How old does a horse need to be before it can be ridden?

Question

I'm just curious ^.^

Answer 1

I would defiantly recommend the age of 3

Some people do 2.. but, I just think that's to young!

It depends on your weight too as well, and the build of your horse.

Hope this helps !

:)

Answer 2

Technically, a horse can be ridden and saddle trained at 2 years of age. Often, racehorses are already being raced at this age but they tend to have a high rate of injuries earlier in life. A good age to ride a horse is 4-5 when their bones have developed and their back muscles are strong enough to support the weight of an adult rider.  

Answer 3

Race-horses are usually backed when they are 2, then turned out until they are 3 - then are ridden/trained every day. Other horses are usually broken in when they are about 3 - and then also turned out for a period before being brought back into work. When the horses are still young though - the riding is not too intense, and they are usually given time to grow and mature. Yet I own a horse who was not broken in until she was nearly 6 - so it really depends on the owner and how soon they want to ride the horse.

Answer 4

a horse is usually two years old the first time its ridden.

Answer 5

Usually with most horses they wait until they are two or three...but I would recommend three years old at least

Answer 6

I reccomend at least 3, but some people start them at 2.  

Answer 7

usually two or three, but it depends on the breed, size, life span and the horse in itself. Horses knees take longer to mature, and have a growth plate like thing that needs to fill in first. Usually they say three. Warmbloods, Morgans, gaited horses, some ponies, and draft horses and draft x's are usually later. Thoroughbreds used in racing all turn a year old on January 1 of the next year, so some of them are started extremely young. Which is what causes controversy over the race horses getting injured. But... otherwise it just depends on your horse's physical growth and mental capability. I had a mustang who never actually "grew up" enough to understand riding until she was almost 4.

Answer 8

My trainer starts putting the saddle on (doesnt get on though) around a year and a half and works her on the lunge line till she is two then she will know all the ques and be used to the saddle then she will accually get on but does not do any hard riding until 4 like barrel racing or anything like that

Answer 9

3  

Answer 10

I would probably wait till they are 2 or 3. Because you don't want to hurt their growth in any part of their body! : ]

Hope I Helped!

Answer 11

It depends on the breed. I would say the bare minimum is three years, but four years is ideal. Larger breeds take longer to develop fully, and they can take as long as seven years to be started under saddle (if cared for properly). Some people just don't like to wait that long and only want to ride. Never mind that the horse will be lame at the age of seven because ol' pops just had to ride the pony at the age of two.

EDIT: The WORST thing to do to a young horse with joints that aren't fully developed is longeing it. Running around in a small circle puts too much stress on their joints at such young an age.

Answer 12

This is a back and forth topic. Many people don't start getting on a horse until it is 3, and there are others that will start riding at 2 1/2 no younger. There are augments for both sides. Either way with out getting into a long rant on different training methods. The answer to your question is between 2 1/2 to 3, on the average.

Answer 13

2 or 3 years old it depends on how tall your horse is.. the trainer who is going to break your horse will let u know when he or she should be broke!~

Answer 14

Lets see it depends on where it came from, most people out west start training there horses to ride at 1 1/2, atleast i know thats when most of the horses myy trainer gets were broken, because we get them at 2 1/2- 3yrs and they are usually fully trained. as for english horses they tend to wait until they are like 2 1/2- 3yrs to break a horse, and they wont start teaching a horse to jump until 4 or 5 because it could hurt there legs.

Answer 15

racehorses: early 2s

the horses we got from germany were 4 & 5

most horses in U.S.: are usually learning 2 years old to 3.

some even hold out til 5+

I wouldn't start a horse until 3 or even 4 though.

then they are fairly mature, halfway grown, and have

most of their mind in order. If you want to start a young male

and you dont want him to be a stallion most people

get him gelded, then after recovery, start training.

so basically 2+. depending on the horse, country, etc

Answer 16

Three years old. :)

Answer 17

At two you can usually start it under saddle, but you can't really ride it for long periods of time because it could potentially cause spine damage since the bones are still developing. At three you can start riding it normally.

Answer 18

okay, a fresian horse has to be 5 because they dont mature, any my gaited horse had to be 4. But a regular horse i would say lunge him at 2 and start putting weight on at 2 and a half and at 3 start riding, but i would start showing, UNLESS he is a perfect horse, at 4 or 5 because of matureity.  

Answer 19

wait till they are two to three  

Answer 20

usually and preferably 4 unless its a warmblood or andalusion they should theoretically be left until they've fully grown otherwise u will stuff them up or some thing like that.

Answer 21

Well you should start the training of riding @ a yearling,but don't start riding until the horse is 2 or 3 and dont start jumping till hes 4

Answer 22

You can begin riding a horse at the tender age of 2, although if you decide to start a colt this young.. you shouldn't ride your horse more then once a week for about 20 minutes at a time. At such a young age, their knees are still far too weak to ride heavily.

Personally i start my horses at 3. I have a 3 year old right now that i ride every other day for about 20-30 minutes.

The reason to wait so long to ride, is because younger horses have weaker knees.. and if you start a horse too young, they could have serious damage done to their knees.

Answer 23

The earliest horses can be broken is like two years old, but I think it smarter to wait until they are at least three so their bodies are more developed and they are more mature (mentally and physically). :)

Answer 24

It seems that the magic number is 3, but it should depend on the individual horse.

For example, I have a horse that I didn't back until he was nearly 5. My reasons for this were that he is a fairly large horse, and therefore took longer to mature physically, and I didn't not want to put stress on his body until it was more developed.

Secondly he was very immature and I didn't feel hes was as mentally capable of dealing with the work at 3 as he was at 5.

Alot of horses such as race horses are started as young as 2 years old, some even as yearlings. Starting horses so young stresses the horses legs, joints and back and will usually cause problems later on in life, such as tendon injuries.

It really should depend on the individual horse but the average age is 3. - however I feel 4 is more appropriate.

Answer 25

In the US, they start riding at two.  However, in Europe they wait until four. You can train the horse at two and do some light riding in an arena or small area.  But a two year old is still an adolescent and needs to build muscle and bone to be ridden out on trails or in competition.  So, the answer is: you CAN ride at two, but it's better for the horse to wait until three and really start the work at four. Two is also the age when many accidents happen.  The horses are still babies, mentally and physically.  At three they are teens, lanky and still growing.  They really mature at four, this is where the fun begins.