12/10/2024
We’re not even going to address the literature about this topic. There is too much out there that’s much better than anything we could ever post in a caption, in describing how detrimental it is for the horse’s health and longevity to ride them before the age of 5.
Heck, if you open Chat GPT and ask it “Why should horses aged 4 and under not be ridden?” you’ll read the fundamental basics in a millisecond.
So we won’t even try to support this thesis because it’s a given.
But let’s talk about why.
Why is this happening?
And especially...why is it happening even in equestrian contexts that are supposed to be on the horse’s side?
We can only speculate.
Ignorance? Maybe.
Money? Possibly.
Possible money scenario #1: “It’s an expensive-as-heck deferred dream! I can’t wait that long!”
So you don’t.
You rush it, and you do so at the expense of the lifespan and quality of life of your horse.
And possibly later when they’re in their 20s and they don’t serve your purpose anymore you sell them. Your conscience is clean because you gave them to a family with kids who are new horse owners and they’ll love him so much.
Also, btw, they have no idea of what senior horse care entails or how expensive it is (especially one whose skeletal, muscle and joint development, in their youth, was rushed prematurely into big weight-carrying athletic endeavors).
Likely going to drop him off at the closest auction in a couple years.
The meat buyers will be very glad for the opportunity.
Possible money scenario #2: You work for a rescue and donors like high turnover numbers. They’ll think that your rescue is not doing its job if you don’t rehome a xyz horses per year.
Heck, YOU like high turnover numbers too: however imperfect of a solution, it means that you’re saving more and you’re leaving fewer at the kill pen all together!
At least in the short run 😔
There is no winning, this is just the least worse option: training them fast and training them young, so that they go out to the world knowing the things that most humans are going to need them to know so that they can live their riding dream, and their trip to the kill pen will be delayed by quite a few years.
Which is something.
It is a lot, in fact.
And we are so grateful for all the humans who help immensely this way.
But in the horse world that we envision, this is not enough.
In the world that we dream of (and work towards), there is no need to pressure anyone - horse, trainer or Executive Director - to get “results”.
The only result that matters is happy horses…ideally with very happy equestrians by their side.
“Happy”, here, is key.
Riding is AWESOME and we absolutely love it, but there are sooooooo many ways to have genuine and authentic fun with your horse as you take the time it takes while working toward riding.
Fun with horses is a macro category that includes (though is not limited to) riding. We embody this every day with our horses and we try to show others through our program.
We have to make a collective effort to do more. To do better by horses.
To help this industry shift towards a new paradigm in which it is crystal clear that if you cannot wait for the ride of your life, then the obvious solution is practicing a different definition of happiness with your horse until the time is right for such ride (and possibly buying yourself a motorcycle in the meantime).
Period.
Here’s three hills we’ll die on:
1. We do not take shortcuts at the expense of other beings.
2. We can have an exhilarating time with horses in a million ways. Only a few of those include riding.
3. You DO need money to have a horse. For boarding, the vet, the trimmer, trainers, fitting tack…and to afford taking the time it takes, whether it’s saving them, rehabbing them, setting them up for long term mental, emotional, physical and spiritual success. And longevity. So make a plan. Be responsible. And if you don’t think you can afford it right now and for a while, there’s a million other ways to get amazing horse time (like volunteering at a rescue).
Let's co-create a better world for horses, folks 🫱🏼🫲🏽
