How quickly they grow… and go.Last week saw two of our weanlings heading down the road and off the mountain, to their new home and life. They’re now in the lap of luxury, in a stall with bedding (what’s that?), fed grain (and what’s that?), and introduced to the grooming stall (now really, they must be saying, what is THAT?). It reads something like the Hillbillies move to the Big City.
They are horses. They are both smart and adaptable. They will be fine. Easy for me to say, as these boys are in the best of hands in their new world. Bonus points: they have each other. The pasture playmates get to grow up into the show world together. Pretty cool deal.
Between prepping these weanlings for their journey into their new life, and finally having time to work the yearlings and 2-year olds, working with young horses is a focus for me this time of year. All summer long, I have this on my "to do" list, but it never gets done then. Never. But now is a good time... Quick! Before the snow flies!
In taking the time to work with the horses, it’s also important for me that I take a good look at and recap the lessons we do with our young ones. Figured it would be a good personal review and possibly interesting info for anyone out there doing the same at this point, if I share with you how we ideally teach and work with our young horses. Of course, such is life, it’s not always ideal – there are times things come up and we find we’ve missed a session or a season entirely. But in the following posts, I’ll share with you the lesson plan we strive for.
These boys had their Weanling Classes the week before heading out. Leading them away from their mothers and to the truck was smooth, and loading them into a new trailer was reasonably uneventful. We like that.
So, I’ll start by explaining why we work with the young ones. Well, I’m about 120 pounds wet. But even if I weighed twice as much, it would still be safer and easier for me to (a) teach a small horse rather than a large horse; and (b) have my horses learn ground manners at a young age so that any time I need to handle them, let alone work with them, it will be far less painful and more stress-free on us all. I figure it’s pretty logical to assume it’s easier to handle a weanling or young colt than a 1200 pound horse. Their young minds are as capable of absorbing the lessons. We refrain from any excessive pounding and running around for weanlings and yearlings, and only put a few short rides on a two year old at the earliest. I see no sense in rushing the training and getting them working ASAP only to limit their life due to the abuse of too much pressure on their growing bones and joints. I would rather wait a year or two and have the horse around for many years longer.
I know there are plenty of cowboys out there who believe in letting horses run free, then rounding up the two year old and “breaking” them. Well, that’s fine for them, and when you've got 30 or 300 young ones to train each year, probably the most efficient method (though perhaps with todays horse market in mind, fewer ranches will continue raising that many). But I’ll stick with my way. We don’t have to “break” them this way. Training is a natural progression, handling safer, and the first ride, well, uneventful.
Anyway, this is what works for us. I know everyone has their own view of the ideal way to raise a horse, just like we all differ with our opinions on what is best for our children. Is there a right and wrong way? Not really, with few exceptions: anything that endangers or even impedes the well being of either horse or child is never acceptable.
I'd love to hear from you - your experiences, advice, suggesions, stories, what has worked for you... and what has not. In the meanwhile, more notes on schooling to follow…
These boys had their Weanling Classes the week before heading out. Leading them away from their mothers and to the truck was smooth, and loading them into a new trailer was reasonably uneventful. We like that.
So, I’ll start by explaining why we work with the young ones. Well, I’m about 120 pounds wet. But even if I weighed twice as much, it would still be safer and easier for me to (a) teach a small horse rather than a large horse; and (b) have my horses learn ground manners at a young age so that any time I need to handle them, let alone work with them, it will be far less painful and more stress-free on us all. I figure it’s pretty logical to assume it’s easier to handle a weanling or young colt than a 1200 pound horse. Their young minds are as capable of absorbing the lessons. We refrain from any excessive pounding and running around for weanlings and yearlings, and only put a few short rides on a two year old at the earliest. I see no sense in rushing the training and getting them working ASAP only to limit their life due to the abuse of too much pressure on their growing bones and joints. I would rather wait a year or two and have the horse around for many years longer.
I know there are plenty of cowboys out there who believe in letting horses run free, then rounding up the two year old and “breaking” them. Well, that’s fine for them, and when you've got 30 or 300 young ones to train each year, probably the most efficient method (though perhaps with todays horse market in mind, fewer ranches will continue raising that many). But I’ll stick with my way. We don’t have to “break” them this way. Training is a natural progression, handling safer, and the first ride, well, uneventful.
Anyway, this is what works for us. I know everyone has their own view of the ideal way to raise a horse, just like we all differ with our opinions on what is best for our children. Is there a right and wrong way? Not really, with few exceptions: anything that endangers or even impedes the well being of either horse or child is never acceptable.
I'd love to hear from you - your experiences, advice, suggesions, stories, what has worked for you... and what has not. In the meanwhile, more notes on schooling to follow…
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