What is your opinion?

[Heart4horses]

Just wondering........Is there an age when a horse can no longer be trained? Do they get "set in their ways" and cannot be changed at a certain age? I've heard differing opinions about this and will look forward to hearing your replies.

Thanks! :)

[rainy]

it depends, but that is right to a certain extent. i have a 26 year old arab mare, i got her a year ago and she hadn't been ridden for 2 years. i got her into shape and even showable, and she'd jump (unhappily) 2 feet, but she still won't canter on her right lead, and she's still very herdbound. i'm actually selling her right now.
but i think that it all depends on the type of training the horse has received. bad habits are very very hard to break, but good habits are a little easier to learn. (i got her to do a half pass a few times, with more training she could have done it better)

[Maci]

I guess it depends on the horse and his personality. If he's willing to learn and he's good natured and isn't too fussy, then I would say go for it, and see how it goes. But if he's more on the "complicated" side, then it would be a little more challenging.

Personally, I find that when they're older (22+) they are more stubborn and not as willing as they were in their youth. Some may disagree, but this is the trend I have found. Don't get me wrong though, i have come into contact with many great old horses!

Maci :)

[Outrider]

I think the older a horse gets the more difficult it is for them to not only learn a new skill but to WANT to learn a new skill. As everyone says, it depends on the horse. You can teach an old horse new things, but it takes the same amount of patience that you would give to training a yearling, and perhaps more. Happy Trails!

[Maci]

Don't be confused by my subject! I didn't mean an old horse, because they would be harder to train because they're not up for as many things as younger ones. I was just using "You can teach an old horse new tricks" as a play on words, because I felt it fit the topic. Didn't mean it literally though.

Sorry If You Got The Wrong Meaning!
Maci :)

[Outrider]

I think you can teach an old horse new tricks if you take your time with it. Some things are less suited to older horses than others, but for the most part, they ought to still be able to do what is asked, but like us older humans, they are more persnickety about it! :)Happy Trails!

[Heart4horses]

The horse in question is twelve years old. I still consider that "youthy". He was sent to a trainer about a year or so ago for about 3 months, I think. (He isn't my horse so I don't know all of the particulars). Anyway, the trainer told my friend who owns him that there are some things about him that would never change. I'm optimistic that with enough ground work and lots of time that some of those qualities could be changed. Am I being too optimistic considering what the trainer said? I just didn't want to put alot of time in him for no reason. Hopefully one day he'll be mine, though and in tip-top shape. :)

Changing the subject, I had an odd thing happen to me yesterday while riding.....After a big hearty shake, with me on his back, my horse decided to ROLL! Of course I had to bail and luckily only ended up with a sore shoulder and wrist. Thank goodness I was able to get my feet out of the stirrups--though I had my doubts for a few seconds. I have NEVER seen a horse do this--saddle and all! Has this ever happened to you? I've been spoiled to just arena riding up until this point in my life. Now, I've stretched myself to trail riding and every time we go out, we come back with a story and usually a good laugh! :)

[Flo]

For the first part of your question, what is it about the horse that his owner wants to change? Whilst I agree with the comments that you can teach older horses new things, change habits etc, not all horses are suited for all things - in the same way that you'd never in a million years retrain me to be a ballet dancer, some horses are never going to be schooled into being a dressage horse, some horses will never have the courage to do cross-country. The best possible thing you can do is to find out what the horse is good at and improve on those

For the second part, some horses do roll when they have someone on their back. You will learn the signs - if they start to paw the ground or you feel their knees buckling you have two choices - either urge them forwards very firmly or bail out. If you carry a stick a sharp tap should probably do the trick.

[Outrider]

Bob the WonderBeast is 19 going on 2! He still learns a new thing or two now and then, but Flo is right about some horses not being suited to certain things, regardless of their age. 12 is certainly not too old to learn something, but what is it the trainer thinks he is too old to learn? We might be able to give some better advice about whatever it is. Or you might want to ask a different trainer. And yes, I have had horses shake and roll with me in the saddle. I thought it was an earthquake! lol Just be cognizant of the signs and bail out while you can in that situation. Happy Trails!

[Heart4horses]

Flo: Actually, the owner hardly ever rides him. I've been trail riding him for about a year now--so its me that wants the change. He is so bad about thinking he has to be in a full run to lope or jog. (I ride western) He gets really fast and stays that way. I've tried different voice commands, and holding him back in the reins. Alot of times I have to see-saw him to get him stopped. He is a big horse (QH, almost 17hh) and so when he is in a run we are FLYING! I really want him to hold a steady speed and am frustrated in getting him to do so. The trainer said that it was just in him and that couldn't be changed. I tend to believe the opposite, but I'm definately no horse expert. By the way, I'm a ballet teacher! lol (tap and jazz too, but that is another story) And have only been doing that for about 4 years with no prior training. So I guess some things are possible! :)

Outrider: An earthquake is a very appropriate use of words! lol It was sooooo funny when it was all over, but not anything I'd like to experience on a regular basis.

[Outrider]

What kind of a bit are you using? It might be time for a change in bits to better control his speed. That's the first thing that came to my mind when you mentioned see sawing the reins to get him to stop. If you do this too often, you will develop a horse with a very hard mouth. Maybe someone already has caused this to happen. I would check with a different trainer that knows nothing about the horse to see what bit he might recommend. Happy Trails!

[Kerry's Partner!!]

Having witnessed that my horse has "learned" anew at 10-11yrs I would say they certainly can. Our story will be quite different to yours so will not be an actual answer to your problems but it may help a little so here goes. What I would also say is that the environment in which she is learning and how she is being taught are the key ingredients. My horse was initially dead set against doing anything - anything at all that a human being asked of her. First she needed some respite and she needed to learn that some humans would ask rather than bully her about (under the guidance of Mike Peace). Then she needed to learn (in a kind way) that she was not supposed to do any bullying either! Then she started to respond. Now she is really getting quite adept in her responses when an experienced, kind and patient person asks her the right things in the right way. I have had an even steeper learning curve since I am trying to emulate the experienced, kind and patient person who has helped re-school her.

[Cathy Reynolds]

Benny did this soon after we got him. Turned out he needed some chiropractic work on a very sore spot in his back. You could feel him flinch when you ran a firm thumb down his backbone. Suggest you get his back checked out.

[Heart4horses]

Outrider: I have only see-sawed once the other day and it was because he was headed for a very muddy curve in a full run and I had to get him stopped or slowed down VERY quickly. Having this information, do you still think I should try a new bit? He responds very well to all other commands, and sometimes to slowing the lope, it just depends on the day and his energy level. Oh, and once I run him one time, he thinks we should go everywhere running. I have to keep the reins really tight. He is a handful. It will be interesting to see how he acts once the warmer weather sets in. Last summer when I first began riding him, I nicknamed him Eeyore, because he was so slow. Once fall arrived, I had a totally different horse!

Sandra: Thanks for the encouragement! How lucky you were to have such a great trainer to help you out. I'm attending a class in a few weeks which will cover some training tips for horses particularly in the roundpen and look forward to learning alot then. He is a great horse, very complacent normally, except when he gets a little wind in his face then he is off and running. Maybe I'll learn to remedy that to an extent.

Cathy: Thank you so much for the advice about his back. I think the reason he rolled was that he had an itch, apparently a bad one. :) He was pretty sweaty and we had just run through some water. When the shaking didn't help, he only did what was natural for him to do to get rid of it and that was roll.

Just want all of you to know how much I appreciate all of your advice and help. I feel so new at all of this horsey stuff. But thanks to all of you guys, I'm learning. I'm becoming a better rider-Knowledge wise anyway. And on the way to becoming more confident in the care of horses too! (Thanks again!) :)

[Outrider]

You shouldn't have to stay in his mouth tight to keep him slowed down. I would say that either the bit you are using isn't enough or he already has a hard mouth. I would switch bits and if that didn't work, try a hackamore. Happy Trails!