Avna 
#1 ·
I was just curious on what everyone's opinion was on riding 2 year olds. I have nothing against those who do, I just personally think they shouldn't be ridden till they're 3 at least.

What do y'all think? I know you can start them but I just think they aren't mentally ready.
 
#33 ·
I think it is really important to distinguish between training (mental) and working (physical).

Training is something that ideally should happen every time you interact with the horse, right? There is no reason not to teach a young horse everything it is capable of absorbing. Driving, liberty work, ponying, trailering to new places . . . all of those things can move a young horse along in his/her education in how to be obedient, trusting, soft, curious, steady. Training is always about teaching, in the moment, what the horse is ready to learn. No matter what the age. The only issue is riding a horse too soon, too hard. And there is science about that.
 
#36 ·
Agree very much with @Avna.
I think it is really important to distinguish between training (mental) and working (physical).

Training is something that ideally should happen every time you interact with the horse, right? There is no reason not to teach a young horse everything it is capable of absorbing.
Also agree that turnout is extremely important for young, growing horses. One of the most forgotten parts of development is the digital cushions in the hooves. This type of fibro-cartilage requires movement and the pressure during growth to develop in size and density. Horses that are kept stalled while developing do not build up dense and hard digital cushions, and this affects them for the rest of their life. The ability to grow and change cartilage deteriorates as horses get older, even when effort is made to build a healthy hoof later in life.

An acquaintance bought a horse that was stalled for the first six years of his life. She started riding him in an arena and gradually got him into shape. She brought him to the beach for a ride, started cantering on the sand and he broke his femur.

Everything I've read supports that free exercise and movement is critical for growing horses, and enforced demanding exercise is detrimental for growing horses (and dogs).
Humans develop much more slowly and the answer is less clear. It is controversial with many young kids racing in half marathons and marathons. It can be argued with our modern obesity problems that the potential for minor musculoskeletal or hormonal issues are outweighed by the benefits of avoiding deadly diseases that are caused by sedentary lifestyles and obesity.
 
#39 ·
Heavy school backpacks have been a cause for concern for quite some time. They cause all kinds of muscle strains in children -- neck, shoulders, spine. They cause headaches, cut off circulation in the arms, all sorts of things. They are not benign.
 
#41 ·
I often just wonder how long I have to bubble wrap my horses to avoid being told I'm a horrible abusive horse mom for riding them at two.

I don't argue that growth plates aren't closed, I'm just saying that I'd rather start my horse and get them going in life then wait and wait and risk more problems, or something happening.

Noting also that the type of horse I have is bred specifically to be started quickly and moving along. I do think there is something to be said about strong work ethics, conformation and genetics. Your everyday backyard horse who takes six years to reach full height and width isn't going to be as structurally sound as these guys below, who were two at this photo, and full grown by three - Maybe four in the roan's case, and bred to be balanced a lot more naturally than say, an arab or a gangly warmblood.

The reason is simple, horses who did not mature quickly mentally and physically were not bred because they couldn't handle the work and took too long to prove themselves, so therefore there was less reason to breed them.

I've said this about a hundred times on this forum too,but there's a "don't be stupid" clause built into this. Yeah you should probably not take your two year old, jump on, whip and spur and kick and run it into the ground. You shouldn't ride it until it's foaming sweat and put it away wet. But this goes for all horses, not just colts. For me, I ride until just before they will be uncomfortable. Enough to stimulate strengthening of the muscles so they get more fit, but not enough to cause any real stress. It is not hard to avoid doing damage, you just have to possess a lick of common sense. I understand how that may be hard for some people and so thus caution on the forum is understandable, but I am the realistic and practical voice in this situation so I will provide advocacy for the practice here.

A typical ride for my two year olds is not dissimilar to a ride for my elder horses, except I have to remove some things they won't know how to do yet and add them as they learn. I warm up all my horses by walking five laps each way, trotting five laps each way, and then on colts I usually get them loping circles each way until they are relaxed. Sometimes that's two laps, sometimes it's ten. Depends on the colt. At that time we will break back down to the walk, do some suppleing exercises, or if the colt has a particular job ahead of him (i.e. barrel racing or cutting), we will end the ride doing something related to that. I.e., ten minutes on the mechanical cow, or some walking/trotting through the barrel pattern. If he's going to be a trail horse, we will immediately leave and go for a short trail ride out into the back forty.

This allows the muscles to really warm up and cool down. Similarly, I do constant body work myself, so it is easy for me to see muscle tension and any other discomfort as soon as it arises. Their legs get cooled off and they get fed excellent supplements. Only the best. Again, I believe it is my responsibility to give the horses the best chance at life and the best possible training they can receive. So therefore, this is how I do that. The fact that my horses keep selling and they keep sending me things to start and train tells me that I must be doing at least something right.

Here's a few photos of some fit two year olds after about 30 days riding each.
 

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#42 ·
I was just curious on what everyone's opinion was on riding 2 year olds. I have nothing against those who do, I just personally think they shouldn't be ridden till they're 3 at least.

What do y'all think? I know you can start them but I just think they aren't mentally ready.
It really has to do with their physical development more than their mental development..
Their body "matures" from the foot up. "Rule of thumb" is that it takes 6 months longer for a colt/stallion to develop than a mare (being gelded supposedly shorted the time some for males). Size is believed to also have some effect (adding months for larger animals).

Of course, as the owner you are at complete liberty to do what you like regardless of physical development, but here's the approximate baseline for the development of a typical horse at the lower end (quickest time frame)

It takes 2.5 - 3 years for the joints of their legs (foot to scapula) to finish developing.
5 years (add months for stallions) for the back to finish developing.
5.5 - 6 years for base of the neck (the last joints to finish developing).

You will find people working horses under saddle much earlier than that. TB's are being raced before they reach 24 months (the jockey club gives all TB the same birthday...1 Jan so many, if not most, of the "2 year olds" you see racing are not actually 24 months old). Of course we can look at the number of OTTB's with joint issues and see the problem with starting them too early. Doesn't seem to stop anyone though and I know MANY people who start horses under saddle at 2 and 3 years of age. I've turned down training horses for people, because they wanted to be able to ride their 2 to 4 year old, but they easily find someone else and that's fine since it's not me. I'm fine with going ground work, getting them use to being saddle, etc... while they are younger, but personally, I start working them with my 165lbs on their back until 54+ months and even then I just spend 10-15 minutes working them from the saddle. At 60 months is when the longer work starts (I haven't trained a stallion in years). I don't ride filly's or colts (they're mares and stallions at 4) Consequently most of the horses I train are older (usually 6-8) and had just been "pets", pasture ornaments, herd mates for company, etc... that someone finally wanted to start riding, or were purchased by someone who wanted to ride them.

When I get approached about training someone's horse (I get approached at the dardest places sometimes) my first question (not my only question :)) is the horse's age. If it's young then my second question is are they willing to wait while I just do ground work and teach them (the owner) while we wait horse to finish developing before being ridden. If I get the right answer then I'll train the horse. If not, I don't need the work and I'm not going to do it. :)

I'd rather just be riding mine anyway. :)
 
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