Concerned about Horse Breaking

Kimberly from Leicestershire asks:

Hello I am just making enquiries and looking for some advice I have recently bought a 2 year old colt, he has been gelded and is a very kind natured horse, he is calm and easy to handle, he is a pure bred Spanish horse, someone has told me that when he reaches 3 years old I will have to send him away for breaking in for riding, I can not bear the thought of it he is like my child I spend hours a day just loving and caring for him I can not imagine being apart from him for even a day.

I do not know what to do about this I know it is a little way off yet as he is only 2 but I keep thinking about how quickly the years go, is there anything that could help me without sending him away your advice would be most grateful.
Thank you Kimberley

Melanie’s Response

Hello Kimberley. I am a little confused here. When you bought a youngster, how did you envisage getting him trained when the time came? Do you think that all trainers are cruel or harsh?

It is a very important thing for your horse to be sent to a good trainer for him to be started. You must not do this yourself, as you are too close to him. The first thing that will happen will be for the trainer to get rid of all the bad habits that you have allowed him to develop. He is very likely to be in trouble for things you have allowed by treating him like he is a baby or puppy… he is a horse.

Please, your horse does not need a best friend; he needs you to be his leader. Kind, calm and firm. He is a horse at the end of the day and not, as I have seen so much in the past, a horse ruined by being perceived as a child replacement.

It is right and proper for your horse to experience new worlds in his time. That way he will develop confidence and gain pleasure in all that he comes across in life. Hide him away and he will always fear the unknown and that is both wrong and greatly unfair on him. He has a future ahead of him where he needs to stand tall and be seen, not shy away in fear of anything new or strange. You will think I am being harsh but I am being very true and fair…. please don’t take any of this the wrong way… gain from what I am telling you.

My sincere best wishes Melanie

This blog was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009