A good friend has a pure Thoroughbred filly, a year and a half old, with pretty impressive racehorse bloodlines, who she wants to give to me. I know this sounds crazy, but she already has six horses, and this filly was an accidental birth of her ex-racehorse's, and she doesn't want to be bothered with the training of another horse, so since she's rolling in cash anyways, and the economy is down, she wants to give the filly to me, where she knows Flaming Glory will have a very good, loving home.
I am, of course, smitten with this little filly. I will put in all the time and money needed to make her into the wonderful jumper (hopefully 3-day eventing horse eventually) I know she can be. She's halter-broke and has had quite a bit of handling. Right now, I am just looking at whether I can afford to keep her, and where I should board her. But what I really want to know is, when can I start her?
I know that right now, I can get her used to having to pick up her feet and have constant handling, but when can I start putting a saddle and bridle on her, and how long and how frequently can she be longed?
I am hoping that she will (one day) become a low-level eventer, maybe a higher-level as her training progresses and if she has the ability. I have ridden a couple horses for the first time with a trainer there with me, and I hope to do the same with Glory. So I want to know; when can I first put a saddle on? A bridle? Longe her with both? Ride her for the first time? Trot her with a rider? How long will she have to be in training before we can canter? At what age can she start jumping small stuff? When will she be grown enough to jump something higher? And in the meantime (since I know i can't start her now, as a 1-and-a-half-year-old!), what can I do with her to get her used to everything she'll face later in life?
I don't have pictures of Glory, but she's growing QUICKLY; she's at least 15 hands right now, and getting bigger by the hour! I don't know when she'll stop growing....And she has nice, long, clean legs and a decent-length back (if anything, it's a tad long, but nothing out of the ordinary). She is pretty healthy in every way.