The reiners actually recognize they have a problem with a high emphasis on futurity classes for 2 yo’s, especially stallions. The horses are used up physically and mentally by the end of the 2 yo year and retire to breed, if they are successful enough.
Ironically the reining horses that hold up the sport, for ammys & mid-rank pros, are older. Much like h/j/e horse ages.
And of course racing has a slate for 2 yo’s. For the Jockey Club, the prime Triple Crown races at 3 yo means most horses begin their trek at 2. Whether they get to the TC or not.
Interesting COTH thread from a couple of years ago, re reining.
Many years ago, I went and looked at a few young horses at a farm where the woman had some nice youngsters.
She told me her strategy was to back the two-year-olds late in the year to teach them the basic concept, and just take them out for very low-key trail rides a few times with another horse so they got the idea. Then she kicked them back out in the field.
Then late the following year, she would do the same thing, maybe with a few more trail rides, still with a good companion horse. And then they went back out in the field again.
So then when she was actually ready to do a little more with them as four-year-olds, they thought the whole thing was old hat.
I own a retired reiner that went to the big futurities. In order to show them in the big futurities they start them at two. And sometimes they show as late 2 year olds.
We had several horses geared for the reining futurity and a few participated.
Not all are that talented or mature and are ready by then.
Unless NRHA rules have changed, a horse has to be considered a three year old to participate.
Now, remember horse’s age is not by when they were born, but January 1 of the year they are born in.
To be fair, Open auctions accept what whoever signs the consignment slip says. Often that is a middle man type dealer who specializes in acquiring horses from farm dispersals, estate sales and liquidations then shipping to large auctions often several states away.
That dealer/shipper, or their agent (truck driver) is the consigner who signs the slip and often they don’t get anything either. These are bulk loads too, not talking 2-4 head, talking 12-20 more. Open auctions run 50-100 or more per sale, they are usually on the property for just a few days if not shopped in day of. Horses in poor shape are also difficult to guesstimate age. So they go by what they were given.
There is no “they’ there plotting to defraud buyers. They don’t have time and at least they give these horses a chance when nobody else did.
Restricted auctions, like breed or proven skills, operate differently and have higher consignment fees. There are also some long running well respected Open auctions in ranch country worthy of checking out if you are looking for a prospect. But even at these, “information is believed to be true but not guaranteed”.
Not meaning to hijack, but… What did you wind up using for the wound on her face, and was it effective? My horse came home from 10 days at the clinic where his halter was left on 24/7 and he’s got a couple rubs.
You’re right. They can’t show in a futurity until they’re 3 by year. BUT they can and do get shown as late two year olds in green reiner classes to get them acclimated to the idea. At least they did 10 years ago around here. Mine was a 2009 baby that was unimpressive at the NRHA futurity. I bought him after he got home and then showed him as a 4 and 5 year old in reining classes at my ability. I then turned him into a dressage pony because he was more interested in that. He was retired at 9 years old due to neck arthritis. He’s now a very personable and expensive pasture pet.
We had some Reiners that won smaller Futurities at three, that were still winning in their late teens/early 20’s, one of those won the world twice in the interscholastic league.
Also plenty that made great ranch horses after showing and lived sound and healthy to very old age.
We had a wonderful feral horse, caught out of a herd in Nevada at five.
He made a fabulous ranch horse, but had to be retired in early teens because of his knees.
Our vet thought he went thru a drought as a yearling/two year old and had rickets in his knees from it, that shortened his life considerably.
Sorry that your horse had problems so young.
As we all know, horses are rather fragile and so much can go wrong with them, or any other alive, humans included, is part of being a horse, in the wild or domestic, is part of being alive.
IIRC, there was an article years ago about how Bruce Davidson started his young horses. He had essentially the same program, starting them as late two year olds when they weren’t big and strong enough to overpower a rider. They’d hack out in a group with suitable escorts for a month or so, then get kicked back out. As late three year olds they’d do a bit in the ring and also get introduced to little ditches and banks on their hacks. At four they’d start proper school and everything was nbd.
For sure, I think there is something to be said for the strategy of starting them (very lightly) when they are still on the young and scrawny side instead of waiting until they are much more big and feisty. Lol.
Starting them as 2 yo in the fall for 30-60 days then kicking them back out for the at least the winter has been pretty traditional until recently when carrying costs skyrocketed and instant success is expected.
Not exactly, there have been plenty of studies now past decades showing that horses started properly early and kept in work do better all around in soundness, fitness for the job and staying sound and healthy longer thru their lives.
Those of us that have handled horses both ways can attest to it.
Here are some articles touching on this:
Horses who grow up on the open range tend to be tough and hardy their whole lives (barring injury or really sad conformation). I can completely see that a young horse put into work early might develop better than a young horse kept in a stall or tiny paddock, or backyard. But it’s still probably best that they get to run free on varied terrain
I think what those studies have shown is that a young horse, properly trained to become a domestic riding horse, has been shown to become one and last longer healthier and sounder if he has been training, again properly, for the task at hand.
A race colt will grow best working toward’s becoming a race colt, a jumper for jumping, a reiner for reining, some disciplines cross train fine, like race horses retrained for jumpers, may not be as competitive and healthy if started for cutting later, although a few OTTB’s long ago did show in cutting and did well, but those were rare.
Similar to a little bitty kid playing some sports in grade school, then refining those in HS, then even more in College and becoming a top pro, compared with a kid not into sports and then expecting to become very good if in college it decides to learn a competitive hard, technical sport and be very good against those that spent years preparing to be that top athlete, mentally, required work ethic and muscle memory for that specific task.
A horse that spends the equivalent of many growing human years running in the wild or large pastures is not going to be learning to work with humans, with riders on it’s back and on tasks he will need that muscle memory, physical fitness and work ethic for those specific tasks, compared with one that grows from young doing that.
We started many feral horses, generally from 4 to some closer to ten and they just were physically different to ride for long time, before their bodies adapted to carrying riders, compared with those that learned to do so and work with humans, as domestic horses, since young.
Feral horse’s mature bodies never used to carry weight, were stiffer and tighter.
We had to work to teach them to move looser and more athletically minded for what we did with them and with a rider on their backs.
Yesterday my FB feed got another Andie mare at Bowie. This one is bay, not buckskin, and skinny but looks sound in the short video clip. Not emaciated but thin. Did not indicate it had papers but did not look like an Andie/QH cross from what I could tell. Cute mare and I think it was fairly young. . I don’t usually get these clips unsolicited on FB so I have no idea how it showed up.
