Training an older horse to drive

[bunni1900]

First off I have to admit that the minis are addicting! I started out with one and now have 3! lol. Anyhoo, I recently purchased a mare who I would love to teach to drive. I thought she was younger but after looking at her papers more closely, It turn out she is 11. Is she too old to start?

 

[R Whiteman]

Absolutely not!! We have started many teenagers to drive and they have turned out to be quite good. One was very successful in the AMHA breed ring; another, who was 17 when rescued, gelded, and trained, competed at CDE before becoming a "schoolmaster" for a good friend who wanted to drive. You may find that some things are easier because the horse has grown up some. Good Luck and have fun.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

At 11 years old?? She's barely entering the prime of her life! My Arab didn't learn to do hunter, western, trail, reining and competitive 25 mile rides until he was 15 years old and retired from two other careers.

Yes, she can still learn new things. In fact she will probably learn them much faster than a young horse would because she's already used to life and all the scary things in this big bad world so all she'll have to learn is the job itself. Just treat her like you would any other horse and enjoy your new driving partner.

Leia

 

[billiethekid40]

One thing I want to point out about older horses is NOT to assume anything just because they are older- it all depends on their background. An older horse can certainly learn new things, but one who has previously shown in hand or at least been handled on a regular basis may take to new experiences faster than one who has more or less been left to pasture or never left the property they lived on. Some people make the mistake of assuming that an older horse has "been there done that" and just needs to learn the ride/drive part of their new "career" but really, unless you know his/her past life it is best to assume you're starting from scratch like any young horse would. Get them out and let them experience new things in hand to see how they react before asking them to do it in harness. Many older horses will take to new experiences fast because they have years of trust in people to keep them safe, and have learned to think situations through. Others will find it very difficult to adjust to being taken new places, or to the crowds or activity that come with showing ect because they lived relatively quiet lives up to now.

 

[RhineStone]

but one who has previously shown in hand or at least been handled on a regular basis may take to new experiences faster than one who has more or less been left to pasture or never left the property they lived on.

This is VERY true. We have a mare that was shown in hand for a number of years, and she took to driving like a duck to water. Another was pretty much just thrown hay over the fence and handled when necessary, and he took much longer to train, as we had to do all the groundwork and desensitization before we could get to harness training.

Myrna