The right age to start a horse?

[alove4horses]

What peoples opinions on the right age to start a horse? I see all sorts of senarios around, some great, others not so pretty. I see a lot of young horses getting burnt out before their time, and I wonder if they have been started too soon.

[horse99]

Well I think this totally depends on the horse. From breed to breed it can vary so much. I.e. people start quarter horses and TBs at around 2 and others start their warmbloods as late as 4 or 5. For me personally, my experiences are mostly with warmbloods and I think 3 is a good age to have them lightly started. Yes, they are still growing and have a lot of maturing to do mentally and physically, but at three, if you are careful they can learn the basics and start to build correct muscling. I think also they are more “persuasive” with their attitudes at 3 then say 4 or 5 when they have more dominance and tend to say “make me” more and more. If they learn from an early age that this is life, and this is their job, then they are more excepting of new concepts and trainable as they get older.

[peppysan]

Starting a horse, does not mean 'working' the horse, or putting the horse into 'work'.

I agree with this statement and I think this is where people get a bit funny when it comes to starting ages. They have to realize there is a difference between starting and working. Starting really should just be another step in their ground work if all has done correctly. It really should not be a big deal.