Moonshadow Farms

10/29/2024

After seeing multiple videos posted by various breeders bragging about their 2 ½ year olds/recently turned 3 year olds and sharing videos of them cantering around in the arena, I have decided to once again circulate the below article.

First of all, breeders *should* have the knowledge to understand a horse’s fragile and slow maturing musculoskeletal system. Breeders should not condone their own horses let along anyone’s horses being cantered around under saddle at an incredibly young age. Period. This sets a terrible example and is quite honestly animal abuse. Just because a horse does not object does not mean it is right. And quite frankly, most of the videos posted show animals that are already in pain or developing pain…

As breeders, we should strive to produce healthy and sound animals. We should promote horsemanship that produces long term soundness. No, starting a horse later does not guarantee soundness. But it certainly helps.

I am a firm believer in scientifically backed approaches to horsemanship. You can’t argue with science that has been proven time and time again. Let’s dispel some stupid rumors:

1. There is no such thing as a (skeletally) slow maturing horse or one that is fast maturing. No horse is skeletally mature before the age of 6. And that is on the low estimate for age.

2. Growth plates are not just in the knee. Every bone behind the skull has a growth plate. Not every single one needs to be converted to bone before starting. There is a schedule of when bone fuses…this is the information needed to know when to start a horse. Not their outward appearance. It is a known fact that during growth, proprioceptive awareness can regress, greatly increasing the risk of injury.

3. Starting a horse is not the same thing as riding a horse. Starting a horse does not mean cantering it 3-4 days a week in an arena.

4. Injecting a horse that is in pain does not mean you fixed a problem. You masked it.

5. You can build correct muscle and teach a horse how to move their body from the ground. This creates a solid foundation to work from once your horse is ready to actually be backed. Teach a horse to use its body correctly before backing and you’ll save yourself a lot of vet bills down the line.

Hocks are “late” for maturity. The growth plates on the tibial and fibular tarsals do not fuse until a horse is 3-3 ½. Ever wonder why so many horses seem to have hocks issues?? Horses need to learn to carry themselves and their own weight well before adding a rider.

The growth plates that are LAST to close are at the base of the neck. This area is where we ask a horse to raise the base of their neck and come round. If under too much stress, the growth plates can fracture or be permanently damaged.

There are DOZENS of activities you can do with a young horse to build healthy muscular development. None of them involve a saddle or your weight on their back. Teaching a horse to carry themselves correctly BEFORE adding a rider is essential and cannot be done in a week. A 2 ½ year old horse is a baby. Mentally and physically. We see far too many injured performance horses at VERY young ages - broken down and/or sour from work. It’s wrong. Period. They need slow and steady work and need time to recover from even the slightest of injuries.

PLEASE, if you are considering when you should start your horse and what that work load should look like, please read the below. There are some wonderful things you can do with your young developing horse. Please don’t rush a year out of greed.

http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

10/29/2024

There are several issues that develop on the pattern.

Let’s talk about rate.

In a perfect world our horses would always rate and prepare for the turn.

I want a horse to rate off of my body, my hands, or my voice, or any combination of the three.

They need to respect my seat and my hands.

Rate needs to be taught away from the barrels and then when they are good at listening apply it to the pattern.

If we jerk our horses in the ground at a barrel and consider that rate then we will have issues with them bracing for impact.

If they learn to rate off of your seat and they start to look for the rate point on their own they will not brace. When teaching rate I start by sitting down and saying whoa then following with my hands.

Before long they will rate from your seat or your voice.

I want to give them the opportunity to do the right thing before I force it with my hands by pulling.

I want the rate point on the pattern to be a place they relax and think, not react and brace.

www.betweenthereins.us

10/29/2024

10/15/2024

We will be working on barn Saturday. Might make some noise so beware. Thanks

08/10/2024

08/08/2024

08/08/2024

08/08/2024

It’s not “too broke,” just a different kind of broke.

Basic horsemanship is universal and I think we can all agree that horses learn well through pressure and release. But I think it’s important to take into consideration the task at hand and train according to what your discipline requires of your horse. It has nothing to do with them being too broke or not broken enough, but everything to do with them being broke in the way that meets the needs of your discipline.

I don’t think a horse can be too broke, but they can be too drawn to your feet or too backed off to win at our event. Some horses need a little of that and others not as much. We need them to move out freely without being drawn down too much. Obviously, we need them to rate and gather when we ask, but we need plenty of forward motion and reach.

They all need collection, softness, fitness, good nutrition and consistency. I find it important in our event that they can carry themselves without me having to place every foot all the time but also that they will let me when I need to place them.

They need to have a level of confidence that allows them to take over, but also to come back to me when I need them to. That’s probably one of the hardest things to achieve but so important in an event where we need them to basically runoff and then gather back up four times in approximately 15 seconds.

Last but certainly not least, they need to trust their rider. I work every day at getting my horses to accept my hands and feet willingly and trust that they will get a release when they get soft. Horses that trust you are so much less likely to brace against you or get worried when the pressure is on.

There are a lot of ways to win but to consistently win on multiple horses, you have to train a broke horse. Not to be your slave, but to be your partner!

www.betweenthereins.us