Re: Conditioning young horse?

[K S Swigart <katswig@deltanet.com>]

On Sun, 12 Apr 1998, Cyberpony wrote:

> 
> > << I can't imagine conditioning a two year old for anything.... . >>
> 
> Two year olds don't need to be "fit".  The training on a two year old should
> be mostly mental.  When he is smart enough to be more reliable in different
> situations, then you can start to make him fit.  Don't rush it.  To get him
> real fit before he has a good brain on him would be asking for trouble.

I can't agree with this.  My babies are "fit" from the day they hit the
ground.  I work their mother's butt off while she is pregnant and the
babies are born with muscles on muscles.  They spend about three days in
the foaling pen with mom (40' x 60') and then are out in the pasture with
the rest of the herd (200 acres) as well as the coyotes, bob cats,
mountain lions, and any other predators that inhabit the Cleveland
National Forrest (just found out from an environmental planning consulting
agency that the mountain lions use the two canyons through my property as
"corridors" to get from the National Forrest to the State Park...they set
up trip cameras etc. and have caught the little beasties on film).

These babies NEED to be FIT, in addition, they spend the first years of
their lives romping around on 200 acres (in the Santa Ana
mountains...read, Straight up and down).

Now that the colts have been weaned (and their own paddock (200' x 150')
is not yet finished), they are not getting the daily "self exercise" that
they were getting with 24 hour turn out), I turn them out as often as I
can penn up the rest of the herd, but I also take them out and pony
them.  In addition to getting conditioning exercise (not the same as full
endurance conditioning, but still keeping them fit), they are getting that
"mental" training as well (i.e. taking them down to the freeway to get
them used to traffic, teaching them not to bite dad's butt, etc.)

If you don't keep them fit while they are young, then when you actually do
start endurance conditioning they will not have developed the bone to
handle the work.

I guess you could say that I am doing my "long, slow distance" now.  I am
not working them...they are getting light exercise.  The filles stay out
on the 200 acres with the mare band, but they still get ponying and some
"legging" up before they gett started under saddle ( which, depending on
what the owner wants, is between 3 and 4 y.o....personally, I prefer to
wait until 4 for mine).

I am not recommending going out and putting your 2 yo into heavy
conditioning, but rather suggesting that getting the horse fit, is
something that should start right  away; understanding that a fit 2 yo is
not the same thing as a fit 100 mile endurance horse.

However, I do think that letting the horse stand around in the stall, or
paddock with only "light" exercise (i.e. less than 1-2 miles) a few days a
week is, in fact, detrimental, to its long term soundness.

Young horses need regular, constant, exercise (not work).  Just watch them
out to pasture or out in the wild, and you will notice that even the
babies will cover at least 20 miles a day just "frolicking"

kat
Orange County, Calif.