How long do you expect your yearling to have patience and be able to focus on whatever you’re doing with them at the time? Mine is great for about 20-30 minutes of whatever, and then she’s pretty much ready to go back to her field. I try to think of her attention span is sort of like a toddler’s and keep it short and confidence building. Is that right, or should she be learning to have a bit more patience at this age? When she’s ready to go, she’ll just get antsy and start pawing and then wants to jig back to her friends. I don’t allow the pawing and jigging, so that makes it take even longer, as we constantly have to stop and wait to reward good behavior.
20-30 minutes of attention is all you can expect from a yearling.
In fact, I’d be inclined to stop working with her before she starts getting antsy. At this age what she needs to know is very basic: to lead, tie (supervised), be groomed, have her feet picked out.
If you’re planning to show in hand she will need to know how to trot in hand and stand for inspection, but 10 minutes a day will get you there quicker than wrestling with a youngster whose attention has left the building.
Good luck with her!
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Ok, thank you for the feedback! That’s what I was leaning towards (stopping before I lose her attention) but just wanted to confirm. My now 12 year old was 2 when I got her and had WAY more patience than my yearling. I suppose they mature a lot between 1 and 2. 
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This ^^^^^ x 1000x
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Yes they do!!
Awesome :) thanks!!!
Even with an adult horse, when working on something new 20min is plenty. Then just go on and do other things.
Nah. They should be able to tie up for a couple hours by the time they are a yearling. You should be able to haul them to a horse show and have them tie to the trailer eating from a hay net all day. I guess if you let them dictate the “attention span” then you end up with a youngster that can’t tolerate things.
Standing tied in a trailer eating hay for hours is not at all the same as being handled/ groomed etc.
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Sure it is. The sales yearlings go ALL DAY at the sale, from about 4:30 AM when they are bathed and groomed, until the sale is over, sometimes as late as 9 PM. The good ones get pulled from the stall and walked for the buyers over and over and over and over. They need to stand still so the buyer can evaluate conformation and they need to walk calmly and correctly so the buyer can evaluate movement.
OP is working on building a relationship with her new horse, not trying to sell the yearling at a sale.
I’d also question if bathing, grooming, standing around in a stall to be pulled occasionally to “show off” is the same as a more concentrated training activity where the horse has to be focused the entire time. How much concentrated focus is required to have a bath??
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Those sales yearlings “prep” for three months (or more) pre-sale to learn what is required of them–and they learn it in small increments geared toward their short attention spans.
Plus, even the most popular sales yearlings aren’t going full time all day. Barns open (for shoppers) at 8 am and they close at 4:30 pm. Bath/grooming happens just before opening. At 4:30 am it’s dark and nightwatch is still going on. During the rest of the day, nearly all yearlings have stall breaks at least every 15-20 minutes.
Yearling sales have nothing to do with what OP is trying to accomplish.
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Been there, done that all over the country, yearlings and 2yos in training. We hand walked the yearlings or put them on the walker 20-30 minutes in addition to daily grooming. And yes, the most popular ones are going all day. We started bathing IN THE DARK at 4:30 AM. Most sales facilities have electricity and outdoor lights. When you have a 30-50 horse consignment you have to start that early. Every time a buyer asks to look at a colt, you have to brush and rub rag the horse, brush the mane and tail, and pick out the feet. Even if you literally just walked back into the stall from showing the colt and have not even turned the colt loose. And the crappy little Timonium sale went until 8 or 9 PM the other day. Even after the last horse has gone through the ring or the last buyer left, there is still work to do - general cleaning, feeding, set up for the next day, etc. Sales was the most exhausting job I’ve ever done.
BTW, the OP is simply asking if she should expect more patience, and the answer is yes, she should.
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Thank you all for the feedback! This is my future Dressage horse, so no rush to do anything but have a good citizen at this point. I can’t imagine leaving her tied to a trailer at this point, but she’s doing well tying with supervision.
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OP, I think you’re on the right track… just because a young TB is taught early to bath, groom, lead at an early age doesn’t mean that same program should apply to all horses.
If you are in no rush, then work with her and stop before she gets bored, tired, frustrated. That way the training session will end on a positive note and you can, over time, work on slowly extending her attention span. She’s not going through a high power sales ring, she’s your baby… IMO, ok to take your time with her and make sure every training experience (which is basically every time you do anything with her) ends on a positive note. Every interaction you have with her is “training” even if that isn’t what your intent was
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It definitely sounds like you are doing well with her so far! When I bought my horse as a yearling he had maybe 15 minutes before he started getting frustrated. I started working with him a few times a day for just a few minutes and it really helped him process what I was teaching him better. Of course I kept him at home so this was easier, but if you have the ability to work with her more than once a day it could help!
This is the wrong way to train a horse since you are catering to what they feel like doing. Horses learn by making mistakes. They absolutely need to be in an situation where they are a bit out of their comfort zone and don’t want to be doing what you want them to do. Once you get the correct response, they are back inside their comfort zone and they learn. But tiptoeing around them serves no purpose whatsoever. It’s never too early to teach them to be a good, solid citizen. What if the youngster had an accident and was injured, resulting in stall rest for a period of time then hand walking? Is that a good time to try to teach him manners and how to be patient and how to lead? A huge part of training is teaching a horse to be patient and tolerate different situations. It keeps the horse happy and safe, and the people who are handling him happy and safe. Why wait???
OP has a future competition horse, so needs a horse that will patiently tolerate a long day of hauling and showing, and not be an arse in the ring because it’s been a long day and he doesn’t feel like doing it any more. Or he wants to go back to the trailer where his buddies are. Or he’s the only one left at the trailer. The more she does to teach patience and tolerance to him now, the easier things will be for her down the road.
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I absolutely think they all need to learn to be bathed/ groomed/ load in the trailer/ tie etc. (and a foal should learn to lead from the first week!) but you can do it in 15-20 minute increments. Ten minutes of being tied and groomed and ten minutes of handwalking in the ring or around the farm is plenty for most days.
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And we wonder why the even the youngest of TBs have ulcers and stereotypies @Palm Beach .
FWIW, my guy first got on a trailer at 3 weeks, to ship from the main farm to the nursery field. Mom hopped on, so he hopped on. And yes, he had elementary leading down pat. 5 min x day
By weaning time, he knew to stand quiet for grooming without a halter (he LOVES grooming) and how to walk away from Momma and be OK. 10min / day
At 9 months, he had to learn how to come inside. Away from his friends.It was a harsh winter and he wasn’t thriving. FOOD! 5 min/day to catch; 5 hrs/day eating in warmth
At 12 months, he was back out in the nursery field, raising a weaner alongside his best friend. I went 3x a week and groomed them all.No halters. 15 min/day/horse
At 18 months I needed to consolidate my herd due to insane work travel, so he came to the show barn.
By 20 months he cross tied like an angel. At 24 months he had his first bath (bubbles are snort-worthy)… At 25 months I was handwalking him in the ring while grownup horses were working, giving him ample opportunity to look and see. 10 min/day grooming; 5 min / day looking about
At 30 months, I popped my saddle on him. He didn’t care.I clipped his legs. He didn’t care. *need a timeline on “don’t care”?
At 36 months, we were just farting around. at the mounting block. I was showing him the lay of the land. Trainer comes in and says lay on him. Didn’t bat an eye. total time 5 minutes
48 months. Broke and going. The INSTANT I felt confident in steering and stopping, we started hacking. Spent that summer climbing hills, We saw Herons, Swans, foxes and a huge stag deer. He. Didn’t. Freak. Out lifetime of good management
50 months: top point earner in the Lt Gov Cup qualifiers. Went downtown to the Royal and Did. Not. Care. lifetime of good management
My little star is about to turn 5. His manners are impeccable. He will jump anything. And he hacks out on the buckle.
Just saying.
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What a cute story. By the time my tbs are 5 they have six figures in earnings and are either still going strong or transitioning to a second career. Ulcer free. Whee!!!
