Here’s the thought. Before a child can participate in sports they have to undergo a physical. Should we and could we have something like that for horses. Where the vet can tell you if the is physically mature enough to start ridden work. Of course the discipline the horse would be being trained for would also be a consideration. Would such a thing be doable and would people want it? What do you think should be in such an exam? Flexions, X-rays, neurologic, balance x-rays… What do people think. And would the AAEP be receptive to developing such a thing?
This kind of thing would require widespread general agreement on the objectively measurable indicators that a horse is “ready” to ride. I doubt that this kind of agreement could ever be achieved.
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This is basically a PPE, yes? Most people are already doing this before they buy a horse, or as part of their annual wellness exams.
Ooof, I bristle at this idea.
I feel like there are too many factors involved. The discipline, the breed, the individual horse, the rider’s ability, what you consider “work,” etc. etc.
I’d rather a capable rider back a horse at 2 (or earlier), install the basic “buttons,” then let them have a vacation in the field to continue maturing than someone wait until 5 and go in with more expectations/demands because they passed some test.
Also, there are growth windows where horses need to be exposed to certain types of “work” to physically adapt to the job they are going to be doing. For example, racehorses need to experience speed at a young age to develop the bone density needed to race. This is so well documented that HISA now has rules barring older first-time starters, as they are a population of horses at most risk of catastrophic breakdown.
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Good point but not really valid if you are bought a weanling. And what I’m looking for are somethings that aren’t in the standard PPD. Growth Plate closure etc.
Universal agreement is not the goal but general guidelines. Lets face it even in the PPE there is a wide variety of what passes and doesn’t and thoroughness of the exam.
This is why I stated that factors such as the discipline the horse would be in as a factor. I do remember Mathew MacKay Smith in a video talking about the importance of road work at the age of two for endurance horses. So yes there are multiple factors it would not be a one size fits all. I would expect the vet to take discipline, local conditions (flat sandy to hilly and rocky), rider condition and skill set, horses neurological maturity.
There is a video out showing a very klutzy two year old trying to step up on a platform and just constantly having a leg fall off it. Two years later horse is doing it fine. No treatment done just time waiting for the body and nervous system to get in sync. The woman says this is why I waited before I backed this one.
So multiple factor the vet would have to take into consideration. Because we all know horse’s mature at different rates and different disciplines require different levels of maturity. I’m looking for and exam that would take all that into consideration. To do it really well would take studies and follow ups. I don’t think it would ever be a requirement for competition because of the multiple factors involved but it would be nice to have something other than a calendar to determine if a horse is ready.
This would really be for someone who bought a young horse (weanling/yearling) or even bred one and is planning on keeping them until they are buried in the back pasture and want to ensure their usable life is as long as possible. I can see where it might not appeal to someone trying to move a young horse along to be sold. Because in those cases time is money and waiting costs money and they can’t afford to take the view of what the horse will be like 20 years from now.
So what would be good elements for this kind of exam
Teeth checked and floated
For first shoeing how valuable would balance X-rays be?
Is the horse’s coordination mature enough for the discipline he is slated for?
Which growth plates should be checked if at all?
Flexions? (controversial I know)
What else should be checked before ridden work starts.
You can’t have general guidelines if no one agrees on what those guidelines ought to be.
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Instead of AAEP guidelines, I think a better area would be improving our use of technology to measure “maturity.” Both advancing tech and understanding how to interpret it.
If we had reliable and economic methods to assess both bone/joint and soft tissue preparedness, we could make more reliable declarations of “readiness.” But right now it’s pretty limited.
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I guess I still don’t see how what you’re looking for is different from a standard PPE with films. You can ask for that type of exam on your horse at any time to evaluate their suitability for whatever job you have in mind. I would also expect to have most of this stuff checked on an annual basis as part of your standard wellness routine anyway. Joint x-rays that are commonly done on a PPE would give you a visual on those growth plates, although getting a vet to give you a straight answer on what that means for how much work they can tolerate is going to be hard since there’s no agreed upon standard.
To use your analogy though, kids’ physicals for sports don’t typically include imaging unless the doctor finds something concerning on the standard exam or the kid has a specific complaint. I’m a big fan of having baseline films on hand for horses anyway, but I’d still pay more attention to how each horse was responding to an increased workload and let them tell me if they need more time or further diagnostics.
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On that note, kids’ physicals do nothing to assess “readiness.”
Kids are still exposed to sports related injuries, many of which are due to a growing kid pushing their body to the limit.
The physical is more of a legal CYA. The school or rec team doesn’t want to be liable if little Susie has an undetected heart condition, etc. But little Susie can still go out there and blow her ACL before she graduates.
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