BY VICTORIA LUSTIG
I see hundreds of young horses every year in this country, and the U.S. is breeding exceptional horses. Full stop.
As a handler for the Young Horse Show Series, I travel around the country handling yearlings through 5-year-olds at liberty and through a jump chute, and watch many of them compete under saddle. Beyond that, I start, develop, and show dozens of young horses every year for clients out of my own base in Lexington, Kentucky. Young horses make up the majority of my business, and it gives me a unique glimpse into what breeders are producing year after year. The quality of horses that are being bred in this country is quite high.
At every show I attend, I see young horses I would stake my professional reputation on as being true prospects for the highest levels of sport, whether as hunters, jumpers, dressage horses, or eventers. The U.S. horse industry talks about wanting to improve the quality horses in this country, but it’s time to change that conversation. The problem is not the horses we are producing; the quality is here. The problem comes when it’s time to shape that potential into real talent. The U.S. lacks the infrastructure to develop young horses.
Venues
Let’s start with the venues. That includes shows, but we need so much more than that. Not all horses bred in the U.S. are going to be show horses. In fact, most horses will never step foot in a rated show ring, but those horses still need off-property experience. The U.S. needs more venues that allow people to affordably jump a course, ride in a large group, practice an obstacle course, and gain those life experiences that don’t happen at home.
If we focus on horses destined for the show ring, there are even more problems there. For those who have never forked-over an entire paycheck to go to a rated show, you should know showing is expensive. No matter what discipline, no matter how old your horse is, showing can cost an arm-and-a-leg. With the recent increases by USEF to the already significant cost, I think everyone would agree that the current system is unsustainable.
Photo © Bethany P. Photography
On top of that, many show venues are not welcoming to young horses, which makes it even less appealing for owners, trainers, and breeders. Warm-ups are crowded; courses and tests can be too technical, and all of it is judged in a way that is unforgiving for the average 3- to 6-year-old. It’s also important to point out that the culture at many shows is not friendly to young horses. If you need to ask what I mean, then you have never been given the stink-eye when your baby has a meltdown at the in-gate, or heard the muttering in the crowd when your young horse has a play buck after a particularly exciting jump, or been asked to leave the arena because your 4-year-old point blank refused to walk past a large shiny banner. There are a few burgeoning shows and venues in the U.S. that are showcasing young horses and want to make the experience better for them. There is the USEA Young Event Horse Program (YEH), the Young Horse Show Series (YHS), the USHJA Young Jumper Championships, and the Young Hunter Incentive Program, but that is a few in a field of even fewer. While we are fortunate to have the venues and series we do, the options are still too few and physically too far between. This leaves very limited options for an amateur or professional to give their young horse miles and experience affordably.
Professionals
Next, let’s talk about the professionals. Many owners and breeders will tell you they are having a hard time finding qualified, experienced, and knowledgeable trainers for their young horses. On the other hand, I also run into the opinion that starting horses is a “just get it over with” phase. Some owners just want the horse backed and going walk, trot, and canter so it can be sent to a “real” trainer. This is demeaning to both young horse trainers and the horses they develop. The groundwork and the first few months under saddle will form the early foundation for everything else that follows in a horse’s career. Dismissing the importance of this is not only harmful to the horses, but it also discourages more trainers from working with young horses. This industry is hard enough, and to have your role be undervalued does not encourage long-term retention.
Between the scarcity of young horse trainers and the “get it over with mentality,” I see young horses sent to someone, anyone, willing to do the dangerous, painstaking, and underappreciated task of starting it under saddle. And as someone who is occasionally asked to “fix” the problems that this creates, we need to do better. Some of that is education. We need to educate owners and breeders about the importance of this step, and we need to train the next generation of trainers to start young horses. Doing the groundwork, backing, and putting the initial “buttons” on a young horse requires a unique set of skills. Just because someone can teach lessons, jump a 3′ course, or school a lead change, does not mean they have the skills to start a young horse. These skills are by no means mutually exclusive, and some professionals can absolutely do both, but they are separate skill sets.
From personal experience, as rewarding as it is to start, teach, develop, handle and ride young horses, it does not get you the acclaim, sponsorship, or the credit that riding horses at a much higher level does. If I tell you I start horses, versus saying I compete at a Grand Prix level, you will instantly have very different assumptions of my ability and how “good” of a rider I am. Now, I am not trying to compare these two skill sets like they are apples to apples, the skill sets are different, as they should be, but the recognition of the value of each should be the same.
Systems
The “systems,” is by far the most abstract piece, but maybe the most important. In the broadest sense, the U.S. lacks a standard way, or system, for raising, housing, training, showing, and selling young horses. If I were to put my finger on why some countries can produce young horses more economically, I would say it is because of their system.
The U.S. has systems for adult horses that make owning, selling, and showing them relatively straightforward. Nearly all boarding facilities accept adult horses. There are thousands of shows from local schooling shows to national and international shows made for adult horses. There are countless trainers, associations, clubs, vets, farriers, and activities, all of which are familiar with, and geared toward, adult horses.
When we try to put young horses in this system, it starts to fall apart. What they require, from feed to handling to facility management, is fundamentally different. Many boarding farms do not have the facilities or staff to deal with rambunctious, accident-prone babies still learning to lead. If you are raising a stud colt, forget it. You will have an incredibly hard time finding somewhere to stable, train, or show him. Even before a young horse is started under saddle, it needs to be taught ground manners, how to stand to be bathed and clipped, and how to load. The list goes on and on. How many professionals or facilities offer that service?
Photo © Bethany P. Photography
If someone buys a weanling or yearling, how many options will they have for that horse’s next four years? Or if someone buys an unstarted young horse, how many well-qualified, proven trainers are within 30 miles of them? How many of their local associations or clubs will have days or events that are made for young horses? There is no country-wide system for housing, educating, and developing young horses, and as a result, for horse owners and breeders everywhere, turning potential into talent is both costly and complicated.
Where Does The Conversation Go From Here?
The conversation must change. Instead of saying “How can we breed better horses here?” we need to ask, “How can we better support the people breeding and developing young horses?” Instead complaining about U.S. prices, we can invest in a younger horse, support a U.S. breeder, organize classes at your local show that are made for young horses, form a relationship with a great young horse trainer long before your baby is ready to start under saddle, and support the shows that are making showing affordable and positive for young horses. If we continue the narrative that says you can buy a better bred, better trained young horse with more show miles for half the price outside the U.S., then you are perpetuating that system by literally or metaphorically buying into it.
In the U.S. we are actually lucky, because we have pieces of this system already in place, all we need to do is build them into a cohesive whole. We have some show series and some venues that are made for young horses; we just need to support, staff, and create more of them. We have professionals in this country who start young horses well; we need to spotlight those individuals and bring this underappreciated aspect of training to the forefront. Let’s make starting and developing young horses a real and sustainable niche for more young professionals. And lastly, we need to take these pieces and make them systematic. We need to make it just as easy for an amateur to board, train, and show a yearling colt as it is for them to buy, stable, train, and show a 10-year-old gelding. We have the raw material; all we need is to build the infrastructure. If the U.S. wants to develop the next generation of elite horses, we need to do so from the ground up.
About the Author
Victoria Lustig is the owner and head trainer of Cloverfield Farm in Lexington, KY. She and her team specialize in starting and developing young sport horses with patience and correct biomechanics.
