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What should a 2 year old know? & When to start?

3K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  smrobs 
#1 ·
I recently got a 2yr old Arab filly named Warrior she's my first youngin and I was just wanting know what things should a 2yr old know she wasn't handled much by previous owners. I've taught her basic things such as leading properly, how to stand tied, picking up feet, she knows "back" we're working on "whoa", to load in a trailer and we're currently working on lunging. Haven't worked with her on bathing yet its been way to cold.

I know some people start their horses under saddle at 2 yrs but Warrior is very small for her age she's the size of my barn owners 8 month old QH colt and she's Arab on top of that and I know they develop slower than other breeds so when would be a good age to start her I was thinking either 4 or 5 but wasn't sure if that was to late to start. What do you think?

So ANY advice, suggestions or opinions you may have about training or starting would help a bunch. Oh and I ride Western don't know if that helps.

Thanks!

To show you her size here's Warrior
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Halter Horse supplies


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#3 ·
wow, she looks like a yearling. I make sure my two year olds are great to handle on the ground, good with their feet, stand tied, load well in the trailer, preferably pony well from another horse, just all around fantastic to handle from the ground.
Towards the end of their two year old year I get them used to being bridled, saddled, sacked out with the saddle pad, lunging, used to ropes all over their bodies, including legs, comfortable with things moving around on the saddle(hook a coat over the saddle horn so they get used to flapping, etc), and being tacked up on the lunge line w/t/canter.

At this point I kick them out for the winter. Then at 3(or four, depending on how mature they are mentally and physically), I do a refresh of the skills they learned at 2, then start ground driving them. once they understand the basics and are comfortable with all the steps up to this point, I hop on them bare back, then mount from both sides of the horse from the ground, as well as teaching them to stand next to a mounting block. once the horse is very comfortable with me getting on and off, and touching all over the place from their back, I start asking for forward motion. At this point I know the horse is comfortable with all the tack, steering and having weight on its back, plus it respects me, so we can proceed with actuall riding.
 
#5 ·
I agree she needs some more time to grow before she gets started under saddle.
Other than that I expect my youngsters to be able to cope with everything a ridden horse does while at the same time allowing them enough time to relax and not get sour and bored by too much pressure
I wouldnt over do the lunge work at this stage - its enough that they just know what the verbal commands are all about so keep it short and sweet.
 
#6 ·
Do groundwork such as- teaching her to move hindqaurters/shoulders, teach her to sidepass on ground, flexing, etc.. You could also teach her how to ground drive. That helps a LOT! Start desensitizing- tarps, flags, etc..

I would say put a surcingle on her and teach her to ground drive. I would wait till she was 4 also to break.

Other than that I think you are doing really good! :)
 
#8 ·
I agree with ground driving! Parelli 7 games would be good to play with her, when lunging though I would just walk for the most part. It's the concept at this point that counts! Also, has she been vet-checked and had her age confirmed? They do tend to mature later, but she looks very tiny. Here's my Arabian as well, he's 13 and still this small, haha so it could be the Arabian in her.. :-p
 

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#9 ·
Her age is vet confirmed. When her previous owners told me she was 2 I didn't believe it at all. The people I got her from didn't give her the proper nutrition or care she needed for proper growth. Her registration papers say she was foaled February 10, 2011.


Annanoel you have one handsome fellow!
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#11 · (Edited)
Her age is vet confirmed. When her previous owners told me she was 2 I didn't believe it at all. The people I got her from didn't give her the proper nutrition or care she needed for proper growth. Her registration papers say she was foaled February 10, 2011.


Annanoel you have one handsome fellow!
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WOW, she is tiny then. Thank you! He's my heart horse. I had a colt like that a while ago. He was about her size and I did NOT believe he was three, turns out he was! Lost his mom early on and the owners didn't know how to properly care for a young horse. He is pony size now, and his parents were both over 15H.

Congrats to you though on such a beautiful girl! :) I couldn't agree more with Missy May! ALWAYS end on a positive note and keep the sessions in short intervals and repeat. If you end on a bad note, nothing is retained and this a lot of times is where bad habits come from. When she has a breakthrough reward her, keep it short. Then attempt again later! They are young, and need activities for their age. DH has this problem ending positive with his colt, they're both very stubborn and trying to convince BOTH to end positive can be a chore. ;)
 
#10 ·
When you can start under saddle - and to what extent depends a good deal on how ready they are mentally and physically - and physically she isn't even close.
A lot of posters have given good ground training suggestions. But, no matter how "mature" a horse is or is not at 2 - when they are two, they are two. I always keep that in mind for any given activity w a baby and make sure I don't get greedy, keep it "clear", planned, timed, and short. That may seem obvious, but it is soooo easy to "wow, she/he is going perfect, lets step it up!!!".
 
#12 ·
Just so you know, all horse develop at about the same rate. Regardless of size or breed. Arabs are just smaller, and more fined boned then other breeds. But she will still develop the same as a QH or a TB. I would wait until she is about 4 or so. I wouldn't go past 5 personally. Even 3 would probably be ok, just for a few short rides. And then turned out in the winter, and put back into training at 4.
 
#14 ·
Army wife, not true. I've watched different horses develope at different rates. One thoroughbred gelding looked like a long yearling at 2.5(and X-rays showed his knees hasn't closed) but at 3 he had grown a full hand and looked gorgeous. His full sister had completely closed knees at 2.

Many studies have proved different horses have different maturation rates.

On top of that, a horses spine hasn't fused until 5-6. There are two mares on the farm with back problems, both of which were started at 2, and raced at 2. Coincidence?
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#16 ·
Where did you see those studies at? Because I've seen studies supporting what I said, which is why I said it. Also, I said at ABOUT the same rate, I consider a 6 month window acceptable. I only brought up this point because a lot of people (I used to) believe that arabs mature much slower then other breeds. It's not true. And yes, your right about their backs maturing between 5-6. If you can show me the study your talking about, I'd love to read it. I like to learn new things all the time :)


An Article on Starting Young Horses
 
#15 ·
I think there is a pretty wide range to the time required to reach "full maturity", as defined by skeletal completion - per individual horse - as most anyone that has had a lot of babies has observed. Some are amazingly slow to reach full height, while others don't add so much as a cm after their 2nd birthday.
 
#18 ·
Arabians tend to mature at a much slower rate then any other breed. They typically don't reach maturity til age 6. I use to breed Arabs and we wouldn't start under saddle til age 4 or you can end up with a sway back. You can start ground work and getting her use to a saddle but I wouldn't recommend putting a human on her for a couple more years. It makes me cringe when I see ads for broke 2 year old arabians.
 
#19 ·
Oh, the poor darling. So glad to hear that you're going to wait until she has physically matured before starting her under saddle. She looks like an absolute sweetie.

The good news is, it's never too late to start a horse. A few years ago, I started an 11 year old mare that had never been ridden and she did fine.

Try not to overdo, especially with the circles. Keep the lunging sessions short and sweet. At this point, I'd probably even wait another year before teaching her to ground drive. I'd make sure she led well, stood well for the farrier, was calm about being touched and rubbed everywhere (udders included) and, when it gets warm enough, teach her to stand for bathing. Other than that, turn her out with a herd so that she can grow and mature in a natural-ish herd environment.

The more land you can turn her out on, the better.
 
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