# what is the best age to break a quarter horse.



## reining girl

As a 3 year old. The normally mature faster and what not. Alot of people break them as "2 year olds" but unless you are wanting to get the horse ready for a futurity or something, there is no rush. If i ever raise horses, all mine will not be broke till the are 3.


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## Plains Drifter

My Lilly will be ridden and doing light walk/trotting/circles and a bit of neck reigning once she hits two.


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## Piper182

Depends on what you're doing with the horse and what you mean by break. Most people I know that breed Quarter Horses do western pleasure and mounted shooting. the horses are usually fully halter trained by about 1 1/2 or 2 (i mean like turning and real work, not just walking) and then they get them used to the saddle and bridle during their 2 yo year. walk trot, maybe a tiny bit of lope for 3 yo and then harder training as a 4 or 5. 

That's just what I've seen that worked. It all really depends on your horse. If your horse isn't mature or has bone problems it's better to wait longer so as to not risk injury.


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## XxHunterJumperxX

I would say 2 1/2-3 years old.
Then they are near the end of their maturity/at the end.


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## Calamity Jane

They don't finish growing til they're 5 years of age. 

Competitors typically start em when they're 2 to turn em into money makers asap. 

I started my quarter on some ground when he was 3 and didn't ride him til he was 4. 

The vet will tell you that the knees close at 2. But the horse's spine is still developing, he's still growing, and doesn't fully mature til he's 5 years of age. 

The bigger the horse, the more time he can take to mature. I've got a draft that's 6 and ready to be ridden (light). Drafts, for example, don't finish growing and maturing til they are 6-8 years of age.

People get in a hurry, because it's a lot of time to wait til the horse is truly old enough. So, if you choose to start em at 2 or 3 be aware that you may damage them permanenty if you're not careful, because they are not fully grown (not just height wise, but also length wise...the vertabrae)....yeah, some horses are started quite young and are sound as ever, but there are plenty more that are arthritic and have other issues. 

Just be careful.


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## equus717

i start breaking my paints when they are two. i only walk and trot no loping till they are 3 yeas of age. they are taught ground manners as soon as they hit the ground. halter broke and learning from day one. i have a 3 year old paint filly just took her to her first show and i have been training her on the barrels for a while but haven't ever fully opened her up because i am scared. she is quick she can be all the way back i mean 500 yards behind the other horses when they start to run and she will pass them up and slide to a stop before she hits the fence. she is quick.


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## smrobs

I really prefer to wait until they are over 3 years old. If you are able to wait until they are 4 or 5, that is best because then you can ride them as hard as you need to without worrying too much about damaging joints and bones that are still growing. IMHO, the worst thing that a person can do on a really young horse (younger than 3) is to ride a lot of circles on them at a lope or trotting small circles. That will deform the growth plates in knees and hocks and pretty much guarantee severe arthritis later in life. Most of the riding I do on my young ones is on trails or through cattle.


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## SpiritJordanRivers

I read this very convincing article about how no horse's bone structure is mature before 6 years old and how there's no such thing as a slow maturing/fast maturing breed and how the longer you wait, the less problems you have in the long run. I'll see if I can find it . . .


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## Harlee rides horses

Late two's or three's. Depends on how well-developed your horse already is.


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## SpiritJordanRivers

FOUND IT! It's very, very, very, very, VERY, *VERY*, *VERY* LONG, but it's worth it (at least from a future vet's perspective) 

http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf


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## RoadRider / Rios Dad

I like to read the old books from the 1800's written about the arabs and their horses. They are often written by Eglishmen in the cavalry stationed there. They beleived that a horse left until 4 was to resistive. They broke then as yearlings and had light kids ride them. By 18 months they were not afraid of tiring them. They beleived the young bones could be moulded the legs staightened through work.
I don't believe this but also feel if the horse is unbroken by 4 he is harder to deal with and by 6 is too set in his ways.
I also don't believe in working too much with babies. Let them grow up and when the time comes break them harder and be firm.
Al Dunning uses the work resistive for youngsters that are handled too much as youngsters and_ I find the same thing. I like a 3 year old, half wild or very little handling and when the day comes to break them they may resist but they learn quickly and if handled correctly make great horses. Not your handled from birth wimp._
_So I think around 3 is about right to break a horse. They use to say on his 2nd birthday but again I only deal with arabians and I feel they mature a little slower but I would never leave one until 5 or 6_


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## Reidboy

It depends on what your going to do but i would say anything from 2-3


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## sandsarita

I say 2-3, but it is very depending on your horse and what you want to do with it. Personally, I show and compete quite a bit - I have had a couple of futurity horses, but these were the ones you climb on as a two year old and they just seem to do it on their own. Personally, I like to put 2-3 months on them as two year olds, turn them out over the winter and bring them back in as 3 year olds and get them ready to show by June. (and my horses, knock on wood, haven't had soundness issues later on in life - and I have kept quite a few of them until they were 10+ years old)


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## acates

i have broke all 4 of mine at 2yrs. but between 2 and 3 is a real good age.


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## kevinshorses

RiosDad said:


> _ I like a 3 year old, half wild or very little handling and when the day comes to break them they may resist but they learn quickly and if handled correctly make great horses. Not your handled from birth wimp._
> 
> I agree. I like horses that have spent thier lives learning to be horses before I start trying to make riding horses out of them. They seem to end up better in the long run and I feel much better when I ride them.


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## aynelson

Great question! I have wrestled with this as well. I found it certainly depends on the horse. There are 2 issues - mind and body. Physically, if their growth plates are still open, and you pressure them too soon, you can really damage joints. My 3 year old Holsteiner was not ready for me to sit on him until just this summer. He is still growing and I am not about to push him, he changes every week! When I trained my QH mare, I was able to sit on her when she was 2. But, heavy work was another issue. Just because you sit on them, doesn't mean they are ready for canter! Establishing bend, walking up and down hills, so they can get used to balancing a rider on their backs is important. Any collected movement would be harsh. 

Mentally, they also may not be mature. With my 3 year old, I also noticed that he is more mentally prepared for training compared to last year (when he was 2). He catches on to things quicker and is more focused. He is learning at a faster pace compared to last year. I am a big fan of letting them be horses when they are young. If you are training them and they are frustrated, you may need to back off for a while. Go back to what they know. Your sessions should be fun, if you **** them off the whole time then no one will have a good time, and isn't that the whole point - to be having fun??


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## SuperStarsSugar

All horses mature at the same rate physically (despite various myths), so no horse, be it a draft, TB, or QH should be ridden before they are at least 2 1/2, 3 is better. Unless you want to put their back and joints at risk and possibly create lifelong soundness issues, avoid riding them earlier than 2 1/2 or 3.


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## mls

SuperStarsSugar said:


> Unless you want to put their back and joints at risk and possibly create lifelong soundness issues, avoid riding them earlier than 2 1/2 or 3.


We start all of ours at two - IF they are mentally ready. Physically - I agree they are at the same stage but mental maturity can vary greatly.

We do a lot of just plain putzing. I rode my two year old this past Monday for a whole 10 minutes. Walk, turn, whoa and back. Just working off a halter and reins.

The oldest horse I have started is now 22 years old. Still going strong and a very valuable, patient, SOUND lesson horse.


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## kevinshorses

Saying all horses mature physically at the same time is like saying all people mature physically at the same time. The larger the breed the longer they grow. It's the same in cattle and dogs and any other mammal. Your information is incorrect.


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## MacabreMikolaj

kevinshorses said:


> Saying all horses mature physically at the same time is like saying all people mature physically at the same time. The larger the breed the longer they grow. It's the same in cattle and dogs and any other mammal. Your information is incorrect.


Did you even bother reading the article? As much as I'm sure as we all know better then a group of trained scientists...

The article does NOT say all horses mature at the same rate. The article says that NO horse has EVER matured fully before the age of 6. For bigger horses, add even more time to that age. The knee joints may fuse as 2 year olds, but the spine does not finish developing until 6 years old or later. The article advises no real riding until at least 4 years old, no hard riding until 5 or 6 years old if you want to give your horse the best chance at a long and healthy life.

We just like to convince ourselves the trained professionals are wrong because then we're able to justify knowingly doing things that may harm our horses.

I agree with smrobs - there's nothing wrong with light riding on youngsters, even the article says an averaged weight person isn't likely to do much damage. The issue I have is the mentality of a young horse - yeah, that 2 year old is fine to walk around on, but what happens when he blows up because a deer bounces out? Suddenly you're slamming all 150lbs of your weight repeatedly into his back as you ride out the bucking fit. We all like to dream of a perfect world where horses behave, does anybody stop and think about the damage being done to tender undeveloped joints and muscle when things go wrong and our "easy" ride turns into a rodeo performance?

To each their own, do what you have to do, but don't attempt to justify your actions by dismissing every study ever done about bone structure in horses just because you don't like the answer.


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## kevinshorses

SuperStarsSugar said:


> All horses mature at the same rate physically (despite various myths), so no horse, be it a draft, TB, or QH should be ridden before they are at least 2 1/2, 3 is better. Unless you want to put their back and joints at risk and possibly create lifelong soundness issues, avoid riding them earlier than 2 1/2 or 3.


My post was in reply to this post. You need a valium or something.


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## MacabreMikolaj

Maybe you could be bothered to mention what post you're specifically talking about when you make a generic statement so people know what the heck you're talking about :wink:


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## kevinshorses

MacabreMikolaj said:


> Maybe you could be bothered to mention what post you're specifically talking about when you make a generic statement so people know what the heck you're talking about :wink:


You seem confused perhaps you need more rest.


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## APHA MOMMA

We started my gelding on all his groundwork and lunging and a light synthetic saddle as a yearling. He is now 2 1/2 and had 30 days training and now gets rode every other day in the arena or on trails for 10-30 minutes. On the days he is not ridden he is lunged for 10 minutes each direction at only a trot. Sundays he has his day off. We still do ground work everyday as in lifting and cleaning his hooves, rubbing him all over, and tie him for an hour to be brushed before each excersize. To be honest, he LOVES it. When he sees a horse trailer he walks in without being led in, he loves taking the bit (opens his mouth for it) He is ground tied when we put the saddle on. I don't know, I just feel that he Loves to learn and is eager when you ask something of him. 

He will most likely be turned to pasture for winter except for the occassional ride once a week or every other week. I don't think there is anything wrong with training a 2 yr old as long as it is very light training AND a light rider. I use a very very light saddle with Scout just because I don't want to add the extra weight. Now that I am prego and won't ride a green horse, I have a 120 lb, 15 yr old girl riding him in the arena. Scout is a wonderful horse and will make a great all around horse with more miles. My last mare I had that was in the family was broke when she just turned 2 and lived to be 28 without any problems at all except old age crept up. So just from the experience, I think between 2-3 is the best age but I would do any heavy riding till age 4-5.


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## SuperStarsSugar

kevinshorses said:


> Saying all horses mature physically at the same time is like saying all people mature physically at the same time. The larger the breed the longer they grow. It's the same in cattle and dogs and any other mammal. Your information is incorrect.


Actually, you're wrong. Since I was referring to skeletal maturity (fusion of growth plates) there is plenty of information out there which concludes that all horses, irrespective of breed (gender, on the other hand, does effect maturation slightly), reach skeletal maturity at approximately the same age, though they may continue to lengthen and fill out. Try this article: Horse Skeletal Growth


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## SuperStarsSugar

Okay wow. I think I just posted the link for the same source as the first article on the thread, but whatever. Main point: I'm not riding my colt until he's three.


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## QtrHorse

Makes one think about some of the disciplines that really push young horses to perform at very young ages. I know some trainers who have started coming 2 year olds so they can compete in Futurities. Reining is taking a pretty big rap for this in some circles right now.
Hmmm.....


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## thesilverspear

Is it just me or does anyone else get twitchy when they see a horse showing Grand Prix dressage at 7 years old? If they are doing that level of collection at 7, imagine how must pressure they must have been put under when quite young. I suppose some young horses can handle it but still, I'm a bit skeptical. I've also seen a lot lame ex FEI horses who were in the mid teens.


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## Piper182

I think it really depends on the horse for Grand Prix. A friend of mine is doing it with her eight year old that she saved from a slaughter auction a few years ago. He was unstarted until he was five and the only reason she started doing Grand Prix was because he kept jumping out of the seven foot paddock. I agree though, usually it can be bad.

Even just those seven year olds that are being shown into the ground. I don't understand what the rush is. I know a 7 yo warmblood who already needs his back, hock, knees etc injected because they showed him too much.


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## shesinthebarn

I start all of my QH's mid way through the 2yr old year. We do a few months of work - walk jog lope, transitions, put a foundation for stop on them, and turn them out for a while longer. Then we start them up again and get ready to show in summer. We have never had any issues with this program.
We break our standardbreds as yearlings/rising 2yr olds, and it always breaks my heart. We have a great method and have had awesome results from our 2yr olds, but it still bothers me...I wish all disciplines (including racing) didn't have races/futurities for 2yr olds.
Good luck with your baby!


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## PaintHorseMares

Our 2 young mares were started at 2 1/2 and 3. Our very stocky mare, who was already 1100 lbs, started as a lesson horse (which I consider very light work) at 3 yrs. Our slow to mature filly wasn't even ridden until 3 1/2.


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