Yep. From Dr. Deb’s own website. I especially love the highlighted line.
Most of her experience shared on her website seems to come from taking clinics, not actual scientific study of horses and the mechanics involved. As much as I would have loved to have to had the opportunity to ride with Ray Hunt or Tom Dorrance, I don’t think it would make me the expert she has become without a deeper dive into veterinary sciences.
So a lot of these horses aren’t started until later and they still have soundness issues requiring maintenance, but you’re throwing shade on the OTTBs, reiners and barrel racers? I don’t know about the OTTBs, but I’m sure reiners and barrel races get maintenance and appropriate care as required. The money a lot of them are worth, they want to keep them healthy.
Jvanrens, thank you for that perspective. I’m glad someone’s actually read it. This is what I wanted to hear. I will continue to read more studies and educate myself. I think we should all continue to learn, and not just about riding. Biomechanics is as critical a subject as feeding, hoof care, and all the other stuff we need to stay on top of. I also think Aussie makes an excellent point. We are asking much more of baby horses than we would ever consider asking from little kids. Thoroughbred racing is a far cry from Little League.
I also wish to point out, that I’m not here to diss anyone’s choices. I have two very good trainer friends who start their horses under saddle at 2. They both produce sound, successful, horses.
I don’t want to write a book here, but I might get carried away… 
As JB is asking, I still have not seen rigorous data supporting the notion the closure of all the growth plates is required before riding. If someone has some, please post it.
That said, of course we should not overwork our babies.
That said, we SHOULD appropriately stress them at the appropriate times because that is what makes them sounder as adults.
We talked a lot about building better athletes in the Equine rehabilitation course I took.
As babies (weanlings) they should be out and moving, not stalled. Lack of exercise delays musculoskeletal development including composition of cartilage and tendons, bone density and gait patterns.
A study was done comparing stall rest, stall rest with high intensity exercise and free exercise in young foals. They found stall rest can have lifelong negative effects on bone and cartilage quality. In addition stall rest with high intensity exercise also caused issues, but moderate intensity exercise (free exercise) improved parameters. So seems like common sense, baby horses need to get out move around and exercise on their own for long term soundness.
So lets talk tendons. There are studies out there about the adaptability of tendons to stress. In the adult horse, there is none. Adaptability happens in the growing youngsters and they need stress to develop strong healthy tendons. Yes, of course, they can’t be overstressed, but that’s true at any age.
As far as bones there is ample evidence that they need stress to properly develop.
I decided to quit typing and throw this out there, you can read at your pleasure…
Training Young Horses: The Science behind the Benefits - PMC (nih.gov)
Yes, there are limitations and no, we shouldn’t over do things, but if you want a sound adult, you have to start when they are very young and stress the appropriate tissue at the appropriate time.
I’ve only started 3 of my own, so obviously this is not scientific, but anecdotal. None of them were kept in their stalls, they all grew up able to run and play at will.
I had them from weanlings. As everyone knows there is a lot you can do with weanlings on the ground until they are 2 years old that make backing so much easier. I only longed mine when they were five years old.
I did their ground work in the paddock and ponied them out hacking. The first time I was in the saddle was in the paddock and I had no problems with any of them being frightened by my presence on their back.
Each one of them had their first trot and canter out hacking (in straight lines.) They had been ponied out before, so were somewhat familiar with the great outdoors and going up and down small hills.
I can’t stress enough how much I believe that it is so much easier to train a horse to go forward when they have somewhere to go. It was so much easier to install whoa and go, as well as to get them to understand leg and seat aids, when out hacking.
I think I took my gelding riding out for very short periods of time when he was two, and the mare at three because she didn’t have as good of balance as he did, and he was much more of a quick and eager learner.
I really think, from my (albeit limited and amateur) experience backing youngsters, that it’s the tight circles that aren’t good for them. Asking them to carry a person in a straight line or a wide curve allows them to find their balance with a rider on top, for short periods of time, is enough for a two or three year old.
Then, over time, you can feel them gain more strength and balance and as they physically mature, you can ask more time hacking and for large circles and work with side reins on the longe if they need help understanding what it is to be “on the bit”…
It may have been luck, but none of mine ever took a lame step. Colic was their thing. 
No, because that was aimed at Bennett’s comment that no horse should have weight on their back until they’re 4-6 years old, so essentially until they are a nearly, or completely, done growing wrt growth plates. That IS the same as saying kids shouldn’t do sports until they’re fully done growing - college-ish.
A 10yo (4th grader) would be much more like a yearling. Forced work, other than hand walking or light ground driving or ponying, isn’t appropriate at all
And how are you segregating those issues among poor riding (which covers everything from actual poor riding, to over-working, to not conditioning properly, and more), poor hoof balance, poor saddle it, the basic wear and tear that ANY athlete will undergo, using a horse for work that his conformation doesn’t suit, how the horse is just looking for ways to kill himself and doing weird things simply playing in the pasture and it not really showing up to the rider until it’s a more significant problem, and who knows what else, all 100% unrelated to when or how they’re started?
My understanding from articles shared on this forum, was that age appropriate work helped with the developing of appropriate connective tissue (not bone).
Horses don’t naturally develop to have suitable weight carrying without some “stress” (light riding).
From other studies I have read, soundness issues related to early training and/or high performance training are more likely related to:
-Stalling/confinement, particularly of horses still developing. This includes stalling overnight where they horse then runs like an idiot when turned out.
-Turn out that overly restricts movement and doesn’t challenge the horse physically (such as hills or rough terrain)
Unfortunately there is little motivation to fund further studies to find the ideal situations for developing young horses as who would fund it?
There are so many interesting research questions related to equine biomechanics, bitting, saddling, and really, pretty much anything related to riding and driving horses. But, there’s no money to research it. Years ago, USDF (IIRC) funded some research into bits at Michigan State. It was really interesting, but it was barely the tip of the iceberg on the topic. But that was all the money they had so that was the end of it.
There is more than there used to be. I got grants from the AQHA and the Kansas Racing Commision for my work but they were fairly small. There are other groups out there funding research. But overall, it’s not a high priority. Sometimes if you can convince a grant agency that your work has implications in human medicine you can get money that way. Horses are supposed to be a good model for tendon development so there have been some studies there. But grants in general are tough right now for everyone.
We at one point had a rich benefactor that was considering sponsoring our research center, but that fell by the wayside.
Need to get one of the billionaires interested in horses!
you are just shopping for an argument and I don’t want to participate
Alice Walton is actually the number-21 wealthiest person in the world, she sold off her cutting horses in 2015 but remains in Fort Worth
As an amusing story… How many of you have actually MET Deb Bennett? I have. It was a few decades ago now, when she was making tours and offered a “clinic” locally. A friend of mine was a devotee, and I’d heard of her, and heard that she considered herself to be an icon, and a conformation expert. I knew that she was “down” on the racing industry, and TBs in general, but my friend wanted to go to this clinic, and take her horse, and participate, so I went with her with her with a green one of mine… for an “outing” at least for him.
My horse was a homebred TB gelding, who was a failed racehorse (just dammed slow), super kind, super easy horse, with a show horse career ahead of him. Three starts at the track as a 3 year old the previous summer, no soundness issues (couldn’t run fast enough to even heat up a shin). He was doing a few cross rails at home, had not done much else. He was around 17.2 at the time, finished out around 18 hands. My friend’s horse was the same age, just over 16 hands, with a bad set of toed in front legs, but I don’t think hers ever did race. No soundness issues. So off we went to the clinic.
We arrived at 9 in the morning, the time at which we were told our lesson started. I led my fella around, showed him the indoor arena. Turned out we were NOT riding right away, we were to just walk around in the arena. My horse had a nice roll there. Deb Bennett greeted most of the horses, but was reluctant to get too close to either TB. The other horses there were several “spanish” types (andelusians?) and an ancient welsh pony. Then we went to tack up, and the lesson started. It went on until noon. Riding. Then we broke for lunch. Then we had to tack up again, and ride some more. By the end of the “clinic”, my friend’s horse would not even participate AT ALL ANY MORE. Wouldn’t even go around the ring. Just completely “nappy”. Miserable. Dead beat tired. Most of the other horses were in much the same situation. That poor old welsh pony was nearly dead. My horse kept trying to do the right thing. Most of the other horses were by then refusing to even go around the ring any more. And then I just pulled my horse out of there, because the entire thing was a complete waste of time, and detrimental. I had no idea that this was going to be what was asked for by this person. She was too frightened of both the TBs to even get near them, she kept her distance and did nothing but offer “snide” comments.
I’ve ridden with a large variety of coaches and professionals over the last multiple decades, many that you have probably heard of. I’ve never been so completely horrified as I was at what happened at a “clinic”. It was a “whole day affair” with complete disregard for the welfare of the horses, and offered little of value to any of the participants. My friend who was the devotee of this clinician was equally disgusted. I can laugh about it now I guess.
I sold my big horse to a very tall man the following year. He passed an extensive pre purchase exam, no problem. He fox hunted him, and did the 3’6" ami hunter divisions with him. Loved him to bits.
I remain a staunch and steadfast supporter of the thoroughbred horse, as both a racehorse and a sport horse. I find them to be very sound horses, easily trainable or retrainable, usually athletic, with a huge work ethic. Which makes them hard to beat in any sphere.
Something that gets asked a lot when looking at studies and such is “who funded it?”
If the TB industry is funding this research, I have a little voice in the back of my head that says “be careful with the results”.
I think the truth is somewhere in the middle.
I have - and I will say that I am also not a fan. While I don’t discount her research, I feel like she deals in rigid black and whiteness forgetting that horses, like every other living being, are fluid individuals
If you all want to debate when to start youngsters, enjoy! But using the writings of a paleontologist with very little real world experience is not a convincing argument. One would need to study the skeletons of thousands of horses of different breeds and work histories to come to a statistically significant conclusion. We all need to be critical readers and examine the sources and provenance of information that appears on our screens. Anyone can write a book. Everyone has an opinion. But opinions are one thing and facts are another.
I’ve seen her “ride” a dead-broke guest horse. She kept at it for about 15 minutes. I honestly thought she was going to fall off.
Dr. Bennett was an important voice in her time as she was bringing a different way to look at some we were doing with horses.
As such, her “research” in principle was seminal for ethology.
She was, as some scientists do, more trying to validate her theories than properly setting protocols to work with was coming out in those and offer more than her seemingly set in stone confirmation of those theories of hers.
Some were right, others a bit too extrapolated, but yes, today those are a footnote in history, much else has come to light and more will.
100%
I’d much more look to the findings/studies of Becks Nairn, who is doing some really interesting work with ECVM now, via looking at lots and lots of bones. She’s a taxidermist, but has looked at LOTS of equine skeletons and seen damages done, either congenital, or “after market”. I don’t know whether she’s reached any theoretical ideas of causes and effects re: riding, but she might have, at least on some level, it’s been a while since I peeked at her work.
She actually just posted about this in the last week and the take away (as I took it) was she was not in favor of riding before 6. In favor of exercise and bringing a young horse along fitness and development-wise but not riding at a young age. She based her statement on what she’s seeing with her research.
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