At what age do you believe

[Marsha Cassada]

I've been told by horse folk that a horse "does not have a brain until he is at least 5". Do you concur with this?

Would certain behaviors be attributed to immaturity? Or are they part of the temperament/breeding of the horse?

Could one safely assume that a 4 year old horse is displaying his permanent traits, and just requires more training to fine tune him?

 

[JMS Miniatures]

I don't necessarily agree with that. Shoot you can have a weanling that shows it has a brain if it has the right training from the start. I found my once yearling to be pretty smart in halter obstacle. Sure the older they get the more mature they are but I guarantee if they aren't trained the more brain cells they loose the older they get. So I guess what I'm trying to say is it all comes down to training. If you can do it right from the start your horse is good to go.

 

[Kendra]

Hawk's brains didn't come in until he was 6. And that was with TONS of work. Meanwhile, Little Duke is showing much evidence of sensible though processes at 2 ... so I believe it very much depends on the horse.

 

[Jill]

Just raising and interacting with our horses in various ways, I think it really varies from horse to horse... I know early this spring, when I saw Bomb Shell (age four) playing like a colt with DunIT, I wondered if she would be an emotionally mature mother. She isn't. She's not a bad mom, but she is not a tuned in mom, either. She's the only mare we've owned who pushes her baby away from grain (her baby eats grain with Auntie Double!). But other horses we own have seemed substantially mature at 3yo, even one at 2yo.

 

[RhineStone]

COMPLETELY depends on the horse and somewhat the breed and/or bloodlines. And the handling.

 

[targetsmom]

Isn't that like asking "at what age does a HUMAN have a mature brain?"

 

[RhineStone]

Isn't that like asking "at what age does a HUMAN have a mature brain?"

:rofl

I know people who don't resemble that remark!

 

[Laura Leopard]

I have a yearling colt (14 months old now) that was quite a handful when I got him. I've worked with him a ton from the day I got him, but he was still very resistant to many of the things I asked him to handle. Then one day it's like his brain turned on and he is much more affectionate and responsive. He's the only horse that I've had from such a young age (I got him when he was 6 months old.) The rest of my horses were at least 2 when I got them. It is really intersting with him.

Laura

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I've been told by horse folk that a horse "does not have a brain until he is at least 5". Do you concur with this?Would certain behaviors be attributed to immaturity? Or are they part of the temperament/breeding of the horse?

Could one safely assume that a 4 year old horse is displaying his permanent traits, and just requires more training to fine tune him?

Yep, I think everyone's nailed it: "It depends on the horse!" That said, I still think most horses are going to be more mature at 5 than they are at 2 regardless of how they've been handled simply because they've got more years and more experience under their belts. Kody was BORN ready to drive, I swear, but had more patience and more understanding at 6 and 7 then he did when he got started as a 4 year old. Turbo is a way different critter attention-span and reactivity-wise at 3 then he was even as a 2 year old but he's still got a long way to go and that's coming from a willing, sweet, sensible colt. I can't imagine how unready some of these two year olds are!

Certain behaviors are certainly going to be attributable to youth. Aren't all young things impatient? But they can be taught to handle that and develop patience or left to mature naturally and that handling can make a huge difference in how they act at a given age.

I think a horse (or person's) basic personality is fixed when they are born. They are sweet or stubborn, determined or easily defeated, lazy or eager from the day they hit the ground. How they are handled however is going to shape those traits for better or worse and can encourage the individual to develop in a certain direction. Turbo lacked confidence and was extremely reactive with his hind feet. After two years of desensitizing and confidence-building games he's not only confident with me but with other horses and is no longer at the bottom of the herd as he originally was. He's still the same horse, but concentrated work has strengthened the positive traits and helped minimize the negative ones. To me that's my goal as a "parent!"

An 18 or 19 year old human is technically mature just as a 5 year old horse is but I'd hate to think we stop learning and maturing after that.

I know I've added a lot of depth to my personality in the last 10 years and I think horses brains just get better between 4 and 8. Never give up on him!

Leia

 

[Performancemini]

They all have a brain!

What differs is the attention span per age and per individual personality. I am a fan of Clint Anderson's 'Downunder Horsemanship' (out of the other somewhat similiar trainers) and he starts working with foals and yearlings. (granted he doesn't 'send them to college right away!

).

 

[lucky seven]

My 4 yo has a short attention span, and downright lazy. I keep trying to find things that he will like to do. The last is groundrails to walk over because I want him to lift his feet more instead of shuffle along. I walk with him over the rails and he somehow ends up behind me and walking outside the rails. If I walk him to long he nips my hand. If I walk him in the field, he drops his head and eats, totally ignoring me as I raise his head. I am hoping he is more mature at 5.

 

[Sandee]

I agree that maturity depends on the individual horse but I'm almost certain it also has something to do with gender. My stallion learned to "set up" almost instantly for the trainer but for driving he still wasn't "settled" until he was 4 or more. I really believe that the guys brains are located between his legs until he's 5 or 6. My mare was thinking and doing and remembering and cooperating at age 1 and still is.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I really believe that the guys brains are located between his legs until he's 5 or 6.

:rofl

So true!! "Brain surgery" really helps with that.

Leia

 

[Marsha Cassada]

My 4 yo has a short attention span, and downright lazy. I keep trying to find things that he will like to do. The last is groundrails to walk over because I want him to lift his feet more instead of shuffle along. I walk with him over the rails and he somehow ends up behind me and walking outside the rails. If I walk him to long he nips my hand. If I walk him in the field, he drops his head and eats, totally ignoring me as I raise his head. I am hoping he is more mature at 5.

I think you, like me, would benefit from lessons with a good trainer. I let my first miniature do many of the things you mention and I want to learn from the mistakes I made with him. It is an amazing experience to take a few lessons from a good trainer! You will be on a "High" afterward.

 

[LazyRanch]

I had a mare that went Benjamin Button. Totally sane at 5, dead broke, worked cattle or jumped as requested.

By the time she was 25, she behaved like a yearling. On the other hand, she learned piaffe, passage and levade at 20, and for her 21st, she actually performed courbette.

Depends on the horse and its environment. No hard and fast rules.