Sales prep conditioning for yearlings/weanling and 2 yr olds

[oleos93]

Curious to methods some use on getting their, or other peoples, yearlings, weanlings and 2 year olds conditioned seeing they cannot be ridden.

I think next year I want to dabble in the sales and would like some input on what has worked for some and what has not.

[cewright]

http://www.taylormadefarm.com/publicsal ... ghorse.php

[Diane]

Thanks for the link Chuck. I'd never have thought putting a curcingle and side reins on a yearling during exercise/training sessions would be part of sales prepping. In the wrong hands? I don't like to think.

[ratherrapid]

riderless work in an appropriate paddock is superior in terms of getting an athletic looking yearling. it's done by some, but am surprised this method gets so little use. requires knowing what u're doing in terms of exercising the young horse as it's easy to overdo, injury shoulder cartilage etc.

[oleos93]

It is so easy to overdo it. This is why I am curious as to what others use as to not put extra stress on the growing bones, tissue, joints etc.

I love lunging as a form of exercise and balance on my older horses, you can bring that head in and force them to work off their hind end resulting in nice muscle tone. But for my yearlings I do not do this in fear of stress.

Great for me too as I am just to beat up to ride anymore.

[madelyn]

Some use swimming...

[kimberley mine]

riderless work in an appropriate paddock is superior in terms of getting an athletic looking yearling. it's done by some, but am surprised this method gets so little use. requires knowing what u're doing in terms of exercising the young horse as it's easy to overdo, injury shoulder cartilage etc.

You can get the same thing walking/trotting up hills, without the same stress on the body as going in a 20m circle with a surcingle--a horse can't get up the hill while stargazing, they put their heads down and push with their back ends. The biggest advantage to the Taylor Made style is you can deal with a hundred horses. Ponying up a hill can be done 2-3 horses at a time max, and needs a handler and pony horse.

[oleos93]

We have miles of trails up and down hills and had an idea of just taking the yearlings with, off lead, and let them go at their own pace yet still having to keep up. Anyone ever done this?

Pool woudl be AWESOME, if it was not so darn cold or had the funds to have an indoor one. Maybe when I win the next Triple Crown. LOL

[kimberley mine]

We have miles of trails up and down hills and had an idea of just taking the yearlings with, off lead, and let them go at their own pace yet still having to keep up. Anyone ever done this?

How many do you have, and of those, how many are the dumb ones who will get distracted and wander off?

If it were me I would have them all haltered and ponied alongside a quiet older horse. Possibly you could pony the dumb ones in one group and trail drive the smart ones?

[ratherrapid]

acknowledge that the "fashion prep" is walking on the walker or maybe some occasional trot + letting them play in the fields. Unfortunately this is totally other than "race" prep for the youngster and results in exactly the wrong type of muscle development--slow twitch/fast twitch--although horses are less prone to excessive slow twitch growth than humans. yet it's a problem. If you have an eye for it, watch those youngsters in the sale ring and it's fairly easy to recognize their stall baby appearance when they should be giving a strong muscular fast appearance.

In terms of sales prep what you have going for you is that there are very few owners and even trainers out there knowledgeable enough or caring enough to distinguish.

here is a e.g. of what I am talking about. I once bought at Faisig Tipton Lexington a very nice looking filly at a reasonable price from the owner who had also consigned here. After the purchase I asked him-0"how did you get this filly to look so good compared to the others"--keeping in mind that i have the experience to recognize a trained race horse--his reply was that the horse's stall adjoined a smaller mostly round paddock, and that he'd run the horse riderless with gradually increasing intensity as the sale approached. Of course the result was he got very little $$$ for the reason, again, there are few out there that recognize the appropriately prepared sales horse. In football terms this would be that most sports journalists would fails to recognize football if one hit them in the nuts.

Thus, personally I promote riderless work almost from day one of foaling. Main reason--if ur unable to sell the horse you have a race horse well along the way. If you just walk, lunge or trot, you'll have a soft out of shape sales horse unfit for racing and highly likely to get hurt.--just posting this opinion for consideration instead of criticism of anybody else's sales prep. If you walk/trot you're probably doing what 90% do.

[cewright]

Thanks for the link Chuck. I'd never have thought putting a curcingle and side reins on a yearling during exercise/training sessions would be part of sales prepping. In the wrong hands? I don't like to think.

Diane - In the wrong hands a lead rope is a dangerous weapon!

We do a lot of groundwork with our babies (even though they are not headed to the sales ring) because it makes them a lot easier to start under saddle and be successful in life. Our program actually starts at foaling as the foals are led in and out every day with their moms. The training gets more intense at weaning as the foals seem very willing to accept new leadership when they realize Mom has disappeared. Weanlings are taught to accept handling, grooming, trimming, to give to pressure and are thoroughly halter broke. Yearlings are taught to engage the hind quarters, turn, back up, and correctly move forward all from the ground. By working with the young horses in small sessions every day they learn quickly and are not over stressed. They also seem to enjoy the attention. And I have found that the wrecks are a lot easier to deal with if I'm not flying through the air! By properly exercising growing bodies you allow the young horse to develop the physical condition needed to be successful, rather than forcing them to remodel and repair as you would if you wait until they stop growing. JMHO - Chuck

Also, I am not a big fan of surcingles and side/draw reins on young horses because they don't reward the horse for trying to do the right thing. There are other ways to teach a horse to develop self carriage and engage the hind end with the added benefit that you are also improving your communication. Again JMHO - Chuck

[Jean]

Just received a yearling in for breaking that had been conditioned in side lines, now we have no control when driving, drops her head to her chest and just lopes away. Will be really nice when we finally get on her, no control! Please do not do this to babies!

[Crystal]

a properly enclosed round pen or hot walker and attention to the job at hand (i.e. not just setting a timer and walking away) is the best way to condition.

Side reins and surc are used to get the horse to stretch and use it's topline and hind end. I would use this 5x over ponying any day. (esp for a weanling/yearling). However it is useful to break the routine of boredom.

If you see your horse is fatiqued or the body is stressed for gods sake- stop.

Turnout is vital, especially for weanlings. They are normally up during the day and out at night.

[oleos93]

None of my horses are stupid and even a stupid horse would never go away from it's herd. Not normal.

[ratherrapid]

take a look at chapter 3. I have tried this with two horses and it worked well.

http://www.racinghorsesbook.com/