christina_ski
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I have a 2 yr old filly, that I have trained since birth pretty much. I started her in harness as a yearling, now wait before you yell at me lol. I just put the harness on her for a few minutes every now and then, to get use to everything being on her and something in her mouth. I started some light (5-10 min tops) Grounddriving her yearling year in winter. This spring she turned a full 2 (April 25th) and I started putting her in a bitting rig and trotting her in the round pen, and also taking her out and grounddriving asking for turns and such. I know some people will break them to carts as 2 yr olds, but I have no plans on putting her in the cart til this winter, and then none of me getting in until the beginning of spring. Or am I being too cautious? She is a big filly, 34.5 and is what I would call medium build. She looks very mature for her age, but mentally she is a 2 yr old. She has never had any problems with her legs, and I have always been real easy with her (She's my baby!) Just looking for some tips as to if I am going about this right or not?
And jumping, what age do you start them out? How high at first? Work them up to? When do you start using barrels and confusing looking jumps with them? Is it ok to do jumping and driving at the same time if you space them apart and the horse can handle it ok mentally? Just looking for any opinions that will help me out.
Here is a recent pic of her to show you her current build:
I have a 2 yr old filly, that I have trained since birth pretty much. I started her in harness as a yearling, now wait before you yell at me lol. I just put the harness on her for a few minutes every now and then, to get use to everything being on her and something in her mouth. I started some light (5-10 min tops) Grounddriving her yearling year in winter. This spring she turned a full 2 (April 25th) and I started putting her in a bitting rig and trotting her in the round pen, and also taking her out and grounddriving asking for turns and such. I know some people will break them to carts as 2 yr olds, but I have no plans on putting her in the cart til this winter, and then none of me getting in until the beginning of spring. Or am I being too cautious? She is a big filly, 34.5 and is what I would call medium build. She looks very mature for her age, but mentally she is a 2 yr old. She has never had any problems with her legs, and I have always been real easy with her (She's my baby!) Just looking for some tips as to if I am going about this right or not?
And jumping, what age do you start them out? How high at first? Work them up to? When do you start using barrels and confusing looking jumps with them? Is it ok to do jumping and driving at the same time if you space them apart and the horse can handle it ok mentally? Just looking for any opinions that will help me out.
Here is a recent pic of her to show you her current build: