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Starting Member
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Last Login: 10/28/2009 3:25:53 PM
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| My mother recently bought a yearling filly, half APHA paint and hald Arabian. She wants me to help train the filly and possibly show her locally as well. I have heard that Arabians shouldn't be ridden until they reach the age of 3. I know for most other horse breeds, the general rule of thumb is to begin under-saddle training when the horse is 2. Since this filly is not a purebred Arabian, would I still need to wait until she is 3 to begin riding her? Or would starting her under saddle in the spring be better? I started a quarter horse filly under saddle when she was 2, but I don't know if that is the same process or not
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i would say dont get on any horse until they are at least 4. (maybe you can sit on them or something when they are three, but just walking, their training should consist of handling and groundwork)
Proud to be owned by a thoroughbred.
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^^^Agreed. Starting a horse at 3 or younger can lead to severe back and joint problems in the future.
Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble. ~Isaiah 63:13
But ask the animals, and they will teach you ~Job 12:7a
"You don't throw a whole life away, just 'cause it's beat up a little" ~ Tom Smith, Seabiscuit's trainer
Please join the Thoroughbred Owners and Enthusiasts Club if you love Thoroughbreds! www.thoroughbredtalk.webs.com
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Growth rate of a partiuclar horse should determine when it's started - not breed. Of course that doesn't stop alot of people from starting a horse at 2 (sometimes younger  ) I've heard that Arabs "should" be started later, but not because of the horse's conformation/growth rate, but because of the mentality - they need a little more time to mature in many peoples' mind.I started my 1/2 Arab 1/2 Paint at 4. That worked well for both of us ...
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| Yeah, Xena (that's the Arab/Paint cross) is rather small and dainty and I am afraid that working with her too soon would hurt her. Xena is the same size now as a long yearling that my QH was as a weanling, so I am pretty sure that she will need a different training regimen. When my QH was a two year old, I only did minimal riding on her (probably only 12 hours total). I started doing more extensive training as a 3-year-old. I believed it to be safe for her due to the fact that her bone structure is very solid and heavy, especially for a horse her size, and her mindset has always been very calm and easy to train. Now, as a 5-year-old, she is 15.1 hands and over 1300 pounds, and just as calm as ever. Xena is 13.2 hands now...her dam (a paint) was near 16 hands and her sire (arabian) was about 15 hands. I have read that Arabians typically don't get very tall, but...How tall do you think she will get? I don't know how long it will take her to reach her full height; my sister's TWH was done growing at age 4, and my QH was still growing up until this summer, when her weight finally caught up to the rest of her.
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Triple My Gold (10/20/2009)
Xena is 13.2 hands now...her dam (a paint) was near 16 hands and her sire (arabian) was about 15 hands. LOL, how funny, my mare's parents were just the opposite - her sire was the Paint, about 15.3 and her dam was the Arab (about 15-15.1). Star is 10 now, and was pretty scrawny until she was about 6-7 and is about 15.2. That's her in my avatar and in all the pix I post (including my profile).
Triple My Gold (10/20/2009)
How tall do you think she will get? You could do the String Test on her, but they say you have to wait until they are 1-1/2 years:
Measure from the center of the knee (bend the leg to find it first) to the coronet band, follow the contours of the leg. Then, as stated, inches in length = hands in height. 15 1/2" = 15.2 hands.
The other test is to measure from ergot to elbow (bend the leg to find it first), and then pivot the string around the elbow. That top height of the string is the adult height.
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