Why Are People Still Showing 2 Year Old Horses!?!?!?

Seriously, I can’t even believe people are still showing 2-year-old horses!!! What’s the rush? Why not just wait for their bodies and minds to be ready. Now I know some of you are reading this and thinking I’m a wacko and that 2-year-olds are perfectly strong and capable of showing. But the reality is, we all know they aren’t. Futurities are awesome, they’re a way to show off young stock, earn A LOT of money, and a place for breeders to promote their stallions. BUT, at what cost? How many of those horses are still sound by 5 years old? NOT MANY!!!!

I know from PERSONAL experience because I grew up training and showing young horses. I was a part of this problem. I wish I wasn’t, but sadly I bought into it hook line and sinker. Many of these horses are actually started before they’re even 2-years-old…they’re yearlings!!! I remember people telling me to inject my two-year-olds. One of them had no soundness issues at all but I was told to do it for “preventative”. That’s basically when I walked away. Any two-year-old that needs injections would be a lot better off spending some time in a pasture growing up. And the people promoting this and “selling” it like it’s totally normal and “everyone’s doing it” are really gross. Their clients got into horses because they LOVE them, and they’re putting their trust in professionals to do the right thing by their horses. Unfortunately, a lot of these professionals aren’t putting their client’s horses first, they’re putting the money first and the prizes. Just my opinion of course. I think that instead of futurities we should have something that promotes LONGEVITY. How about instead of awarding a $150,000 prize to the 2 or 3-year old that wins, we take that money and award it to the horse over 15 years old that wins. I bet things would change really quickly. If we awarded longevity, soundness, and overall horsemanship including horse health the industry would be so much better. I know some of you want to smack me right now and that’s okay. But for those of you who agree, please SHARE this everywhere!