Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

with the last young horse i started our vet said to wait until his knees 
closed, around 34-36 months.

there's plenty to do with young horses, if the mind is ready and body not 
old enough ground drive them, i did the above gelding and we went all over 
the neighborhood, in the river etc.  he learned to go alone without other 
horses, without me at his head, facing and slaying his dragons, got used to 
traffic, dogs, kids, bikes, water, puddles, standing for lengths of time as 
we talked with neighbors curious about what we were doing.  i also did 
trail course obstacles driving him (no, not the mailbox) and he learned to 
sidepass, backup, pivot.

by the time i got up on him he knew quite a lot -- except how to balance my 
weight and leg aids (but he knew all the movements by voice command so 
didn't take long to switch to leg aids).

it is well worth waiting till they are physically ready, fun now but 
arthritis is a real possibility later on if started to soon.

karen


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