What to do with a 2-y-o and Great Britain win Team Gold at FEI European Dressage Championships

How much should you do with a 2-y-o horse?

Most of us would leave them in the field to grow up, keep an eye on them, teach them to lead if they don’t already know, worm them, vaccinate them and have their feet pared by the farrier. That’s it!

It’s amazing, however, how many people can’t wait to get going and start breaking them. We’re not talking about flat bred race horses here but ponies and sports horses. Only a few weeks ago, I met someone who told me that her boy is planning to hunt his 2-y-o pony this Autumn. We never do much with our horses until they are 3-y-olds and, even then, they are turned away after breaking to digest what they have learned before coming back for more serious work as 4-y-olds.

Our thanks go to Catherine Ryan of Mountain View Stables who has written a helpful account of what she does with her 2-y-olds. Ten minutes of bombproofing, grooming and handling in an appropriate and fun way can lead to a well adjusted 3-y-o which is much easier to break and not nervous of humans. Read Catherine’s suggestions here.

Great Britain win Team Gold at FEI European Dressage Championships for first time

Well done to the team of four riders representing Great Britain who triumphed in Rotterdam yesterday. Charlotte du Jardin had a dream beginning to representing her country when leading after day one. Carl Hester clinched top individual score on day 2. This was a fantastic achievement for the team, in the year before the London Olympics, who finished ahead of the Germans in second and the Netherlands in third.

Ireland has sent two riders to Rotterdam for the Dressage Championships: Anna Merveldt and Judy Reynolds. Good luck to them as they go in the individual competition on Saturday and Sunday, 20th and 21st. If you’d like to see the dressage live, you can watch it on FEI TV with subscriptions available on a daily, monthly or yearly basis.