10/25/2025
I wrote this post several years ago, but as the 2025 foals are starting to go home, it's worth remembering what you're getting when you buy a baby.
One of the things that makes selling horses difficult is the expectations that people place on horses to act a certain way the moment that they get home. They have been uprooted from their friends and family and everything they know, possibly travelled for hours or even days, and they're supposed to act the same stepping off the trailer as they did stepping onto the trailer. Unless you have a well travelled show or performance horse, that's just not realistic.
One of the hardest things I do as a breeder is send off weanling foals. Not only is it hard because I feel like I have spent months doing nothing but earning their trust only to break it in the end, but because I don't really know (most of the time) what the buyer is expecting. I try to tell my buyers a lot about the personalities of their horses. I give them instructions on what to do with their horses the first few days. But nevertheless, some people put unrealistic expectations on their horses, especially newly weaned foals.
A 6 month old foal is roughly the age equivalent of a 3 year old child. They have some very basic skills that they will use for the rest of their lives but that they haven't by any means mastered. Bringing home a weanling and expecting them not to do things they shouldn't would be adopting a 3 year old child and then being shocked that they threw a tantrum the day that they came home. Expecting a foal to stand perfectly for the farrier or to have his feet picked is like expecting your newly adopted 3 year old to run to the potty and use it correctly right away. Just because he was doing it well in his previous home doesn't mean that he knows your expectations or that you do things the same as I do. Their attention span is 5-10 minutes tops, and standing still for more than a minute is hard, and they can launch a full blown tantrum for what seems like no reason at all. Because they’re a toddler.
When foals turn a year old, it is the equivalent of a child turning 6. Their comprehension of the world around them is a lot better. They are picking things up quickly, but are still very young and there is a lot that they still don't know and shouldn't be expected to know. Although they "know" they are supposed to hold their feet up, it doesn't mean they will always do it, just as a six year old child "knows" to put the dishes in the sink but doesn't always do it. Their attention span is better than it used to be, but they still can only focus for 20-30 minutes at a time, and should get to spend most of their time getting to "be a kid."
By the end of their yearling year, they have reached roughly the age equivalent of a 9 year old child. While it is acceptable to allow them to perform small tasks and have some minor responsibilities, they are not old enough or mature enough mentally or physically for a real job. A 9 year old child can have chores at home, can sell popcorn or cookies for Scouts, and have other duties that will translate into work that they do in the real world as adults. Likewise, a yearling can be trained to send away on a lead, learn to trot in-hand, learn how to set up for halter, and do in-hand trail. These skills will translate to real skills used as an adult, but it isn't the end of their education and they are not ready for real work yet. They will still show poor judgement from time to time, although it was better than it was six months ago. They will still have tantrums over things that don't matter. They will still get scared and intimidated very easily. They don't always understand "why" and some things don't make sense and need a lot of patience to teach.
A two year old horse starts at about the human equivalent of age 10 and ends around a human equivalent of age 16. Just like humans in this age range, they're hitting puberty. They may get distracted easily and not know how to focus their energy. They need direction and discipline. Discipline doesn't and shouldn't mean pain; it means that they need to be taught to direct their focus on a specific task and learn to ignore distractions. A two year old foal may physically be big enough to carry a foal or carry the weight of a rider, but psychologically and physiologically they are only ready to begin preparations for these. They can start doing more intense training: lunging, carrying a saddle, ground driving; but they're not of an age yet to be responsible for taking on the care of a foal or physically in a place to do hard work. They should be able to focus for an hour at a time, though there are days you're going to wonder what their problem is, and other times you're going to think they're wise beyond their years. Like teenage humans, sometimes you will forget that they're not mentally adults and will need to remind yourself that their brains are still developing. You will start letting them make mistakes and learn for themselves, because sometimes that is a better way to teach them than to try to drill them. It's important to note too that cobs (gypsy vanners) do mature slower than light breed horses and that cobs likely end their 2 year old year at an equivalent human age closer to 14.
A three year old horse starts at about a human age of 17 and moves into adulthood, reaching about 19 years in the equivalent human years just before she turns 4. This is why you will notice a stark difference in moving that 3 year old to their new home verses that weanling: you are now bringing home an adult. If they have been expected to use their manners since they were a weanling then they should be mostly expected to use them in their new home, provided that the expectations are the same. They should have learned some discipline themselves, and as long as that is expected of them in their new home, they will continue to act with some discipline. That said, they're still a teenager, and now just an older teenager, and they want to hang out with their friends and have fun and don't always want to work. They're still not completely physically mature, but they can do most things any adult in their prime can do. Like a 17 year old who has been expected their entire lives to take off their shoes when they walk in the door, something like holding their feet for the farrier should come naturally and be expected 95% of the time (or more)...and if they don't do it, it's okay to remind them that the rules haven't changed. They will still have tantrums and make a big deal over things that aren't. They will probably also hold grudges longer if you do something they don't like. With cobs maturing more slowly, you're likely coming up at around 16-17 years old at the end of their 3 year old year.
Ages 4-8 of the horse are the years of the 20's of a human. It's time for them to get a real job and start doing some work to earn their keep. It's okay to set expectations high for them and to expect them to work hard. They're physically mature enough to raise foals, and usually mentally mature enough also. A horse that is well handled between these ages can start to do extensive traveling, if it hasn't already. Cobs still tend to mature a bit more slowly, but by 5-6 years old we do have a solid young adult.
By age 10, your horse is middle aged and equivalent to a roughly 35 year old adult. A 35 year old who has been expected to hold a job and has left home shouldn't have a tantrum the first day of a new job, and you would expect that a horse this age who is broke for his discipline and who has traveled to step off the trailer and behave. You would assume misbehavior is likely due to pain and not lack of handling. However, a 35 year old adult who has never left home and only gotten a basic education is going to be much less well adjusted suddenly finding themselves outside of that situation, and be unsure of what to do or who to trust. Someone this age who has never worked certainly can, but it might be more difficult to entice them to do it and they might not learn it as quickly as someone younger. But they can certainly still learn. And just like those other 30-something and 40-something adults you know, they might get angry if you do something wrong and get lazy if they take a long time off work and sometimes simply not care what you think.
Their ages go on from there into the older middle age years and into old age. With these, you can see in your horse the wisdom, knowledge, and patience that comes with age. Unfortunately, too many people expect a much younger animal to have the same wisdom, knowledge, and patience as one in their middle ages and beyond. You also see similar negative traits that can come with age in humans: while they become more patient, they may begin to lose their athleticism. While they have more wisdom to know when to pick their battles, they are also harder to train to do new things and some may resist learning altogether. While some may want to continue to work, their bodies might not be able to keep up with it any more. Some enjoy being retired and some take a long time to adjust to the idea of not having a job. Some really are happier working at least lightly as long as they can.
If you bring home a young horse, remember where they are mentally and emotionally. It isn't just that they're smaller, it's that their brain is still developing and mentally they are not ready to be an adult yet. They should not be expected to behave like one and they should not be expected to perform like one. They are toddlers, kids, pre-teens, and teenagers. You have many years to shape them into the adult they will become, but it does take years to get there. They aren't born that way and they don't come from the breeder that way. I do everything I can before I send them off into the world to set them up for success by teaching them to trust and giving them the basics they need, but remember that they're still young, and where they go from there is entirely up to you ❤
photo: MGG Ice Illusion, 2025 c**t
