Setting a young horse up for success

There are many terms to describe beginning a horse’s career under saddle; breaking, backing, saddle breaking, and colt starting, are just a few. Colt starting was popularized as a replacement term for phrases that may suggest violence or breaking a horse’s spirit. As a California girl with a background in Paint and Quarter horses, I’ve had the unique opportunity to compare my experiences with young horses at home to the colt starting techniques I have encountered in Ireland.

In the US it would be very normal to start our horses between 2 and 3 depending on the horse’s growth. I was very interested that there seems to be consensus amongst local Irish equestrians that horses should be started later at 3 or 4. Giving a horse more time to grow seems perfectly reasonable to me. Where I may think differently is when I encounter horse owners who would turn their horse out until it’s 3 or 4, and then send it to a colt starter for 30 days and consider the horse “saddle broke”. 

Within the first handful of horses I worked with when arriving in Northern Ireland, I encountered a yearling Irish Sporthorse and a couple of late started warmbloods and Irish Sporthorses. The owners were so proud that their horses had been given so much freedom in early life but they were willing to let me start some work with their yearling to see how it went. It was a great opportunity for me to experiment with these new breeds and test out my theories on working with a young horses long before saddling. I spent the next few months switching between doing a bit with this yearling then turning her back out and I have been so pleased to see how easy it all comes to her. She was no drama when I went to saddle and bridle, she didn’t bat an eyelash at me crawling on her back, and now runs to me when she sees me coming to the pasture gate. On the other hand, the late-started horses were a much more challenging process in becoming safe to handle. They knew they were big, and were happy to throw their weight around to avoid hard work.

It would be very common at the APHA and AQHA shows to show your horse in yearling in-hand trail and yearling longe-line. Now it varies greatly between owners how extensively that baby will show, but I don't think I fully appreciated how beneficial this experience is to the yearlings until I worked with so many unhandled horses. In fact, I think building your young horse's confidence and introducing him to his future in developmentally appropriate ways is such an asset when it comes to bringing them along as a riding horse. Now, I'm not suggesting that every horse needs to be a champion in these classes to be successful in his later career, but I love that these classes encourage horse owners to expose their young horses to some training and a show environment.

I once heard a trainer mention that it’s kind of mean to tell a horse that from 1 to 4 years old his life is going to be running around with his buddies, doing as he pleases, and then on one random tuesday, we try to convince him that he needs a work ethic and must follow all sorts of rules that make a lot of sense to people, but very little sense to untouched horses. Then on top of that we’re going to strap a bunch of cowhide on his back and around his belly, AND THEN we need to jump on their back, just exactly as a predator would, and the horse should just be okay with it. Talk about setting a horse up for failure. No wonder so many horses take off bucking, or explode! While it’s a bit of a silly exaggeration, this was a beautiful illustration for me of what we often expect of horses. Now compare a horse being ridden to a child in grade school writing sentences. Before we write sentences, we must learn how to write simple words. Before that we must learn our alphabet. Before that we even need to learn how to hold the pencil. This is just like our young horses! We cannot try to write paragraphs, or civilly trot around with a saddle and rider until we can hold the pencil (or be groomed and haltered.)

With that being said, just like children, all horses have strengths and weaknesses and will learn at different paces. Some horses are just star students and will thrive even in less than ideal circumstances. Some horses may question the program or be hesitant to engage, it seems logical to create a training plan that makes success when riding the MOST likely situation instead of just lucky. There’s nothing wrong with hoping for the best, but for safety, I believe it’s important we prepare for the worst. At the very least, let’s plan to keep our horse or trainer out of a dangerous position.

For those with young horses at home, maybe one you bred yourself. I encourage you to build your colt’s confidence long before you decide to ride. I actually don’t mind if you wait till a horse is 4 or 5 to saddle and ride, but I'd like to suggest two choices to set your young horse up for confident and successful riding. Either you leave your horse in training for a long period of time, (even 4-6 months) to allow the trainer and horse time to build trust, respect, and then add skills. Or, you train incrementally, sending him to the trainer for a couple weeks as a weanling, letting him learn to pick his feet up, get hosed off, stand tied, halter, and lead. Then send him as a yearling for a month, start dialing in groundwork basics and improving on the skills introduced as a weanling. Then send him for a month or two as a 2 year old and build his ground work. Get him accustomed to wearing a saddle and bridle, and start long reining (or ground driving as we call it). By building his work ethic, trust and confidence incrementally or slowly over a long period of time you’ll have a colt that will be set up for success when it comes time to actually ride!

Now some of you I’m sure are on a very tight budget, and maybe what makes the most sense is doing a lot of this work yourself. I think many folks are capable of bringing their young horses through groundwork, but I caution you not to underestimate your horse or overestimate yourself. There’s no shame in outsourcing to trainer when applicable. With that being said, there are tons and tons of great resources online for cheap and free all about working with foals and young horses. I’d suggest you find a program you like and be as consistent as possible. Sometimes jumping around between many training philosophies can be more confusing than it is helpful. 

We all want the best for our horses and I find so much commonality with the horseman I have encountered on just wanting to do right by our animals. I’ve seen many horses that have spent their time as a foal being handled and slowly introduced to new ideas -even hauling to a show or two, whether they compete or not- go on to be so easy and fun to ride and show, all because of their preparation. I love when I go to ride and the horse just thinks “oh well, of course!” because saddling and riding isn't a surprise to them at that point. I have seen firsthand that this mindset benefits many horses of all different breeds and disciplines, while still allowing your horse time to grow and freedom to learn from the herd.

I often wonder, for those who much prefer to leave their horses out in the field with the herd until time to start under saddle, do you have realistic expectations of that horse’s progress when you send him away for training. I’ve heard many locals lament that horses are started too quickly in Ireland. Equally, I’ve also experienced many owners looking to send the horse to the trainer for starting and asking the trainer to take the horse for a couple weeks or 30 days. We all have budgets and we can only do what is reasonable for our pocket book, but I have to wonder if we have reasonable client expectations when asking a trainer to work on such a fine timeline.

To be a “good client” I don't believe you need to be an inactive owner, but I do believe you need to trust the trainer you hire. If 30 days of training is what is reasonable for you, I’d suggest investing in a trainer you trust fully. Then when trainer says the horse isnt ready to saddle but instead needs to keep progressing forward with groundwork, that has to be okay with you. I think clients can often be guilty of forgetting though many horse trainer are incredibly brave, theres no need to be suicidal. So many trainers have had major injuries often requiring invasive surgery due to injury from young horses, and it’s important to not take for granted that when a trainer says your horse isn’t prepared, its not personal

Educating a horse as a yearling or two-year-old before starting them under saddle provides a solid foundation for their future. It’s not about rushing or pushing them physically, but rather giving them a chance to experience the world, build trust, and gain confidence in a safe and supportive environment.

By introducing basic groundwork and handling early on, young horses learn how to navigate new situations, which makes the transition to being ridden much smoother. Think of it like a child going to preschool before entering grade school—it's not about diving into academics, but learning how to interact, follow simple instructions, and be comfortable in their surroundings.

For example, teaching a yearling to lead, stand for the farrier, and walk over obstacles in-hand gives them the chance to understand human communication and develop a work ethic. By the time they're ready to be ridden, much of the fear or resistance that can come with new experiences has already been addressed. They know how to think through challenges rather than react out of fear.

Starting this process early also sets up a horse for success when it comes to being introduced to saddle work. They already understand basic cues, are familiar with different environments (like showgrounds, if they’ve participated in in-hand classes), and have begun to trust their handler. This trust and experience pay off when it’s time to ask for more, like accepting a rider or learning new tasks under saddle.

Ultimately, the goal is to help create a confident, well-adjusted partner who’s willing and able to learn. Starting them with gentle, age-appropriate handling not only makes the training process smoother but also sets the stage for a long, healthy, and successful career.