How old does a horse have to be to ride it?
Every owner of a young horse rightly asks himself how old a horse has to be to be able to ride it. General rules apply, on the one hand, and individual rules on the other.
Pay attention to the growth of the horse
Similar to humans, this requires Horses a certain amount of time until it is fully grown. But what does that mean?
- A horse is fully grown when it has reached its final height. This is usually the case between the ages of six and seven.
- Also during this time the bone structure is so hard that you can easily put a rider's weight on the horse. The quadruped was also able to develop a certain musculature during this time.
The above facts are of a general nature. This means that certain Horse breeds sooner or later are fully grown. These facts also have a decisive influence on the age at which the horse can be broken in.
That is how old the equine should be
As mentioned above, different breeds of horses have grown to different ages. Therefore, when asked how old a horse is ride must be the following:
The dream of owning a horse, which girl doesn't have it? Now there is the question, …
- As a rule, a horse should not be broken into before the age of three. It would make more sense to wait until the fourth year. The older a horse is when it is ridden in, the longer it will remain rideable.
- Many pony breeds are so-called late development and should not be broken in before the fifth year. If you are not sure when you are allowed to ride your horse, you can also inquire at the breeding association responsible for you.
You should keep this in mind when riding
If you want to ride a young horse, you should consider a few things:
- Start with confidence exercises at an early age. These are, for example, going for a walk, working in the yard and behavior in the cleaning area.
- If you want to start riding, you should lung the horse for some time beforehand (at least a few months) so that the horse can build up muscles accordingly. Only then should you gradually get him used to the saddle and harness. Once the horse has got used to it, you can sit in the saddle for minutes.
- When breaking in, always make sure that you start slowly and also increase slowly. The less stress the horse has to cope with in the beginning, the more resilient it will be in the rest of its life.
