Question about 11 month colt

Question
I have a 11 month old Paint colt.  He is my world. How much can I work him without doing to much. He halters, leads, backs, walks, trots all by voice, no problems with cars, trucks, dogs, water, ect. I have put  blankets and a baby saddle on him also. We walk on the streets for about a mile everyday and 3 miles every other day.  Is this to much for him? I'm starting to get him to bow now.  So how much grain should he be getting with the work outs he has? And what should I be training for next? Or what should I be starting to work on?

Answer
Hi Christina,
              I would just concentrate on working on ground manners, and stop the walking, trotting and backing as that could cause him to have problems with his legs. You can pony him on soft ground and continue with the despooking. He does not need any grain as long as he is getting fresh hay or good pasture. Make sure that he has plenty of clean water to drink. For the next few months, just let him out in the pasture to be a baby and periodically reinforce your ground training. When he is two,then start to work on the backing and saddle work.



Lisa

Follow up.

I am sorry that you were unhappy with my answer.  If you go to this site, it explains much better then I can, how it is much better to feed pasture or hay, as grain does increase the chances for developmental cartilage disorders and OCD.   http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:NcSiOhVQiGYJ:www.ctba.com/02magazine/oct/HO...

Good luck with your horse.

Lisa