Do you think showing in another discipline will be the new fad?
Will Big Eq kids be sent off for reining lessons? Cutting? Eventing?
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Assuming you refer to Maclay winner Carlee McCutcheon 
Unlikely H/J BNTs will jump on that wagon.
Imagine adding the price of a well-bred Reiner (or Cutter) to the Big Eq horses already in the program 
Parents (aka The Checkbook) might rebel.
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Can you imagine the cost of a reining horse?
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Does anyone happen to know the ballpark price range for the good reining horses?
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I know they win money. That generally makes them more expensive!
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The kind the McCutcheon family has are mid 6 figures
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Lol.
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Not just the McCutcheons, but McCutcheons + McQuays. As someone who grew up on the Zone 7 circuits (with Mandy) this is a real blending of equine royalty. I’m sure Carlee’s been in the tack since before she could walk and also coached by some absolute legends, which probably has more to do with her talent than anything.
Fuqua family would be similar. Don’t think some casual cross training will do it, these kids were just born in the saddle.
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I don’t think it is the reining experience, more the fact that child has been born into an incredible family of horse people. I do think some of that is “in the genes” and are immersed in it from birth.
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If anyone is interested, there is a TV series called “The Last Cowboy” which features reiners including the McCutcheons. It looks like season 4 is scheduled to start on 11/17 on CMT. Previous seasons seem to be available on Paramount Plus and Apple TV among others. There have been a couple of threads about it in Off Course. I think they should include something about Carlee too!
Season 4 info: https://www.cmt.com/news/ctzwz7/taylor-sheridans-the-last-cowboy-will-premiere-commercial-free-on-cmt-in-november
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More than cross training as many have said. It truly is the full immersion of horses and riding from very very early childhood in such an comprehensive way.
The muscle memory and access to such incredibly high quality animals since birth is what really makes a lot of riding basically like breathing. Partly genetics, partly environment - support, understanding, coaching, horsemanship, etc. partly access to huge amounts of money specifically allocated to horses, partly the sheer volume of time devoted to riding, horses and horsemanship.
All of the above is the reason great riding runs in families - Traurigs, Davidson (Bruce and Buck), Whitaker, Pessoa, Philippaerts, the list goes on…
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Wow!!!
My sister is an adult ammy and has been looking to buy a reiner in Ontario for over 2 years now. Has a decent budget at $30,000 and can only find 3 year olds with no show records. She tried 2 and one was toed out badly (apparently no big deal for a reiner) and she liked him so had him vetted. He had navicular, arthritis in his hocks and needed injections (her coach said that was no big deal 
) and a bone spur that needed to be removed. The other 3 year old had arthritis in his fronts and hocks and they wanted more $ for him as he had shown a bit. No price breaks and of course she passed. Its almost impossible for an ammy with a decent budget to find any reiners.
She has opened up to the US and is still looking, but is getting priced out of the game really. Of course if she buys young (under 5), she would have to keep it in training board for a bit, so again more $. She has nothing now and was leasing a horse, but board has gone up to $1700/month and has had to cancel the lease so she can try to up her budget to find something to purchase. Just nuts if you ask me.
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Maybe your sister could check with Spincity Reiners, Shelli Reis in TX.
Look them up on FB.
They sell all over the US and internationally.
Have really nice reiners with good show records for reasonable prices and have a good reputation.
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Yikes. That sounds like a lot of vet issues for 3 year olds. What will they be like when they’re 8 or 10? Poor things.
I hope your sister has better luck soon!
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One of the things that surprised me when I found myself seated next to a European reining professional at dinner and his wife was how young the reiners get to the show ring and compete. 2 and 3 year old classes were most popular. That’s when they hit peak performance (so I was told). Very similar to thoroughbreds. The QHs they ride are typically shorter, and I was told their bones mature faster. A lot of these horses then retire before 10.
It’s not that I don’t doubt they mature faster than your 17 hand WB but I’m still a little dubious about that much wear and tear that early in life.
Would love to know if other knowledgeable folks find this to be true or if this is just this particular pro’s way of doing things.
Also the prices on young reining horses—definitely not much cheaper than a good hunter! At least you can win good $$$ however.
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If they’ve shown a LOT?
Retired 
Like @Ponyplusaninch said, they start them too young, burn them up & NEXT!
PSA:
Apologies to COTH Reiners with older, performing horses. I’m talking averages for the Big Money guys.
Then there’s this:
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Thanks Bluey 
She is pretty much going through her coach as she has only been reining for the past 8 or so years and came from the H/J and then Dressage world, so is a bit worried on looking on her own. I think it maybe part of the problem as she was leasing a horse off of her coach for 2 years so perhaps there was never much of a hurry for her coach to look for her. Who knows…
I’m not getting in a debate about age of QH’s and when they start them (don’t worry, I give my sister my opinions on that matter, but lets be honest, there are quite a bit of these issues in all horse sports/disciplines) , but she did own a reiner a few years ago and she was still competing her at 18 years old and she was sound. Very unusual in the reining world of course, but it can be done (and this mare was not lightly used. She was Champion at Congress as a youngster and started as a 2 year old and competed heavily through her entire life, until my sister retired her).
They can win $, but not at the lower levels that my sister shows in.
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Geez I did not realize the FEI had cut ties with reining. Awfully telling.
Yeah the starting/overworking young horses too hard is a problem across all disciplines it seems, including racing. Irks me. I am not one of those “oh don’t ask Fluffy to do anything until plates are fused and they’re 6 years old” but there has to be a healthy balance somewhere in there that keeps the horse’s health and longevity in mind along with the performance management aspect.
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Thank you for sharing this, I just put it on and it’s super interesting!!
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