As we get into the 2024 spring colt starting season, many people are sending their colts out to a trainer. Every year there's always a debate on how long a young horse should be at the trainer for saddle starting. This is my opinion on how much time the average horse needs with the starter. Remember each horse is different and some go faster and some take a bit more time.
30 days has been a quite popular timeframe for colts starts, but 60 to 90 day trainer policies are becoming more and more common. I personally believe in the 90 day start. In reality, 30 days to get from halter broke, maybe knows some groundwork, to riding well under saddle is a lot to ask of most horses. Obviously there's cases where horses are prepared to go faster, but in reality, when a horse is being sent to a trainer, it's going to be in a brand new environment, all of a sudden working an hour or more a day, every day, using muscles it hadn't used all that much before, and the horse probably didn't know much to begin with or maybe already had bad habits. Yes it is possible to get them ridden in 30 days, but is it really worth overwhelming them?
90 days gives around 30 days of groundwork to make the horse confident and safe on the ground. Just because the horse knows groundwork doesn't mean its to the level needed for starting. Then there's about 30 days of rider preparation, from saddling to leaning over them, to ponying and more. Then the horse should have a good ground foundation and be able to move on to 30 pretty good rides. Being in so much groundwork and preparation also helps horses muscle up so that they are physically prepared for riding. Obviously to can lessen the amount of time in groundwork and preparation for the right horse to make it 60 days, but 90 gives the horse much more opportunity for success.
With all of this said, keep in mind that every trainer is different and that every horse is different. I know good trainers that can have a horse riding in 10 days and I know that there's trainers out there that won't get on a horse for months. This is also only my opinion, and I'm a strong believer in groundwork.
Time and good training creates better horses, but blowing them up takes you back to ground zero. Just a little something to think about. Thanks for stopping by and good luck on all your equine shenanigans! <3
Abbie
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