I currently have a 2 year old warmblood filly (half TB) who will be my future dressage horse. She is 16hh and is 2 years old. When my vet saw her most recently, she said that she has really physically matured, and she recommends that I send her to be started later this year as a 2 years old, instead of waiting until 3 as I had planned (since they are like sponges at this age and can benifit from light exposure to their future jobs). I got a second option from another vet, and the trainer that I will have start her, and they all agree that she will be ready to be started as a 2.5 year old this fall. To be clear, she would be going away for a month as a 2.5 year old, mostly worked with on groundwork/grooming/tacking and then will have very light experience with mounting and short rides at walk/trot. The trainer then recommend when she returns to me in the fall I ride her 1-2 times a week (at the walk and a bit of trot) for 10 minutes just so she becomes used to the concept, nothing physically strenuous. She then will return to the trainer as a 3 year old to be fully started under saddle (cantering, real rides, etc). Although it is comforting to have several experienced horse people/vets give the OK to this plan, I was hoping to find out if anyone else has had success with starting two year olds. I have always been under the impression that horses need to wait until 3. Please just let me know your opinions/experiences. Thanks!
I plan to follow your schedule more or less for starting my youngster under saddle, BUT bumping it all one year. 2.5 is just to young and not developed enough IMO, so matter how mature they seem. This is your long-term dressage horse…no rush! 
I would wait two more years personally… you want the horse for a long time, be patient.
After all I’ve experienced, ridden, and read, I am still on the fence about this.
On the one hand, I do think that horses started later in life have more unsoundness issues than those carefully conditioned from an early age. On the other hand, “carefully conditioned” is such a vague, broad term and the line in which to walk is so thin and hard to tread. It’s easy to push a young horse past their limits.
But as a collective, looking back – the horses I’ve seen be the most consistently sound, were not horses that had late starts in life. Conditioning the bones and limbs young is positive to the horse. The soundest horses I know were started at 2, generally - some even earlier… and those horses were not WBs, though I do know a few sound WBs.
Most WBs are started later on in life (3 to 4) and still have a tremendous amount of wasteage. Which begs the question of why?
However, there is so much more that goes into making a sound horse than the date in which they are started. I believe that properly turned out, given the space to move, the full turnout and the conditioning that results from that constant movement in pasture is far more conducive to long-term soundness than anything else; keeping a young horse out on pasture 24/7 is one of the best things I think you can do for them to ensure soundness, personally.
We do know that the horse isn’t fully done growing until between six and eight; that’s a long time to be living without earning your keep… and is frankly unrealistic - so the question of when the horse is ready to be started, I think, does not have a universal answer – when they are ready to be started is when, IMHO, they look even and are not going through a disastrous growth phase, or two parts combined into one, etc. Some horses come into their bodies sooner than others - others need more time to fill out.
Which brings me to the starting of the young horse - I think so many of the injuries that crop up in the young WB is because of the circles and constant lunging in the workload; hacking the young horse out, eliminating circles as much as possible, not lunging them in a whole rig get-up, all of that should make a perfectly sound young horse be willing and able to do the light work asked of them. So many of the WB starters I know spend a lot of time lunging - and that is where I think you run into issues later on.
I think that the program in this OP is perfectly reasonable for a young horse. Asking a young horse to do ten minutes of light work once a week really should not harm the horse – unless that horse was fundamentally unsound to begin with.
I have started all my youngsters at 2.5, and the only one that had any soundness problems was the one who sustained an injury while in turnout. The one who was actually thoroughly vetted (I was selling him for pretty decent coin) vetted completely clean - he was started at 2.5 as well.
Now, that said - there’s a big caveat here. I started them all myself, veeerrry slowly. I would never send them offsite to a trainer to “put 30 days” on them. No way. That’s too much pressure to get too much done in a specific timeframe. So for that reason I disagree with your plan. If you’re going to insist on sending your horse to a trainer for a set period with set expectations (i.e. groundwork done, horse going w/t under saddle), I would absolutely wait until next year.
All I do with my 2.5 yr olds is sit on them. First time is just sitting, pat the neck, get off. Second time a few days later, same thing. Third time, walk down the long side, halt, walk on, halt, then get off. So basically, at 2 “rides” per week, it takes me a good 4-6 weeks just to get to the point where i’ll ask for a few steps of trot. I spend no more than 5 minutes on their back for the first month, then work up super slowly from there over the winter. In the spring of their 3 yr old year i’m still only sitting on them 2x/week for 15-20 minutes, tops - one of the rides preferably being a hack. Once they’re officially 3 i’ll add another weekly ride in, and if I feel they’re balanced enough, i’ll start asking for a bit of canter on a straight line. I have never introduced jumping, even over tiny x’s, until they’re more than 3.5, coming 4.
I have seen waaaaaaaaay too many young horses who have been subjected to the “30-60 days and then kick’ em out for the winter” routine and who come back in the spring with the attitude of “um, no i don’t want to work, thanks - we did that, and i’m done now” to go that route, personally. For my youngsters, once they start “work”, that’s their new reality, no extended breaks, beyond the odd 1 or 2-week vacay here and there (which benefits them immensely - and the’yre usually super eager to resume work after).
The key is not to expect a lot for the first 6 months. Just getting them used to the new reality of having someone on their back for very brief periods of time, on a regular basis - that’s all. And lots of long-lining in the first 60 days, with a tiny bit of lunging throw in.
There have been studies done showing that gentle, repetitive work early on strengthens joints and ligaments and increases bone density while the horse is still growing. It’s only detrimental if you overdo it. Which most people are very tempted to do if they wait - I’ve known way more horses with soundness issues who were started late (4 yrs), because they were pretty much immediately put into “real work” when their body wasn’t ready for it. :no:
Good luck!
Thank you everyone who has responded so far! I really do appreciate the variety of feedback. And wow, thank you very much to those two longer supported responses with reference to prior experience. It really gave me a different view on the benefits and concerns of early starting, particularly sending to a trainer who has a timeline. That definitely makes me rethink things. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to respond
I wouldn’t hesitate to send a 2 1/2 year old with mature behavior to learn about groundwork and handling, and even wearing tack. But I wouldn’t have it started under saddle. The spine doesn’t develop until later - basically joints start closing at the lower levels first, then move up. Among horses I know, the ones started early have tighter backs than the ones started later. I don’t know if there’s any kind of damage in there, or just habitual tight muscles which developed from needing to protect their backs, and I don’t know if starting at different ages would have changed anything.
I agree that many circles and longeing can be damaging, and that walking on long trail rides is good for a horse. I just do it at 3 1/2+ rather than 2 1/2. I want my horses going into their 20s if possible, so there’s no rush to start.
I started my guy in November of his two year old year (went to a Joe Wolter colt starting clinic - it was a great experience for both of us). He was very happy to “work” and seemed to enjoy himself. I didn’t really do much besides walk/trot and canter a tiny bit on large circles and around the arena for the first 6 months or so (short rides as well). Just basically learning what his job would be. As an ammy who rides by myself all the time, I didn’t want to wait to get on a more muscled/mature horse for the first time. But he was ready mentally to start so I just took it really easy on him undersaddle.
Showed Intro/materiale his 3 year old year just to get him out. But, he had been showing in-hand from the time he was 6 weeks old so it wasn’t a huge deal for him.
He has had soundness issues but it was stifle related that was caused by two months of stall rest from an unnecessary hock OCD surgery (no OCD actually present…that’s a whole 'nother story).
I start most of my youngsters in the spring before they turn 3. Mostly I break them myself, but I did send one off to a cowboy type to get started for me.
I totally disagree that time of starting has anything to do with future soundness (or unsoundness).
What heavily impacts that are factors such as:
- conformation for the job
- good (or bad) farriery
- proper conditioning
- type of work (e.g. no drilling things at this age)
- well-fitted tack
- expectations tailored to the individual horse
- conformation for the job (did I already mention that? An awful lot of folks ignore anything that’s not blatantly obvious, and this and the feet are the things that I see impacting horses most frequently)
I have put 30 days on horses at this age, I have put 60 days on them, and I have put 90 days on them. Some get ridden for 5-10 minutes a few times a week, a couple have gone into more regular programs. It totally depends on what the individual horse needs.
If you trust the trainer you’ve spoken to, then there’s no reason to think that they’ll put your horse at risk. But that is the same issue that exists with sending any horse to any trainer…how to know if they’re one of the “good ones” or not.
I have several older horses who were started very young. My 22 year old WB mare is still jumping around 3’6" fences with my 10yo daughter. My 17yo OTTB is still showing 1.40m - 1.50m. And many of the horses I have sold over the years have gone on to long careers after me well into their 20s. My “secret” (beyond good luck), is attention to proper conditioning and strengthening (as it relates to each horse’s weaknesses), a terrific farrier, and a great vet/bodyworker. I see zero correlation between tightness of the back and age of starting. However, there’s a huge correlation between tightness of back and farriery, bodywork, and conditioning programs.
PNWJumper thank you for your response, it offered fantastic insight. When you refer to “bodywork”, are you referring to the physical training and conditioning of the horse? Or are you referring to massage/chiropractic work. Thank you!
Agree with PNW. Having started horses from 18mo (race bred TBs) to 4 year old WBs, I have to say the younger ones are MUCH easier. They are little sponges and willing students. IMO, the most important factor is fitness and conditioning appropriate to age and workload.
I do not lunge much before age 3, I feel endless circles are too hard on young joints. I lunge just enough to canter with a saddle on to get the buck out. I do lots of groundwork, hand walking, ponying, and ground driving-- 30min of walking 4 days a week for 60 days before starting under saddle. That builds a base of fitness to work with. I walk/trot in the first few “rides”, work on steering and stopping, and pick up a canter lead each way within a week or two. I only canter a dozen strides, just enough to give the horse a feel for the gait. After 30 days, turn them back out for a break, and when work resumes, just ride twice a week (or less) with mostly hacks and trails until age 3.5.
I’m that context I meant chiro. All of my horses get regular chiropractic/acupuncture, with particular attention at times when we’re increasing work load or doing something new (and sometimes it’s just my vet saying, “she feels great, keep doing what you’re doing”). But IMO it’s impossible to separate the chiro/acu/massage from the conditioning, which goes hand in hand.
I believe in starting them the year they turn 3 too. FWIW I send mine off for 90-120 days. I have one at baby camp now…she spent a month getting long lined and ponied all over the place, and is now doing long lining, ponying, short “rides” with someone up learning walk trot. When she comes home in the early fall I will ride her a bit while the weather holds and then turn her out.
we don’t have the conditions to keep them in work and I don’t have an indoor. Next spring I will probably send her off again for a refresher because I ride at home alone and dont need to get on young ones like that. But I will pony her around when the weather permits and keep up the handling, of course.
i think soundness is 75 percent conformation, 15 percent care (unless you have a bad farrier where this rises), and 10 percent luck (horses love to self destruct in creative ways). That 15 percent care can make a huge difference, though, in the usability of the horse.
many horses have slight issues you can minimize by conditioning (like many stifle issues), and no horse can be tossed in a hard program from the field and feel good. I d9nt even consider a “needs fitting up in the stifles to move free” kind of horse to be a soundness issue, it is a basic requirement we should do with all horses.
I would get a new vet based on him saying that. Bone growth indicates starting young is not a good idea, assuming starting means riding.
I completely disagree that soundness is mainly conformation. I think it’s mostly conditioning. So, I think young horses need to ideally be in huge hilly pastures with many steep parts and rocks. I do a lot of ponying ( and following) with my young horses to get them in condition, by riding an adult horse with the young one coming along. I think that is more ideal. That can be done from very young, just as in the wild.
You can also do a lot of training in the way of handling, saddling, bridling, and even just sitting on their back like ASBjumper said. I would not do any lunging until maybe 3 1/2. Actual “riding” does not start until 4, meaning starting to trot and canter, and then a year of learning that before real work.
I take this from my first horse someone very lightly started at 4 and rode at 5 and he was sound and doing the FEI work easily at 31. I also take the lesson of the Lippizzaners where they leave them running int he field until they are 6, and they are doing the highest high school level dressage well into their 30’s.
A year or two of time at the beginning gives 5 or 10 or 15 at the end. Working sound well into the late 20’s should be a norm.
For those of you who pony your youngsters…can you walk us through how you do this without a second pair of hands to help you? Or do you always have help? What’s your process and how long are you sessions?
OP - thanks for bringing up this topic! Lots to consider here…
I’m about to start with the 2 y/o we have. I’ll share how I’ve taught my others to pony.
First is to make sure that their in-hand respect for you is confirmed: back up when I motion to, move away when I motion to, stop when I stop, etc. Ideally they should be keeping an eye on you and performing the behavior before you physically touch them; IE, my horses stop when they see me stop, I don’t even have to pull on the halter/lead to signify stopping. In that vein, when they see me push my palm out as if to push their flank, they know that means move over. Backing up, same thing - I flip my hand around and motion back-up - some are better about this than others. Get this pretty polished, and if you need to, use a whip - not physically, but raise it to get them to stop, etc.
Then, I’ll halter in their own paddock and hop on someone who is good for ponying, and start that way – just so if there are any escapades, they are contained. Do this for a few sessions, keep things short but interesting - I like to do lots of changes of directions, stops, etc.
The one thing you should work on during this time is that they keep with you - sometimes they will try to get ahead – when that happens, pick up the whip so that it is eyelevel with them and wiggle it until they back off – use whatever command it is you use to tell them to back up, and make them do it. They are not allowed past your horse’s shoulder, so spend time making that a point.
Sometimes, the first time you ask them to trot there will be some dramatics; sometimes not. Be prepared to let the line slip a bit because they don’t always get “oh, we’re trotting now” right away. The other thing is, sometimes they’ll try to get ahead again and at the trot I just change direction suddenly, so they don’t end up in front of me.
Once I feel that they understand the concept, I go out into the ring for a bit and play around; once I feel they have a reasonable understanding of W/T, it’s off to trail-riding. It doesn’t take long and most are happy to accompany.
Just make sure your mounted horse is okay with having a frisky pony at the end of the line though - some are much more forgiving than others.
I learned to pony when I worked for an Olympic three day eventer. She just put me on one international horse, and handed me the lead rope of another. Watch the Horse in Sport polo video Those people know how t pony. They go out riding one with three horses on each side.
It really is not that hard. As long as a baby leads, they can pony. Depending on your riding situation, you can also just let them follow loose. (To this day, I let the now adult horses loose while I am riding the other.)
I have never had help. I just get on and lead. Worst case scenario, you let go of the lead rope. It’s actually much easier than going out alone because the leader horse is happy to have the company and leadee is happy to follow.
I actually had a horse in for training for a month who had never ponied, but my six month old was very experienced. So I took them out. When the horse I was on was unsure about going over a bridge and the foal just started walking over, she got sort of embarassed and walked right over the bridge.
Wide trails are nice, but if the other horse has to walk behind, as long as you don’t have a kicker, there has never been an issue.
FWIW, everyone I know who breeds/starts WBs start them at three, but no real riding until 4 due to growth plates and growth. There’s so much ground work that can be done, including ponying. Bones and soft tissue will adjust to any decent riding (weight bearing) at 4, 5 or 6. Horses who know that life includes having a job are always at an advantage than horses plucked out of a field at a later age.
Ponying teaches a horse that a person can be “above” them without being on their back, to respond to lead commands by changing sides of the lead horse, and just to work in proximity to other horses and follow direction. A solid lead horse makes the process easy by imparting confidence. My horse learned to pony as a 4 year old.
Agree with this. What’s the rush? She may be big and “mature” looking, but the growth plates still won’t be closed.
In my experience, as someone who has been paid to start babies - including those owned by pros I respect - a young horse is no less willing or tractable or eager to learn at 3 or 4 vs 2 years old.Temperament plays a huge role, as does upbringing and ground/prep work. Thus far, the easiest horse I’ve ever had the pleasure of starting was a 4 year old.
Personally, I would not take on a client that wanted me to start their 2yo…but it’s not my FT job, so I have the luxury of saying no to things I don’t believe in.
FWIW, thought i’d post this little addendum:
I visited the horse in question (bold portion above) as I was out of town for a funeral this past weekend and was driving right through his new owner’s town on the way home, so I stopped in and visited him & his new owner. Among lots of other things she updated me on, she informed me that he was still 100% sound and has never once been off in the 4 years since she bought him. He’s now 10 years old. He has been in consistent work (Dressage and a bit of jumping) the whole time. 
