This message is from: Misty Meadows B & B <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
We stay off our young horses here until they are at least 3 and a half.
Surprisingly, we have found that we have not lost any time at all if we stay
completely off them until four. Then, they are do ring work with a light
rider. Their training progresses very quickly and canter is not a big deal at
all because they have the neuromuscular coordination and balance required. If
we do ride a 3 and a half year old, they accompany the older horses along on
trail rides up and down fairly rough territory and learn to fully use
themselves in a coordinated fashion with little interference or help from our
11 year old. The few that trip stopped tripping when they
learned to use themselves in all balance situations on trails. Our trainer will
have absolutely nothing to do with anyone riding a three year old fjord -
rather he has us do tons of ground work, lots of fun stuff in the round pen to
get eyes equal, get them moving lightly away to a fingertip etc and get them
absolutely respecting our space. Growing up as family friends and being
mentored for years by Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance, he is a wonderful horseman who
has trained horses all his life and I'm convinced he's right about letting
babies grow up as babies.
In Perfect Horse, May 98, John Lyons writes about when Growth Plates close and
how riding a horse too early in his life risks his future by setting him up for
arthritic problems later in life.. He says "While exercise in beneficial to
growing horses resulting in stronger bones and joints, it must be done in
moderation because:
- the bones are not as structurally strong
-the layers of cartilage in the joints are not as think or strong and can be
crushed or deformed
-there are many more blood vessels in the growing sections of bone in a young
horse, and excessive pressure can shut these down or cause inflammation, making
the bone begin to grow unevenly.
The growth plates in the radius close at 15 to 18 months, the upper ulna closes
at about 3.5 years, and one of the growth plates of the humerous closes at 3.5
years.
If potential damage to the legs is not enough to dissuade you from waiting to
start that young horse, consider that the bones of his spine are not completely
formed/fused until the age of four or five."
So, although our beloved fjords are easier to work with as young horses and
thus there is the temptation to work them earlier, I believe that we do them a
disservice that will haunt them years later in their future.
Cathy Koshman
Misty Meadows Fjords, Victoria, BC
