To own a young Dressage horse can be a wonderful thing. However we may see the beautiful finalists of Bundeschampionate and of the World Championships and think to ourselves ‘aren’t young horses wonderful?’ Yes they most certainly are, but remember the finished product involves a process of blood (hopefully not!) sweat and tears! Like horses of any other age group they are still our teachers and we inevitably learn many valuable lessons from our underage friends. Riding young horses on a daily basis has taught me that you must always retain a sense of humour; as like children and teenagers our young equine partners are often victims of naivety, stupidity and plain old playfulness!

Types of young horses

Through my own experiences of riding young horses I have listed below the types of young horses that I have so far come across;


The horse shy youngster

The horse shy youngster is quiet common and is often a very timid creature. These horses are often unaware that they themselves are also horses and haven’t made the connection that the other horse that comes towards them in the arena is in fact of the same species. Common symptoms of a horse shy horse include bulging eye balls, shying, tornado spins and running.


The clever youngster

This clever youngster can be likened to the cheeky child in class. They are often very intelligent and find the work from their teachers boring and unhelpful. These youngsters are often known to paw compulsively while in cross ties, undo there own lead ropes when tied up and imitate bronc horses on and off the lunge! These horses are also compulsive chewers grabbing hold of anything that comes into their line of vision, this could include stray food, a brush a hoof pick or some ones arm, back or bottom.

I have the honor of riding some ‘clever’ young horses which have left me with permanent reminders of their intelligence, however these youngsters can grow into the most quirky and lovable creatures.


The mature youngster

This type of young horse is undoubtedly everybody’s favorite. This type of horse has a desire to learn and imitate their older colleagues. The mature youngster is very often well behaved in many situations and only occasionally will suffer from mild anxiety attacks. Although rare I have been told they do exist!


The next interesting aspect of the young horse that is not often widely discussed is the adventures that the rider willingly or unwillingly partakes on a daily basis. We always have the training scale in mind, however the nature of educating an animal is not always so straight forward as the text books to tell us!

For example, the first time the young horse is ridden outside. To many this may sound rather silly but alas the cooler months in Europe often dictate that horses remain mostly indoors which can make for rather interesting riding come Spring!

The dogs are an important part of our lives at Theodorescu’s and often accompany us everywhere that the horses can go. This includes on the riding place outside. Designed specifically for freedom of the young horses as there are no boundaries in place, it often turns into a cross country place/ rodeo show for a few weeks every year. Our lovely dogs Terry, the flat coated Fox Terrier and the french bulldog Fru Fru, our madam from France, are often the triggers for our young horses and their antics which include chasing their own tails, rolling on top of each other after an elaborate sprint and slide maneuver into the middle of the riding area, hiding in bushes and bounding through the long grass looking for bugs. The show that follows from the horses is rather spectacular, no longer is the training scale possible to think about as all of the principles literally go flying from one end of the property to the other, and in this situation the only thing one is able to think about is the need for a stiff drink!

This is only one of the many examples of the day to day rigours and delights that occur with young horses. They make our lives colorful and riding the young horse can be the beginning of a wonderful friendship, that if we are lucky can last a life time.

The learning curve of the young horse and rider is often steep, consisting of many challenges, some expected and some not. However a point worth considering about the young horse is that although they may be younger in age in comparison to some of their other colleagues they never cease to be our teachers. Sometimes we, the rider, must only listen to what they have to say. The privilege of training the young horse can be likened to the artist with a blank canvas, it all begins with only brush strokes until an image begins to appear...

So to all of the riders out there with young horses that may be proving to be more of a challenge than you originally bargained for, all I can say is strap on your monkey grip and hang in there and have a laugh from time to time, it certainly is a life experience!

Briana


Briana is an Australian rider at the famous Theodorescu barn. Read more about Briana here.