# When does a horse mentally mature?



## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

I bought a 6 year old last fall. Now he's 7, right in nice early adulthood. He's fantastic, easy going, has a good work ethic, and is forgiving of my mistakes. He also relies heavily on me to be a good leader (he's low/middle in the herd) and gets stirred up/reactive when other horses do and can be mildly spooky, though he is improving in both regards. He will challenge people, but only a bit and accepts that they're in charge easily.

When does a horse really mature? I know their training and technical skills can improve essentially forever, but when do you know their personality and attitude have settled? Eventually, I would love for this guy to be a bit more steady/btdt so he can be my babysitter for less experienced riders (friends, family, etc). Is that something that will come with more time, maturity and experience/training, or do you think a 7 year old horse is already set in their way of approaching life and riders?

What's the difference between a 7 year old and a 5 year old? Or a 3 year old? Or a 10 year old?


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

I don't know if this will help but I knew my horse since he was 9 and he couldn't handle being ridden by people. But by the time he was 10, he could handle multiple riders but he wasn't feeling good about it. By the time he turned 11, he could handle a beginner without freaking out.

So I think around 10-11 they begin to settle down and mature. 

But that's only from my experience. Which obviously doesn't speak for all horses.


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## DraftXDressage (Aug 29, 2011)

Much like with people, it really depends on the horse. My mare is 8, and I would say that this is the year she finally developed a work ethic. I've had her since she was coming 5, and shew as always pretty level headed, but she would get grumpy and cranky if she thought what you were asking was too hard. That just finally started to go away this year.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I do not think it is possible to say when a horse mentally matures. Some horses never really 'grow up' and will always take advantage of a novice rider on their backs - not by bucking but just by being naughty, like stopping to eat or looking at things they would never normally bother with. 
Others can be naughty with a good rider but excellent with a novice or small child. 

I have a 16 year old gelding that has never mentally matured. If he can cause bother then he will! He will pick up any feed bowl in the field and bash another horse with it until that horse tries to take it away from him usually ending up with a tug of war which the feed bowl looses out on and gets destroyed.

I would trust this horse with a baby crawling between his legs but would not trust him to behave with someone who thinks they know more than they do. 

All are different.


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## hberrie (Apr 28, 2012)

Foxhunter-Good point because my horse sometimes rebels when being asked to work TOO HARD, but I can put my 8 year old daughter on him and he is happy to do whatever she asks because she justs walks him around. She can steer him and stop him no prob. But he can sometimes be a handful with me and my older daughter. I kinda wish I could let him just be a kids pony but feel that would be wasting his potential and make him fat and lazy. BTW he just turned 7 in May so he is not anywhere near to retirement lol.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I was wondering this too! I got a 6 yr old in October and he acts just like a 2 year old. Picks EVERYTHING up in his mouth and even had the hay feeder thrown in the middle of the pasture the other day. And somehow got the salt block dish out from under the 50 lb block....

He also has a stick fedish and will collect sticks and whatever else he can find and will 'hide' them in a pile in his shed.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Jore (Dec 4, 2010)

I think it really depends on the horse.

For example, the now fifteen (I think..) Standardbred mare named Maggie is now suitable for beginners and is pretty calm usually. My instructor said that, up until around eight, Maggie would go around at shows and buck and was the definition of crazy... she even came close to running over a judge. It took lots of work and eight long years for her to become even slightly level-headed.

As for Major, he's always been quite laid back. My instructor said that when he was a yearling, he got his head stuck in a step ladder and just lifted his head up and looked around as he waited for someone to get it. As a foal, he had been brought down from Manitoba in a trailer with twenty or so other foals and was the calmest of the bunch.. whereas his half sister was crazy. (and still is, apparently) He rarely spooks, although he is quite energetic if he doesn't get normal exercise.


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## KissTheRing (Aug 2, 2011)

For me they hit that stage around 8-10 But it depends on the people working with them too. They are like children, the adults around have to set a good example!


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## BarrelRacingLvr (Feb 26, 2012)

Completely depends on the horse, just like in people. Some horses mature faster then others....there is no for sure way of knowing how a horse is going to mature.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I also seemed to find mares mature faster mentally than their male counterparts. Pretty much like humans, lol, sorry guys!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Herdof2 (Nov 24, 2012)

I was going to ask this question today, but I found this thread. I have a 3 1/2 year old, so, LOL, I guess I have a little longer to see some maturity!

I will tell you that, from what other people say to me, I have a very mellow young one. On the flip side, I wouldn't trade having gotten her at 1 year old, b/c I enjoy her being playful. Well, usually, haha.


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

Glad it was helpful! I will say, over the past year my guy has settled down from a green spooky goof to a pretty steady guy who I now trust to help lead younger or nervous horses on trail rides. Our training still has miles to go, but mentally he's matured a huge amount is just a year. Miles, age or training, or all together, I'll take it!


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Some bloodlines are slower than others in terms of mental maturity. 

Some horses, like people are old souls at 2, others are the village idiot all their natural born life.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

I agree that it depends. I have a 4 1/2 year old mare who wasn't able to handle more than ten or twenty minutes of work until she was almost four, but once she turned four it was like she was a new horse. I still try not to work her for more than 45 minutes or so, but its a lot easier to get her attention and have her retain what I've taught her now.

We also have a now 7 year old mare named Spanks. We considered her to be unridable because when we tried to start her as a 3 1/2 year old, she almost killed one of our cowboys. She did well with ground work but once the saddle was on her back she became an explosive monster.She just couldnt handlle the idea of being ridden. We had given up on her and threw her out into the pasture with the other horses for years, then I decided on a whim to try again. I'm now working her again and have gotten as far as saddling and bridling her without her blowing up, where even the sight of a saddle pad used to make her go crazy. So far it seems like she just needed some time to mature, because she's doing wonderfully now. I just have to go slow and give her time to process everything.

And then we have our 8 year old mare Xcia. She was broke as a three year old and put into her lesson program as a 5 year old. Sounds crazy and a lot of people look down on us for it, but she was born broke. She's never tried anything stupid (except to get OUT of working when an experienced rider is on her xD)) and is a perfect lady for the kids. Normally I'd never put a 5 year old into a lesson program but she's absolutely mature enough to handle it.


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## montcowboy (Nov 11, 2012)

every one is right so far..lol..seems strange.but it does depend on the horse. it does depend on the training.and it does depend on the age.go figure. rule of thumb is a horse is mature between 8and 10 . then some horse breeds is different. for there body maturity and there mental maturity are different. but i find the fun of horses if learning there temperment. watching a young horse mature is a awsome thing. thanks for a great topic. ride safe everyone


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

I think there's a huge gulf in this conversation between personality and maturity. Grabbing a feed bucket and smacking another horse with it is personality and must be hilarious to watch. Please get it on video and post it so we can laugh along with you!

From my experience their personality is pretty well set by the time they are 4 and what you have is what you get for the rest of their life. But they don't fully mature mentally until 10. Again,this is in my experience, every 2 years they seem to take a step up in maturity until fully mature. That's when they are really ready to settle down and work for a living.


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## Herdof2 (Nov 24, 2012)

Yup, we got a while longer till she's "mature". Darrin you're spot on about personality vs maturity... Jazzy is definitely playful and full of it. She whips buckets (thank god for corner feeders!), she dumped her water on my trainer and I saw her do it --- it was intentional! Yesterday she took off with her sheet in between her teeth and last night she picked her halter up off the ground and took it alllllllll the way to the other side of the arena. Then she stood there do proud of herself 

Sometimes I hate hate hate having a young green one, but those moments go away really quick!


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## Corazon Lock (Dec 26, 2011)

Rusty is 11 and I don't think he'll ever mature. I got him as a 9 year old, and let's just say that while he has grown up a bit, he still has the mind of a 4 year old in certain aspects. When he gets around another horse, his mind tends to go out the window. When he's scared, there's no calming him down...it's like the sense just gets knocked out of him. Fortunately, he rarely spooks. Rusty's the one that always somehow stupidly gets tangled or tries to jump something he's not supposed to. 

It's so funny though, my friend has a horse, Sunny, that's 7, and Rusty and Sunny just GET each other. Both are on the high end of the totem pole, and they tend to try to show that even when they're being ridden (ears back, etc.). But nope, Rusty and Sunny just have this mutual understanding of goofiness.

It's nice to have a mature horse, but I like my goofy, immature one.


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