MiLo Minis said:
There is certainly nothing wrong with work to condition a 2 year old, Leia was referring to "serious dressage work" which would be too much for your horse at this stage and will be too much for her even next year likely.
Exactly. The kinds of "serious" dressage work that will dramatically improve a topline involve a lot of circles, serpentines, half-circles, transitions, lengthenings and lateral work- all things that are hard on developing joints. When my horse is two I expect that he'll learn to accept the harness and bit and probably spend most of the year being long-lined around the neighborhood, through obstacle courses, on trails, etc. in a halter to develop his mind and interest in the work. He'll be taught a solid whoa and develop the basics of fitness by some long trotting and regular walks. I will long-line him over a series of poles at a trot as well to exercise his weak stifles and probably introduce him to sliding sidereins when he's almost three. There are MANY basic things you can do with a two-year old to lay the foundations without overstressing them! I have all these plans for him, but in reality he will probably spend most of that year simply growing and getting used to grooming and tying and letting me handle him without a fuss and wearing a blanket and harness and doing obstacle work a couple of times a week. Nothing big. When he's three I'll introduce him to shafts and a light drag and having the reins attached to the bit and we'll begin dressage basics such as straight and diagonal lines, working rhythmically, soft transitions and backing/stepping over in harness. When he's solid on those things he'll be introduced to the cart and learn to do the same things hitched. By the end of the year he'll be a well-started young driving horse and then he can take the rainy months off to relax and continue maturing. When he's four we'll start competing in combined driving events at Training level and he'll spend the year perfecting those basics and growing in fitness. By the time he's five we'll be working on whatever he's ready for, including those smaller circles, serpentines, frequent transitions, etc. and I have no doubt he'll be strong and fit and ready to go. I want my horses to love their jobs and part of that is not overfacing them either physically or mentally at any time. We do what they tell me they're ready for.
krissy3 said:
when you say 2 years is too young to start conditioning your horse , then what do you think about people showing at this age? I showed in just 2 classes, to avoid a stressful weekend for her , but others were showing their yearlings and 2 year olds in 8 or more classes , and sorry but I disagree that feeding a bunch of crap pellet food full of protien no hay , and letting them sit in a box stall for most of their life without a proper workout or conditioning is very bad for the horse. The judge told me I needed muscle in the quarter end, and top line , and my horse is out in a big pasture (muzzle ) and fed grass hay , and given suppliments, vitamins , etc... I dont see how shoveling food in them without proper movement is all it takes to make a conditioned horse. Food is important ... conditioning and movement is even more important . I read all the time about feeding this and that, beet pulp, remission, omaline, equine etc... never a mention of how they work off the energy from all this sugar protien and fat. Its just a little funny, I see horses that look very nice at the shows, but they have no muscle on them, because they arnt allowed to exercise ( might make them lazy in liberty classes and cost a ribbon) I see it all the time, the ones that do condition wont tell you what they do like its a big secret... its very funny. a horse is a horse big or small in the sense that it needs space , a place to run like a crazy wild hooligan, fresh water , grass, straw, minerals , shelter , and not a lot more . I hate seeing a horse pumped up on grain and left in a stall all day., and with these small horses its done a lot , and by people that know better.
I would never do that, and most the people I know (even the ones with crazy feed programs) still let their horses out to be horses all day. Mine get plenty of hay but they do also get beet pulp when needed and a complete feed because if I don't give them that they show me they aren't getting enough protein and start looking weedy. A mature horse just being a horse usually doesn't need much more than good hay. A horse in heavy work (real WORK like driving for hours on a daily basis, not just once or twice a week for 45 minutes) needs calories to replace what they're burning and to support muscle development and bone growth. They may not get enough of that from just hay so you add other things to their diet to provide what's necessary. That is not a crime.
There is also a definite difference between how halter people use the term "conditioned" and how performance individuals mean it. A horse who is conditioned for halter means their barrel is tucked up, their muscles are hopefully toned and they look nice. A horse who is conditioned for endurance riding, combined driving events, recreational work or other sport-type activities is one who is FIT- the muscles are toughened to the work they're being asked to do and the cardiovascular system is able to keep up with the demand of those muscles. Heart rate and respiration will return to normal resting levels very quickly after exertion in a fit horse no matter how big his belly may be.
I don't know about you, but personally I'd love to have both.
Seems like the one year I got Kody
looking conditioned he wasn't fit enough, and the rest of the years he's been very fit indeed but had quite a belly going.
Someday I'll have enough spare time to achieve both!
Leia
P.S.- I have no problem showing yearlings, and indeed babies if they can do it without becoming too stressed. I just won't do what's necessary to have them looking incredibly fit at that age. I'll feed to keep the belly down and use isometric exercises, play, and low-impact stuff to tone them a bit, but no more than that until they're older. All the training work of the first couple years is mental at my house.
