At what age should my horse be backed?

Question

He is going to mature at about 16.2hh and he is IDxTB. He is 3 years old now and has a bit of an attitude so i think he would benefit from being backed now. Do you think he is too young?

Answer 1

My personal preference is to wait until they are 4.

Answer 2

Has he been lunged? (I believe they call it longing in the UK). You can back him once he's been lunged, introduced to the saddle, bridle, bit, martingale, girth, and been fully tacked while lunged. Some people tie a bag of something (potatoes, sand, etc.) to the saddle so the horse gets used to weight on his back without injuring anyone if he spazzes out. Lunge him with the sand/potatoe bag, then you can back him. Just remember to have someone there holding him and leading him. Is he a stallion or gelding? If he's a gelding, great. If he's a stallion, unless you have the intention of breeding, you should geld him ASAP. And you should only breed if he has excellent bloodlines, temperment, and showing talent in a sport (such as jumping or dressage). Good luck!

Answer 3

Well, I don't know much about horses, but everything that I've heard from my friends is that you don't ride a horse until they're about 2 or 3, because that's when they finally stop growing.  So I think that 3 years should be fine.

Answer 4

Starqualityarabians: If someone is perfectly capable of backing (yes backing is a correct term) there horse then they should not waste money on a trainer. The asker also doesn't say whether they are doing it themselves or not. Just because you aren't good enough to back a horse doesn't mean they aren't.

As for living on a ranch and kowing more about horses than other people. Yes you do know more. You know more than a 5 year old but only barely. The fact that you don't even know the term backed proves that you are incompetant. There is no way that someone could have a masters in veterinary work without knowing that. How about you stop lying through your teeth and shut the h**l up unless you actually know the answer.

To answer the question you would be fine to back him now.

Answer 5

He is old enough to be lightly backed now though he should (IMO) be turned away for 6-12 months after being mouthed, saddled and VERY lightly ridden away.

Though I have to say - if you really have to ask, you shouldn't be doing it! It depends on the individual horse and if you are not experienced enough with backing and breaking to be able to recognise when your horse is ready, then you should not be backing him yourself.

I'm in the UK, what difference does that make though? Horses don't grow slower or faster in this country than in any other!

ADD: Actually starqualityarabians - "backed" and "broken" can mean the same thing. It's lingo, so it depends where you come from. I've been reading a few of your answers and personally, I think that your "bedside manner" isn't very friendly. You need to work on that if you're going to become a vet. Also, for someone with a degree your grammer could do with some work... :-)

Answer 6

You can do light backing on a horse at this age.  Or, if you have a child who doesn't weigh much, that is often an easy way to get them used to having someone on their back.

It depends where you are from what the different lingo is.

Starqualityarabians:  You may have been around horses all your life, but you obvioulsy weren't paying attention...

Answer 7

when his 3 or 4 you can start getting him used to tack now  like putting a bridle on him then a saddle pad over his back and then introduce the saddle.

But do all this GRADUALLY take it slow and make sure you dont scare your horse :)

Answer 8

I think because of his breeding and as he is quite big it would be ok to lightly back him now. What you dont want to do is lunge him too much because lunging puts a lot of strain on young horses, 20 minutes on a lunge is like riding for an hour. I would back him, ride him in an enclosed school for a week or so or until you feel confident he understands basic aids, and then take him out hacking. That way he will get to see a few sights. Hopefully you are quite light as I wouldnt want a heavy rider on his back yet. Personally I would get someone to ride out with me on a quiet experienced horse but I would stay away from any roads, that can come later when you reback him. After about 6 weeks I would turn him away for the winter to grow and then start again properly in the spring.

Good luck xx

Answer 9

i would wait till he is four and then send him up to a trainer to break him

p.s. when the horse is getting trained its getting broke not backed

      and hen the horse comes back from the trainer he is broke not back

Answer 10

3 is a perfect age for backing/training.  we start ours from the 'year' they turn 3 so i think you are good to go.  start off with bitting then some lunging before moving onto to long reining etc.  you'll soon see if your horse is mentally ready by how it behaves/accepts the work.  one of our youngsters was so unbelievably bolshy at 2 I taught him a little lunging each day and then turned him away - it really sorted his attitude problem out.  if your horse proceeds through the stages happily then you can continue all the way to backing and onto riding but if he seems to be struggling/won't settle etc then teach him the first couple of steps then turn him away for a month or two before starting again to give him time to mature!!!  hopefully you'll storm right through the lot.  good luck.  sorry for the long, rambly answer!!!  

Answer 11

yes he should be ok to lightly back but I would not do too much with him at this stage. A lot of big horses benefit from being backed at 3 and then turned away

Answer 12

3 is a good time to lightly back a horse but you should wait until 4 to do moderate riding and 5 for heavy riding, it really depends on if the horse is physically and mentally ready. You shouldn't  ride a horse at 2, because there not done growing and there growth plates have not closed yet and it would do more harm than good.