Showing versus Riding

I have a yearling colt (Mac), I am going to show him Halter this year. He is at a friend's place until I fence my property. Anyway....he is there with his 1/2 brother Rickson (pronounced Hickson), Rickson is going to the trainers to be broke Jan. '08 as a 2 year old or shortly thereafter. I was going to send Mac with Rickson to be broke at the same time as they are the same age but I have been advised to show Mac until he gets his Superior in Halter (if he is that good) and break him after that to ride and whatever else I choose to do with him. I am undecided as to what I am going to do so any advise would be appreciated.

Samantha

I would delay breaking him if possible, just because I feel that horses benefit from some more maturity before starting under saddle.

Showing at halter allows you to still work a lot with him, but lets him develop more before he has to have a rider. You can also have him broken with only a couple of rides so that you feel comfortable with his ability to accept a rider when he's older.

Thanks for the info... :)

Does any one else have an opinion one way or the other?

Samantha

I would wait until he was 2 and half or 3 before I had him trained, but thats just me

The average horse's growth stops at five- some with a shorter or longer time period depending on the breed. Personally, I wouldn't consider any under saddle work until after the age of three. Even then, if the horse is highly undeveloped, I would post pone. It isn't worth the deterioration and interference with a horse's growth in my perspective. At three, I would consider desensitizing by placing a saddle on the back and exposure to tack. If the horse has developed well, I would break at 3 1/2 with basic walk, trot and canter. Nothing, by any means, grueling.
My horse was finally gelded at the age of eight and then trained to be ridden. Eight is a very long time to wait, yes, but now that he is at the age of 22, I am very happy that he didn't have the unnecessary and stressful training too early - his health reflects that.

Just my opinion.

I have to agree. There's nothing wrong with waiting to start under saddle. There's plenty of work you can do on the ground until the horse is older.