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Re: [RC] RE:Starting an older horse - heidiIn all my years of horses, contrary to conventional wisdom, I have found no evidence that horses become incapable of learning after a certain age. If they are alive and not incapacitated, they are capable of learning. They may not be physically capable of performing what they are taught, but then that happens just as often with younger horses, but they are capable of learning. Marv, you are so right! It is not infrequent for us to simply not get around to starting horses until they are 7 or 8, and at that point, in our experience, they actually learn faster than youngsters, and are physically ready to pretty much do anything we ask. For endurance, their best years are from about 8 on into their late teens, IMO, and other than beginning to put a base on them a bit younger, there really isn't any point in doing "heavy" work, IMO. On the young end, we almost never start 3-year-olds (I can remember starting one in the fall of his 3-year-old year), and generally don't even consider it prior to 4. (Am considering starting one young stallion in the spring just a few months prior to his actual 4th birthday--but have a 7-year-old "in line" for the trainer first.) When people ask me about starting "older horses" I just sort of assume they are talking about horses at least in their teens... :-) And our experience with starting older broodmares has been that in general, they are ready to burn their bras and GET A LIFE, and are utterly THRILLED to have something to do, once they get past the "independent broodmare" mindset and realize just what you are offering them! (And as a part of getting past that "independent broodmare" mindset, we've found it best to go right out on the trails and get to work, once they've accepted saddle, bridle, and rider, rather than doing a bunch of drilling of mundane details--they catch on quick, and they get bored going around in circles.) Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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