page_title: Horse training
section_title: "Backing" or riding the young horse
hierarchical_section_title: Horse training / Stages / "Backing" or riding the young horse
context_page_description: Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when commanded to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities from horse racing to therapeutic horseback riding for people with disabilities.
  Historically, horses were trained for warfare, farm work, sport and transport. Today, most horse training is geared toward making horses useful for a variety of recreational and sporting equestrian pursuits. Horses are also trained for specialized jobs from movie stunt work to police and crowd control activities, circus entertainment, and equine-assisted psychotherapy.
  There is tremendous controversy over various methods of horse training and even some of the words used to describe these methods. Some techniques are considered cruel, other methods are considered gentler and more humane. However, it is beyond the scope of this article to go into the details of various training methodology, so general, basic principles are described below. The see also section of this article provides links to more specific information about various schools and techniques of horse training.
context_section_description: The age that horses are first ridden, or "backed" (UK) varies considerably by breed and discipline.  Many Thoroughbred race horses have small, light riders on their backs as early as the fall of their yearling year.  Most stock horse breeds, such as the American Quarter Horse, are ridden at the age of two. Most horses used  in harness have a cart first put behind them at age two, and even some horses not ridden until age three will be trained to pull a light cart at two, in order to learn better discipline and to help develop stronger muscles with less stress.  The vast majority of horses across disciplines and throughout the world are first put under saddle at the age of three.  However, some slower-maturing breeds, such as the Lipizzan, are not ridden until the age of four.
  The act of getting on a horse for the first time goes by many names, including backing, breaking, mounting, and simply riding.  There are many techniques for introducing the young horse to a rider or to a harness and cart for driving, but the end goal of all methods is to have the horse calmly and quietly allow a rider on its back or behind it in a cart and to respond to basic commands to go forward, change gaits and speed, stop, turn and back up.
  Ideally, a young horse will have no fear of humans and view being ridden as simply one more new lesson.  A properly handled young horse that had adequate ground work will seldom buck, rear, or run away when it is ridden, even for the very first time.
  Horses that have never been taught to be ridden can learn at any age, though it may take somewhat longer to teach an older horse.  An older horse that is used to humans but has no prior bad habits is easier to put under saddle than is a completely feral horse caught "wild" off the open range as an adult.  However, an adult feral horse may be easier to train than a domesticated animal that has previously learned to treat humans with disrespect.
caption: A young Lipizzan at the Spanish Riding School in training equipment, wearing saddle, bridle and longeing cavesson so that it may be longed prior to being ridden.
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