I got the four young fillies from Canada when they ranged from 4 to 6 months. Three were halter broken and one was a "wild child". They are all three this year.

 

As yearlings and after I got a halter on the wild one - it took two months of patience I didn't think I had, they learned to stand ground tied for grooming, pick up all four feet, wear a saddle pad and a saddle (I ride English and my dressage saddle is light), wear a blanket in the winter, and pony off my older horses. I live and board at a competition facility, so I had the luxury of taking them to horse shows and letting them see the sights.

 

At two, I ponied them on trail rides, with and without tack, continued taking them to horse shows, and taught them to lunge. I rarely lunge my horses - three of these guys were over 16 hands at 2 - but I think they all need the skill set. Sessions were short, 10 or 15 minutes, and they learned to walk and trot. Only my Maserati Morgan got to canter, but she is so smart (scary smart) she pretty much taught herself.

 

Both years we loaded and unloaded them on and off my friend's trailer. I am a big fan of letting them learn there is FOOD in that trailer and it's a pretty nice place to be. Then they learned they get to go cool places in that square box. They all pretty much self load. Since I have had them, they have been out with a bunch of other horses - there's nothing like a couple of alpha mares to socialize a young horse.

 

This year, we started with a rider and a bucket of food and a walkabout the yard. They progressed to walkabouts around the farm, then being ponied on trail rides. The Maserati has just been let off the lead to walk around the dressage arena. The goal is to be able to do easy trail rides this fall and over the winter and they can go to work next year.

 

They think that the stuff we ask of them is fun, entertaining, and involves lots of attention and lot of treats.

 

I'm very slow with them. They won't canter under a rider until next year unless it happens by accident. Since I don't bounce the way I used to, I want them happy and relaxed through the whole process. I want them to want to be ridden and to interact with me (and my friends - we are a village), thinking that they will be less likely to buck if it's a positive experience all the way around. So far, so good.

 

I am blessed with the time and the facility (300+ acres) to bring them along this way. I am also blessed with a Northern Dancer granddaughter who was a queen the moment she was born, who does a lot of the hard stuff. The girls know not to mess with Advent cause if she ain't happy, then nobody's happy. I just have to stay out of the way.

 

It's not the perfect way and it's not the only way to bring along a young horse. We don't have a round pen and our enclosed arena has a chain dressage arena in it - not optimum for a baby, so I do have to do everything in the open. All of this sort of evolved from keeping them and me safe.

 

Aren't you sorry you asked?

 

Susan