Should a horse been turned out for a year at a certain age ?

Question

a girl on my yard said that a horse needs to be turned out for a year to mature, Is this right ? what what age should you turn them out ?

Answer 1

It really depends on the horse.

If I turned away my mare for a year she would be a wild as a wild thing on national wild day!

My gelding, on the other hand would be fine. As I say, depends on the horse.

Answer 2

Are you talking about turning them out to a big pasture and not handling them or turning them out on a daily basis...?  I don't quite understand your question.  Lucy, Lucy, Lucy....not only in England do they train horses properly.....correct?  

I can understand halter breaking and teaching ground manners and respect as a yearling and turning them out until they are coming two and resuming their training at that time...nothing wrong with that.

Answer 3

I am turning my youngster away he is a 3 year old and I backed him last week,I shall ride him gently throughout the summer then( turn him away) this means give him a little holiday to think about what I taught him for the winter. fingers crossed he will mature and have a more relaxed atitude to his work when he is four.

Answer 4

I think what your friend is refferring to is turning a 3 year old out after initial breaking.  This is done so it can mature without further strain to it's bones/muscles etc.  THis is sometmes necessary if the horse is of a slow developing breed but is of a breed that will eventually be quite big and so the horse is easier to "get going" when it is a little smaller.  Eg My mates Irish Draught was initially broken lightly as a 3 year old when he was 16hh, he was then turned away and brought back into full work as a 4-41/2 year old by which time he was over 17hh! However something like a thoroughbred developes alot quicker and does not necessarily need this process.  

Training should be adapted to suit the horse and person doing the training.  There are lots of different methods, all of which can be right in various circumstances, try to be open minded about your training.  

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

No. Horses get turned out for exercise and to socialize. Now, if the horse isn't turned out for a year, he will not mature very well as he won't have been using his muscles. They should be turned out for at least a little while every day, no matter what age they are.

Answer 6

It doesn't matter what age a horse gets turned out. The whole point of turning a horse out is to give them exercise. They can be turned out for 24/7 every day of the year if the owner preffers.

Answer 7

it doesn't matter you could if  you wanted to but i think they horse would be happy either way.i have a 26 year old Arab mare and i still ride her. i did put her in a bigger stall

Answer 8

I am not sure what your friend is trying to tell you... I have a 30 year old horse that I have had since he was turning 3  and he has been turned out for 27  years...all of my horses are turned out 24/7 unless there is a medical or pasture problem.  Turning out is a good thing, but why only for a year...I am not sure.

Answer 9

Many good trainers start a horse with learning ground manners, and some basic walk, trot, and sometimes canter work, and then turn them out for a year or more to allow the skeleton and the mind to mature before training to work under saddle.  It isn't  actually proven to be necessary, but it does contribute to producing some very nice, sound, well trained horses.

Answer 10

Yes, it is called turing away and you do it when you first back a horse, Many people do it, when they back horse for the first time. What basically happens when you first back a horse is when it is young you will lunge and long rein etc, to prepare it for the saddle. After you have backed it for the first time, you then turn it away in the field for a period of rest, before training begins properly. Most horses are turned away at 3 or 4, but for some horses, like thoroughbreds, they are rushed through this stage to start competing as early as possible. All horses should be turned away after they have just been backed, and before proper schooling starts.

Are you in England? If you are, you should know that and if you're not, thats how training young horses is done properly.

Answer 11

No but there is alot of breeders that will break a young horse.  Get them moving lightly under saddled and turn them back out for another 6 months or so.  Alot of people believe breaking young is easier to do than breaking later.  This may be what she is referring too.

Answer 12

Some people will break the horse in to saddle and then turn him away for a year to strengthen and build himself up.  That would be about 3-4, but I think if the horse is only very gently excersised and he is mentally okay, it is a bit of a waste of a year.  But having said that, it does depend alot on the condition of the horse.

Answer 13

she probably means some youngsters, usually yearlings are tuned away for a year...........with other youngsters, to lean how to be a horse basically.

horses can be over humanised which can lead to unwanted behaviour like bolshy'ness and nipping. if i had a youngster i would choose to turn it away in a heard to mature, but everybody is different, their IS NO right way, their are lots of ways, it depends on ones approach to training and developing a young horse, to shape it into a mentally and physically fit working animal.

Answer 14

A horse doesn't necessarily have to be turned away at a certain age to mature but it is important to make sure that young horses are not worked too hard or rushed through their education too fast.  A horse will often be backed in the summer of their 3rd year.  During the summer months a trainer should do gentle work, walking, trotting and some relaxed cantering but mainly focusing on getting the horse to understand and reponse effectively to the aids.  There should be no galloping or jumping during this time as the bones are not mature enough and working the horse too hard could cause weaknesses or injuries.  The horse must be given days off and I would normally say not be worked more than 4 days a week at this age.

As the winter comes along the training is then relaxed off and the horse is given the winter months to absorb what it has learnt and to mature more.  They don't necessarily need to actually be turned out, it is just a relaxation time for them. They should still be handled just as they were before their training began.  Some horses come back much better after this period of rest a bit like a child would after the summer holidays.  However, as I believe you are in the UK you probably don't ride as much in winter due to the dark nights and bad weather.  So if you do not want to turn the horse away completely you could just reduce his work to light stuff on the weekends during this time which would give you some of the same effect.

Answer 15

NO, Im not sure where this comment came from, turn out for a year.  I have horses that get turned out everyday and some that are out all the time.I have babies, yearling's and 2 yr olds that are outside all the time because its more healthy for them  I have also given horses vacations where they have been off work or on light work depending on attitude that get kicked out. There is not a certain rule that horses have to be turned outside to mature. Once a horse is brought in for training and worked on a regular schedule it usually goes on to a show career. It also depends on if the horse has a Halter career, thats a totally different schedule.