Having young and or green horses is awesome. But also, it can be confusing and overwhelming. We hear conflicting information on young horses – that we shouldn’t start them under saddle too early because their bodies need to develop. But then we also hear that they need a job to do and we often see that in the busy, exploratory behaviour we see from them. For many people it’s a rock and a hard place and we too often end up with young horses started under saddle too soon because they need a job to do.

There are absolutely other things we can do with young horses to give their busy minds and bodies things to do that will be beneficial now and into the future.

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I have been super interested in working with young horses since I was a teenager at riding school… so we’re talking for maybe the last 30 years. In this episode I chat about why I’m so passionate about working with young and/or green horses. So passionate that our first Abbey’s Run Equestrian program, From Green to Growth is targeted for that cohort of horses and their owners.

In this episode we discuss:

1:31 - episode introduction

2:32 - where my interest in working with young horses comes from & my journey

3:47 - the highs and lows of breeding

6:19 - how special working with youngsters is

5:56 - it can go wrong

7:58 - our current youngsters & where they’re at

10:50 - advocating for students starting with youngsters

11:27 - never assume with any new horse of any age or ‘experience’ level - treat all as blank slates

12:55 - there are lovely mature horses out there, there are always many shades of bay ;-)

13:47 - ‘From Green to Growth: developing positive partnerships for the future’ was a natural progression

14:29 - participant feedback

14:54 - next intake & all about the program

19:24 - podcast wrap-up & what’s on next episode

Our links mentioned this episode:  

• From Green to Growth: developing positive partnerships for the future
• Book a discovery call for From Green to Growth (available when new intake dates are announced)
• Sign-up to our email list
• Abbey's Run Equestrian website
• Abbey's Run Equestrian on Facebook

Thank you to Matthew Bliss for podcast production & consultation. You can find out more about podcast support on offer via: Blissery.FM or email [email protected]