Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Kids and horses, or When is a colt old enough to ride?

We bred a couple mares last year and gave the colts to a couple of our oldest grand daughters.

This was April 19 2014








And this is the same colt today, just a bit over four months later.


That is Paige in the saddle. She is in the second grade and is just learning to love horses.

The colt is named Blazee and he belongs to Abby, in the red shirt. She is 11 YO and in the 6'th grade. Abbey is responsible for 90% of this colt's training to this point, with a bit of coaching from Pa Pa.

Today was the first time the colt had ever seen a blanket or saddle. Abby and I sacked him out with the blanket, saddled him, and longed him for about ten minutes before Paige came along and these pics were taken.


Yep, he is still a colt and unpredictable at this point. That is why Pa Pa has a death grip around little Paige's waist all the time she is in the saddle.



I might be just a bit proud of my girls!

I am pretty sure Abby is going to have one hell of a horse here in a couple of years.

That's a good looking colt. Glad your Grand Daughters are enjoying the horses. You answered your own question.

Great pictures Pa Pa!!

Thanks for posting. Those girls are fortunate!

get a halter that fits....

As long as it is only a few pounds, you are OK. Don't up that though. Additionally lunging a young colt is really bad for their undeveloped knees. I'd stop that entirely until they are 2.5-3 years old.
Spending time and doing ground work with them for short intervals pays a lot of dividends, but not riding (heavier loads) until they get older pays dividends on the other end when they are older.
These young ones have the attention span of a rock at that age, so keep it short.

I don't want to rain on having a good time with your kids, but starting this much this soon is going to make it tough to not get ahead of yourself.

Doesn't hurt to use a halter and get one used to a light saddle, but not much weight can be put on them til they are over 2 years old...

I start "breaking" a horse when they hit the ground. Don't do much serious round pen work until they are 2 years old though.

I never put any weight on them until they are 2 years old. Teach him to lead, load a trailer, accept a blanket, etc. until he is two.

LOL

There is a short story behind the Halter.

The local rigging supply store will only sell that 1/4 inch double braid rope by the spool. 500 feet @ $.50 /ft.

I recently tied five new halters, all red. And I thought the colt's halter was the one in the car when I went over to the grand kids' house yesterday.

Obviously, his halter was the one left at home.

Good point, and appreciated on the longing. Also one which I have stressed with Abby.

Our focus on longing exercises with the colt is maintaining a walk on lead or off in the round pen while negotiating obstacles, such as stepping over or circling plastic fifty gallon barrels.

Colts like to run and play. It is a worthwhile challenge to make him settle, and walk (or slow trot) at command instead.

As to the weight. Yes, that concern is why little Paige is the only one who gets to ride this year. She weighs less than thirty pounds. I doubt the saddle weighs twenty. And we keep the sessions to about ten minutes.

At this point it is essentially just advanced "sacking out" exercises.

When he is a yearling, we will put a snaffle and bridle on him and the kids will teach him what the reins mean as an adult leads him around the pen.

And, actually yesterday was even more about teaching that cute little blond in the saddle to enjoy the horse, than it was about teaching the horse, though the two do go hand in hand.

Here's a pic from thirty years ago as my son and I break his Momma's new colt.

Same here. Lots of ground work that will pay huge dividends when it's time to ride. Their joints are too soft to put weight on them at this early age.
Can it be done? Yes, but the horse will pay the price later on in life.

Ed

Holy crap! I am looking at that old pic of the bay in the latter post. That colt is well over a year old, and comes about to my armpit. He grew into a very nice sized 14.75 hand horse.

Abby's colt is just over four months old and comes to my armpit. In two years she will need a step ladder to reach a stirrup from the ground.

What? You aren't going to teach her and the colt the Hollywood Mount (running vault into saddle)?

That would impress the boys. Oh wait..

What? You aren't going to teach her and the colt the Hollywood Mount (running vault into saddle)?

That would impress the boys. Oh wait.. Counter-indicated....

A 4 mo old colt is unpredictable enough that I would not put a kid on it no matter who or how many are tethering the kid.

+1 on waiting until 2 and training all the other things into the little beast.

Granddad would of beat my ass if I put more then a saddle blanket on a 4 month old colt.

When that colt buggers, and it will when you least expect it, a kid is either going to get hurt, or scared, or most likely both, and may never want to be around a horse again.
I know this, for I did the same thing you did a long time ago with my daughter on board of my 5 month old filly. After the pitching stopped and my girl hit the ground, kind of a spinning belly flop, she never again showed any interest in a horse, and she spent her life around them until she left home.
Lots of ground work, manners, halter breaking, leading, turning of hindquarters/forequarters, stopping, backing etc...it's all good, but no real work until they are two.

Nothing but ground work until two.

Please be careful. My experience suggests one encounters a close call about every 6 months. Many are not intentional (slips, stumbles, feints, etc.) when one is out and about living and working with them. Sort of like Red Fox's fear of flying. Might not be my time, but it might be the pilot's.

Two years ago a friend lost his 4-year old son to a well mannered horse on a lead rope walking in his barn lot. Something set the horse off, and it landed on the kid. They pulled the plug after 3 days. A wonderful little kid, but i guess God needed him for something.

So sad but it can happen so fast. Not worth the risk with young colts and young kids. Unpredictable from both.