Young Horses Bred in the USA

Very few of the horses that compete internationally for the U.S. were bred here. We are starting to see some of ours in the Young Horse classes, but very few (if any) at the upper levels. I know I am not alone when I say that I would like to see this changed. Many Warmblood breeders that I have talked to express the desire to see their young horses go on to compete internationally. This would help all breeders in the U.S. At the breed inspections, many of the European judges are saying that we are breeding horses equal to those bred in Europe? So what is missing?

Training and promoting. This is something that is beginning to be noticed by people who can help make a difference. Top riders, trainers, judges, breeders and organizations are looking for ways for us to get promising young horses noticed, trained, and in the spotlight.

I will be posting some ideas that I have come across lately in future posts. The first is this article by Linda Allen in the January 8, 2010 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse about getting young horses and young horses together.

Let me know what you think.

Equestrian Professional

I recently joined the Equestrian Professionalwebsite. The information available on this site is more than worth the membership fee. I have not even begun to use all the resources, but I have found every article that I have read to contain useful information. There is loads of information about the business side of horses from business plans, advertising, pricing, using the web and social sites, building and running your business, and lots of other things that I had never even thought about. There is a forum for members, news, a place for ads, a download library, and a sports performance section. They also accept articles or suggestions for articles.

If you have a equestrian business or are thinking about starting one, I highly recommend checking out this website. I think that you will agree that it is a membership that will pay for itself quickly.

First 2009 Foal Arrives

On Sunday, May 17, 2009, I received a call from the breeding manager, Lauri that my mare, Starbound, had come in from the pasture dripping milk. This mare usually delivers a foal the day she waxes and starts dripping, so I drove out to the farm to begin the foal watch.

She quickly went from a slow drip to spraying with every step. It looked like we were going to have a big foal, but she is a big mare and typically delivers large foals with minimal assistance. The biggest problem we have with her is that she wants to lay with her hind end against the wall and we have to try to control where she goes down so that she isn’t pushing the foal into the wall. When her water broke and the amnion bulged out, I was a little concerned that there were no feet showing. After 20 minutes of this, Lauri went in to check and found that one of the legs was folded back under the other and she was able to straighten it so that the birth could proceed. Both feet and head quickly appeared and the mare proceeded to push in earnest. After a few minutes we decided to help get the shoulders out because both feet were even and this meant that the shoulders were locked and needed to be shifted to make them narrower so that they could pass easier. After that she was able to deliver quickly.

He is a big, handsome, chestnut colt with a star and crocked narrow blaze that goes down one side of his nose, and three white socks. He has grey around his eyes, on his front legs, and his hips, so he will probably grey out quickly. He had to be bottle fed for the first 24 hours because his dam produces antibodies in her colostrum that will kill the red blood cells of the foal. For more information see my blog post from last year - Mare-foal Incompatibility.We fed him 8 – 10 oz. every hour, milked the mare, and put a muzzle on him between feedings. When the muzzle came off and he was allowed to nurse he was on the mare in 3 seconds and drains her dry every time! At 24 hours his IgG was around 600, but we wanted it over 800, so we gave him plasma and the IgG went up to over 800 the next day. At 10 days old, he is a strong healthy colt with lots of curiosity and a sweet, friendly nature.

Soon his recently born brother and sister will join him in the pasture and I will have trouble tearing myself away from their antics to ride my horse and work. He is Pluto out of Starbound by Patrick.

A 2 Year Old Horse - Ready to Work?

Everyone knows that the big money races in Thoroughbred racing are run by the 2 year olds. There is a lot of controversy about whether or not they are ready and certainly some of the events in the recent past might suggest that they are not. Thoroughbred's typically grow faster than Warmbloods, and I do not know about Arabians, Quarter Horses, or other breeds. I do know that it is very important that the growth plates are closed and that the horse is physically ready to do the work being asked or there are likely to be injuries at some point in the training. The mental maturity should also be considered, but I don't think that some people would agree with me.

We do not do anything different with our 2 year olds the first 6 - 8 months than we did when they were yearlings. They are mainly living outside with occasional trips into the barn for the farrier, vet, or grooming. They might also go to a breed show, so we will work with them in-hand and they will be required to get a bath, have their face trimmed, main pulled, and load on a trailer. Otherwise they are left alone to continue growing and just be a horse.

The latter part of their 2 year old year we will start teaching them about the lunge line and voice commands. We also do some free lunging and free jumping, mainly to evaluate their gaits and jumping ability. This is done in short 15 - 20 minute sessions 2 - 3 times a week. Once we see how they are reacting to this training and how willing they are to do what we ask, we can decide how long to continue. Several of our young warmbloods have responded so quickly and easily that we have only worked with them for a few sessions and then left them alone until the spring of their 3rd year. We want to see that they are comfortable with the training and that they understand and respond well. It is great when they are curious about what is happening and like the attention of the training - these horses seem to want to do what you are asking and are just waiting for the next new lesson. This is what we are trying to achieve with every young horse, some don't need a lot of repetition to get there while others require frequent, short lessons. A lot of patience is sometimes required of the trainer, but we really strive to make the training fun and not stressful to the young horse. It really pays off later when we start asking for more and there is a relationship of trust already established.

What the colt learns in youth he continues in old age. - French Proverb

Starting a 3 Year Old Horse Under Saddle

Next week we will begin the process of starting the 3 year olds under saddle. Last year they began learning about working on a lunge line, a little bit of long lining, and free jumping. During the winter months we did not work with them, they had a break to go outside and continue growing and just be a horse. Now they will start coming in again to have a refresher course and then a 1 week "boot camp" of 20 - 30 minute sessions.

Each day will start on the lunge line or with long lines. On the lunge they will start going with a saddle on their back and we will start letting the stirrups loose to flap around on their sides. They are wearing a bridle now and we will start using a "neck stretcher" to teach them about contact. This device is a long stretchy cord that goes over their poll, down thru the bit rings and back to the saddle. It is not used to tie their head down or force them into a frame, but rather to give them the feel of a connection to their mouth that gives. They can pull without feeling trapped and learn to find a comfortable connection with the bit.

If they are being worked with long lines these are connected to the bit and then thru the stirrups with the trainer standing several feet behind holding the lines like they would hold the reins. It is best to stand slightly to the inside of the horse so they can see you, otherwise they will get nervous about what is happening. We usually use voice commands they already learned on the lunge line and start out asking them to walk. If they don't move forward we then cluck and ask again, if there is still no forward movement we will touch them on the rump with a long whip and repeat the command again. Sometimes they will go forward faster than you want, but usually if they were responding well to the voice commands on the lunge, they catch on pretty quick. Using the long lines like reins, the trainer will take hold of the horses mouth with a light steady contact. We begin teaching them to steer, to stop, to move sideways, and to back up with the trainer following on the ground behind them. Once they are comfortable doing this at the walk we will ask for a little trot. This requires a very fit trainer and usually after a few minutes they will move out to the side of the horse while lengthening the outside rein to wrap around the horse's rump. This puts the horse on a circle around the trainer with a inside rein for bending the horse and an outside rein for moving them forward into the bit.

At the end of each session the trainer starts mounting exercises. At first this would simply be putting a mounting block next to the horse, standing on it, and patting on the saddle. If the horse is comfortable with this, the next day we would move on to a couple of seconds of the trainer laying over the horse's back gradually building up to being led while the trainer is laying over his back. Finally, the trainer sits in the saddle. The first time we do not usually ask the horse to move, we just want him to stand quietly a few minutes. There is always someone on the ground holding the horse with a line. Both the trainer and handler are doing a lot of praising, scratching, and petting. Usually by the end of the week the trainer is sitting in the saddle and the handler is leading the horse around the arena for a few minutes. That is the end of "boot camp".

The weeks that follow will consist of 20 - 30 minute sessions 3 - 4 times a week starting with lunging or long lining and ending with the trainer in the saddle. We slowly progress from walking under saddle to trotting and cantering. Each horse is different, some are there in a month and others need more time to get comfortable with each new lesson. The most important part of each stage of the young horse's education is that he feels safe and comfortable and has learned that he can trust people "Many a happy colt makes a fine horse" - Proverb, Unknown Origin

Above is a picture of one of our horses at his first show in the fall of his 3 year old year.