Is it too late for me to produce a Hunter?

[celine.eq2023]

Hello!
I have just ridden a horse that came to our barn about a year ago and I am seeing major hunter potential. I just rode him for fun as I was just being silly with my friends but when I saw the videos of me on him, I was amazed. He is such a gorgeous mover and I can’t get over his movements. I have the opportunity to go as often as I want to exercise him, which is fantastic. I really want to start him as a hunter (not talking about big stuff, just the 2’6-2’9 and some flags) but the issue is: He is turning 13 this year.

Is this too old to start him over some jumps again and try to freshen him up? He already is well trained but hasn’t jumped in a while. I seriously can’t just waste the potential though.

What should I do? I could definitely flat him in the hunters but is there any hope for doing the over fences since he is already older?

Thank you!!

[Inimitable]

13 is NOT old! Especially if he has low miles on him. What has he done before this? Even if he had a lengthy career in another discipline, if he’s sound and healthy, there is absolutely no reason he couldn’t start jumping now.

[celine.eq2023]

He used to be a show horse in Canada but it was for dressage. He does western and English now but he doesn’t get ridden a bunch. He’s still perfect though and he hasn’t forgotten any training. I think he would like to jump!

[Scribbler]

@celine.eq2023

Hello!
I have just ridden a horse that came to our barn about a year ago and I am seeing major hunter potential. I just rode him for fun as I was just being silly with my friends but when I saw the videos of me on him, I was amazed. He is such a gorgeous mover and I can’t get over his movements. I have the opportunity to go as often as I want to exercise him, which is fantastic. I really want to start him as a hunter (not talking about big stuff, just the 2’6-2’9 and some flags) but the issue is: He is turning 13 this year.

Is this too old to start him over some jumps again and try to freshen him up? He already is well trained but hasn’t jumped in a while. I seriously can’t just waste the potential though.

What should I do? I could definitely flat him in the hunters but is there any hope for doing the over fences since he is already older?

Thank you!!

The only limitation would be his soundness. Do you know anything about that, maintenance or previous injuries? Who owns him and do they care? Might be worth getting a vet check before moving into a jumping life.

[celine.eq2023]

That’s a good point. I know he has been sound for the most part and hasn’t had any outstanding injuries.

[BeeHoney]

Physically, I don’t see any issue at all with starting this horse jumping with a goal of 2’6"-2’9". Jumping comes naturally to many horses. However, I think it is important to consider–just in the back of your mind–that there is always a small chance that someone tried to train this horse to jump when he was younger and he lacked aptitude and ended up in a dressage career for that reason. Not likely, but just a possibility.

I think this is more of an economic question. No one is buying 13 year old h/j prospects because of the economic implications. It is a bit of time and effort and $$ to train a horse to jump. If a horse is 13, the resultant career will likely be much shorter than that of a 4 year old prospect. Also, after age 13, horse prices start dropping. Often, people retrain horses with the idea of resale (or potential resale) as a goal or side goal. So economically, it’s not profitable.

None of this should stop you from doing this if it is what you want to do. I would be cautious about how much you would spend on a purchase price, and be clear with yourself what your goals are, and have a back up plan if the horse turns out to be unsuitable for jumping.

[SolarFlare]

What does the owner think? It wasn’t clear from your original post - is this a fellow boarder’s horse that you have permission to ride, or a sales horse, or ??

I would be sure to speak with the owner to come up with a plan before starting any jumping training, to be sure they’re on board both with the horse doing it, and with you as the rider. As said above, you want to be sure there’s no history that would prevent him from jumping, and keep both yourself and the horse safe.

Please do not start jumping someone else’s horse without making sure you have permission and everyone is on board, including your coach.

[celine.eq2023]

Good point. Just to clarify, I wouldn’t be buying him. His owners don’t have time to ride him a lot so they asked me to ride him as much as I want, whenever I want.

[celine.eq2023]

Yeah, I definitely would ask them first. They seem fine with it, and they have asked me before to take him over small jumps. The situation is that his owner doesn’t have time to ride him but still wants to keep him. The barn this horse is at is very small and close knit, so the owner asked me to ride him anytime.

[mmeqcenter]

13 is not old, perfectly fine to start a new career. 2’6’’-2’9’’ isn’t really considered majorly taxing.

However, an “amazing mover” for dressage and an “amazing mover” for hunters are quite different. You didn’t mention what levels he showed at in Canada (successfully), so perhaps irrelevant. Also irrelevant if you just want to play around, not be competitive at national shows.

[DownYonder]

Definitely ask the owners if it is okay for you to do some jumping with him - and also ask if there are insurance considerations. Premiums for horses that jump are typically higher for those that don’t jump, and if he gets injured while jumping but they haven’t insured him for that discipline, the insurance company may decline to pay out.

[Rel6]

My college program had a former upper level dressage horse donated at the age of 18 who was tired of that job. They taught him to jump (fairly easy with a horse who had such great flat basics) and he was a very happy crossrail through 2’6” horse for their program for over ten years.

Would it be too late to turn a 13 year old into an international derby super star? Probably. But to start a career as a 2’6”-2’9” hunter? Probably not.

[Scribbler]

While I agree that casual low jumpers on a green horse or a sound older horse is not a huge strain, I have seen more than one junior rider even at low levels end up doing damage to their horses hocks, ie an under ten year old very suitable stock horse needing hock injections after a couple of years of cross poles and two foot. Go very slowly and have some intelligent adult eyes on the situation. The uninvolved owner may agree to all kinds of things. Work with a trainer

[findeight]

By all means involve your trainer…but sometimes opportunities to ride somebody else’s horse do come along and you desperately need more saddle time so why not ride the horse?

Dunno about the Hunter thing or even jumping but you need more miles and theres no such thing as too much flatwork for developing riders. Within reason and assuming he is safe of course.

Just keep in mind it is somebody else’s horse and they make all the care and management decisions. Horse like this may not be a long time partner but he can sure help you move along as a rider even if only temporarily.

[Rumorhasit93]

This is my junior hunter…back when the only junior option was 3’6”. She was a dressage broodmare, we purchased her at 12 and started her jumping career. I echo what the others said, as long as the owners are fine with it and there are no physical factors limiting the horse, I say why not!

[Inimitable]

I love this. I currently have a 14yo TB mare who was a broodmare living in a field before I purchased her at auction at 12. I started her jumping and we’ve worked our way up to the 1m jumpers with scope for more. She’s as special as they get.

[Rumorhasit93]

It’s probably better, honestly, than getting a horse with a ton of miles and baggage along with it! Best of luck, sounds like a special horse

[dynamite0319]

I brought my 13yo QH (that took me to the AQHYA World Championships in reining when he was 5) to Texas and let him sit around doing nothing until he was 16. I got the foxhunting bug and foxhunted him until he was 24. I think he maxed out around 3’, but we didn’t jump a ton. Old horses can certainly learn new tricks and sometimes you come to find out that they like the new tricks better! I found my horse’s reining training to be really helpful in his foxhunting job, but he was never a horse that you could keep contact with his mouth. You never know unless you try!

[greysfordays]

When you say turn him into a hunter, do you mean showing as well as jumping at home?

If so, that would be an additional thing to discuss with the owners and a trainer. There is increased risk with jumping, but competing also has the risk and stress of travel, etc. It would be worth it to understand why they would like to keep this horse if they don’t ride it. But I agree with the others that getting more saddle time, even if it’s just flatting or pole work is great for you.

[DownYonder]

I mentioned insurance ramifications upthread but it seems that pretty much no one else has taken that into consideration.

While it absolutely is doable to train an older horse for a different career, the crux of THIS particular scenario is that the horse DOES NOT BELONG TO THE OP.

As an owner, I would be more than a little miffed if someone I was letting ride my horse suddenly took it upon themselves to train the horse for a different discipline. And I would be especially PO’d if said training had a negative effect on my insurance premiums or put me at risk of a denied claim should the horse get injured because of the change in training focus.

OP - you owe it to the horse’s owner to discuss your aspirations with her and make sure she is okay with it, and that conversation should absolutely include discussions about any possibly impact to any insurance policy the owner has on the horse. To do anything less is dishonorable.