I ride my 4 year old more like 3 times per week. I haven’t started jumping as she is still quite green and unbalanced. I showed her in Intro dressage classes last Sunday and then had her teeth floated, so she had the week off. Today I hand walked her not the cross country course (and into water complex) so I’m going to incorporate more of that with her riding!
Thanks all for the sanitary check, very helpful. On another note, I saw an ad for a four coming five year old horse that was being advertised as ready to pre green in December. Kind of makes you wonder if the horse will still be sound in 5 years!
I’ve gone between riding two days per week and four days per week for my four-year-old pony. For the past month or so I’ve only been riding two days per week and both were lessons (one dressage, one jumping). When winter comes, she’ll get a couple months off and then back to work in the spring!
[QUOTE=baymarewithflair;8883034]
Thanks all for the sanitary check, very helpful. On another note, I saw an ad for a four coming five year old horse that was being advertised as ready to pre green in December. Kind of makes you wonder if the horse will still be sound in 5 years![/QUOTE]
I hate statements like these.
Lame horses are not made by horses who are jumping 3’ fences as a late 4yo, or by fence height at all. Lame horses are made by people who push horses to do things inappropriate to their muscles/bones/bodies/brains and/or people who drill exercises with no regard to the horse’s maturity.
A scopey horse can jump a pretty decent size fence with no more impact or stress than a teeny tiny crossrail. IOW, a jump is a jump is a jump as long as it’s done in a way that minimizes stress to the brain (and assuming a competent rider that’s not interfering with the horse to/over the jump). So even if that 3’ fence looks big to you, it does not necessarily look big to your horse, or to another rider/trainer.
I jump bigger fences with my young horses (and linked to a video earlier of my 4yo doing a 1.0m 4yo Young Jumper class a couple of months after turning 4). In fact, my guy spent the whole year show year coursing 1.0m (3’3"). Along those lines, his 2nd course ever in his life was a 1.0m jumper course at a show. He’s a scopey youngster with an unbelievable brain. Jumping a 1.0m fence is absolutely nothing to him mentally or physically. And as such, I barely jumped at home at all throughout the season. We would work on small parts of a course (cantering a single fence, or working on a simple gymnastic) and the only time we put it all together in a full course was at shows.
I do agree that a horse that’s being “prepped hard” to show will absolutely suffer in long term soundness, but I guess my point is that a horse showing at 3’+ as a 4yo does not automatically = a hard prepped horse.
I have raised many horses this way and have not had problems with soundness.
I personally believe that soundness is impacted in young horses MUCH more dramatically by shoeing and body imbalance that starts the horse compensating and sets a chain reaction in place that eventually results in wear-and-tear type injuries. And I don’t mean to overlook conformation, as this is equally as important. Many young horses do not make it past their young horse years because of conformational issues that predispose them to not holding up to the work from the start.
In response to the earlier question asked about how many days a week to work a young horse, I tend to follow the work-as-many-days-a-week-as-the-age plan. My 4 year old typically jumps once a week (though there are many weeks where he doesn’t jump at all) and is ridden 3-4 days a week. I also plan breaks (1-2 weeks at a time) where he gets a mini-vacation and just lives out in his field full time with his buddies. And the intensity of work is much much lower than what I do with my older horses. Most rides are 15-20 minutes in length with at least half of that time spent in a stretchy warm-up.
[QUOTE=PNWjumper;8883234]
I do agree that a horse that’s being “prepped hard” to show will absolutely suffer in long term soundness, but I guess my point is that a horse showing at 3’+ as a 4yo does not automatically = a hard prepped horse.
I have raised many horses this way and have not had problems with soundness.[/QUOTE]
Point taken and I don’t disagree. Unfortunately the reality in my area is ready for pre greens as a four year old sometimes means over prepped. Ribbon colors matter when you’re trying to sell a horse for big money. I’ve seen one too many nice horses used up before they are 10 and I can’t help but think that too many miles too soon are sometimes a contributing factor. Your comments are reflective of an educated horseman who does right by the horse for its own given situation. I wish more people thought like that.
Here is my 5 YO jumping a 2’9"-3’ course with his trainer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woBWk5JYZZs
He schools jumps once every 1-2 weeks, and has been competing about once a month, either a combined test or horse trial, or the occasional schooling dressage show with his dressage trainer.
I’ve been taking it slow with him, although we did recently move him up to novice level eventing, because beginner novice was just too easy for him!
Baby horse is finally bored enough with cavaletti he’s actually treating them like cavaletti and not Grand Prix fences. 
Now time to bump them up a few inches and start all over again 
I am currently in baby horse withdrawals. I received a ton of rain, and no, it’s not from Matthew. About 9" this week. It is finally dried out enough to ride tomorrow, and of course we have a 50% chance of rain. And work has been so crazy I haven’t had much ground time with her. Finally got away to spend a few extra minutes with her today. And daydreaming about next year.
[QUOTE=sandsarita;8883863]
I am currently in baby horse withdrawals. I received a ton of rain, and no, it’s not from Matthew. About 9" this week. It is finally dried out enough to ride tomorrow, and of course we have a 50% chance of rain. And work has been so crazy I haven’t had much ground time with her. Finally got away to spend a few extra minutes with her today. And daydreaming about next year.[/QUOTE]
I know what this is like only in my neck of the woods it has been heat. It has finally cooled off enough that I was able to get 2 rides in 3 days!.We even cantered both ways today then worked on bending and dropping our head at a walk.
A week of rides with no bucking at the canter…I’m considering it a successful week!
[QUOTE=ParadoxFarm;8891744]
A week of rides with no bucking at the canter…I’m considering it a successful week![/QUOTE]
Hey, me too! Way to go!
…I might have ridden some crow hops at the walk, though. :o
[QUOTE=IPEsq;8892032]
Hey, me too! Way to go!
…I might have ridden some crow hops at the walk, though. :o[/QUOTE]
Yay! And at the walk…I guess we won’t count those! 
(and my non-spooky 17-year old bolted and spooked last night as I was riding. Darn animals on the crunch leaves in the woods. :))
Does anyone want to come ride my lovely 4 yr old for me? It’s been going on a month since he bucked me off and turns out I’ve got shoulder damage. Going to PT twice a week and can’t ride for a few more weeks. WAAAAHHHH!
He’s not a bad boy, really… he just got excited :no:
[QUOTE=Xanthoria;8892058]
Does anyone want to come ride my lovely 4 yr old for me? It’s been going on a month since he bucked me off and turns out I’ve got shoulder damage. Going to PT twice a week and can’t ride for a few more weeks. WAAAAHHHH!
He’s not a bad boy, really… he just got excited :no:[/QUOTE]
Well, where are you located? 
SF Bay area! Come ride the buckaroo!
[QUOTE=Xanthoria;8892058]
Does anyone want to come ride my lovely 4 yr old for me? It’s been going on a month since he bucked me off and turns out I’ve got shoulder damage. Going to PT twice a week and can’t ride for a few more weeks. WAAAAHHHH!
He’s not a bad boy, really… he just got excited :no:[/QUOTE]
Mine got excited (a think at a horse turned out in nearby arena) and bucked me off 10 days before my wedding this summer. Kind of hit my head (had a helmet on) but luckily I was fine! She has been a doll since. 
[QUOTE=baymarewithflair;8883034]
Thanks all for the sanitary check, very helpful. On another note, I saw an ad for a four coming five year old horse that was being advertised as ready to pre green in December. Kind of makes you wonder if the horse will still be sound in 5 years![/QUOTE]
I follow all the “famous” riders on Instagram, and recently I saw Tori Colvin showing a beautiful hunter at Capital Challenge with the #FourYearsOld hashtag AND the same day Old Salem Farm posted a video of a horse “getting ready for the Five Year Olds next year” and it was literally jumping a 3’6" course. :no:
[QUOTE=IPEsq;8892032]
Hey, me too! Way to go!
…I might have ridden some crow hops at the walk, though. :o[/QUOTE]
Me three! It just recently started to get cold here. I rode after work one evening and it was completely dark for the first time outside- side doors are still open on the indoor because it isn’t freezing yet. Overall he was good, but definitely looked at shadows and was more difficult to hold his attention. Bucked each way going into the canter, but at least it was a playful baby “I feel good” buck and not a nasty screw you buck. He is a good baby horse!
I have to brag on my baby today. After having it rain like crap last week, then attempt to ride Tuesday and lose shoe 5 minutes into ride, and then get reshod yesterday and lose shoe before farrier was able to do one more horse (and yes, she is seeing a new farrier next time, as all of my horses are having problems with this guy), the little lady was amazing today. Two weeks of basically no riding and we went out this morning, lunged in the pasture for 10 minutes, and then had a great ride in the pasture with the wind gusting up to 40mph, sustained at 25mph. We warmed up, and then worked on me as I am going to the AQHA World Show in a few weeks on my other horse who lives at the trainer’s. We did lots of no stirrup work and 2 point at all gaits and general exercises and she did AMAZING!!!
Another boarder was doing some groundwork in the indoor yesterday. Waving the flag thing around. Had a blue tarp out to walk over. Too windy to be outside, so we were in there as well, under saddle. Baby horse was very fascinated by the flag and stood close by watching calmly. Tried to eat the tarp/pick it up. Then tried to stomp the tarp into a ball. Then walked over tarp.
Other boarder also had a water bottle with rocks in it as a noisemaker. Shook it across the arena from us. Baby horse spooked a little then marched right up to her to see what was up. Then it made another slight rattle, and we teleported sideways. Oh well, that one was too much for Mr. go go gadget ears!
I guess we won’t be afraid of liverpools now?
