What happens when you start training before the Horses Knees are closed?

Question

Alright so the other day i went to go look at a horse I was interested in buying. well He si two years old and let me tell you he is the most trained 2 year old ive ever seen, he is more trained then my 12 year old mare. And Im absolutly in love with him. But I worry that his knees might not be closed up or that they wernt closed up when they started to train and ride him. Any ways a friend of mine who has bin into horses all her life told me that idf i get a young hors eto make sure the Knees were closed becuase they could have problems later on in life. What are those problems they could have? Are they bad enough taht you wouldnt be able to ride?

Answer 1

In my opinion, i would not buy this horse. At 2 years old and thoroughly trained seems way too young. Even if they have only done walk, trot and canter. Most people don't start riding there horse untill they are around 3 and then jumping and extensive riding untill at least 4-5. A lot of horses bones don't close up untill they are around 5... let alone 2. He could have problems like all sorts of soreness anywhere, lameness, arthiritis, joint problems etc. and yes they could definitely effect whether you would be able to ride him or not. hope that helped. He sounds nice but way too young.

Answer 2

Take him to a vet and have his knees x-rayed. Ask for a soundness exam also. If there's bone damage, it'll show up. If there's soft tissue damage, he should be fine for many years but may develop arthritis as he gets older. It also depends on his joint conformation. Some horses stay sound longer than others due to the way the joint lines up.  

Answer 3

Basically the issue with the knees is you don't want to start riding a horse too strenuously until the knees close. For each breed it is different. Some close at 3, others, like drafts and WBs, can wait until 5 or so.

    If you put too much stress on the joints too soon, you can run into arthritis early. A huge problem is people who jump 2-3 yr old horses, who end up with arthritis at 5-6 yrs of age. OTTB sometimes have early arthritis problems from running too hard early in life.

At 2 yrs old, they should not really be cantering on this horse, or if so, barely starting it. I don't like to canter until 3-4 yrs.

  As long as they weren't jumping him, or running fast speed events, or riding him hard (cantering) several times a week, he should be perfectly fine. If they did any of the above, you may get early arthritis. Depending on what you want to ride, it may or may not affect you down the road.  

Answer 4

Unless you're prepared to xray his entire spine as well as his knees and other leg joints, I would not buy him.  Not only could there be permanent damge to the skeleton, but a horse this young is not mentally ready to be this finished in training.  I expect he will have major issues with that down the road as well.  I'd keep looking.

Answer 5

I own race horses. They start training as yearlings and some start their careers as two year olds. Generally speaking hard worked 2-3yrs old never make it past their 3rd race season. Not necessarily due to knee issues but others as well. We begin racing most of our horses as 3 yrs old...not a problem yet. But with any profession comes some injuries.

As for riding, most riding horses arent started till they are 3. Look at this horses knees. Do they seem larger than normal or somewhat swollen. Watch how he walks does he seem off. If all is clear I dont think there will be a problem just dont over do it.

Answer 6

The knees do not have the only open growth plates. The open growth plates in the spine scares me way more than the knees do when looking at a baby that's been overworked.Growth plates are easy to damage, and it sometimes isn't obvious that you've damaged them until later in the horse's life.

A "well broke" 2 or 3yo sends me running the other way.  

Answer 7

If he passes his vet check, I'd go ahead and buy him.  People worry too much.  We let kids do gymnastics, lift weights, go backpacking, and play football and never worry about their growth plates; just riding him shouldn't hurt him!  Too much weight, hard ground, and injuries, just like with older horses, is what hurts them.

I like to train them later, but I don't think it's necessarily a problem.

Edit:  I've had several horses broke at 2 or earlier, including two OTTBs who raced extensively at 2.  One of these, I used for eventing unti he was in his 20's - NEVER a knee or back problem.  The other, no problems so far.

I wonder how many are just repeating what they've heard, and if any of you have actually had a horse broke young that had knee or back problems because of THAT.

As good as this horse sounds, he may just have been done right.  It is not necessary to overwork a horse to get them trained, and if he was handled, gentled, imprinted since birth, he'll be a keeper.  That's what continues on through the years, that early trust and inborn personality, not potential knee problems!  I'd buy him.

Answer 8

What breed is he?

Answer 9

what do you mean by he has to close his knees?

Answer 10

Yes, the issues could result in having to put the horse to sleep.

When you work a horse that is very young too hard, it will "blow a knee" meaning that muscles have torn in the knee and will probably never heal correctly.

if his knees are okay right now, then he is fine. but if you were to buy him... make sure you do very LIGHT riding. such as once or twice a week at most.

Good Luck!