How Old?

Question
I was just woundering how old should a horse be when you start to actually train it.I have a friend who has a 2 year old filly and someone told her if she breaks it at this age her back will go out sooner. I just wanted to know if this is true

Answer
Sarah -

I have heard the same wives tale.

The most important thing is to wait until the growth plates on the leg bones are closed/fused.  This usually happens right around two, and that is why two is considered the earliest time to start riding a horse.  If there is any question about that, a vet can take a simple x-ray to see if the growth plates are closed.

I have never seen a horse with a back problem that could be traced all the way back to being started at two.  That is not to say that it doesn't happen, but I have trained a lot of two year olds and never seen one yet develop a bad back because of it.  Race horses routinely begin training at two and sometimes as early as 18 months so they can really work on race training by two.  While I have seen some race horses have back trouble, none of it was related to how early they started.

As long as the horse is healthy, she should be fine to start training the horse.  If she has any doubts, she should ask her vet the next time they come out just to be sure.

Best of Luck!
Michael Hockemeyer
Kicking Bear Mustangs