Madigan turned seven this summer, and I am tentatively ready to declare him an adult. Of course, he’s technically been an adult horse for years, but he projected an air of immaturity until fairly recently.
The most obvious sign is that he’s finally done growing. He grew from 16.2 to 17 hands between age 4 and 6, and remains 17 hands now. He also got substantially wider in that period, but has only gained muscle (and a little fat) between age 6 and 7. The saddle fitter proclaimed him ready for the wide/extra wide gullet this year and complimented his topline development. He certainly looks like a mature horse and has far outgrown the expectations I had when I bought him as a yearling.
Signs of mental maturity are there, too, if you know where to look. Madigan’s always been inquisitive and curious, which meant his attention span has been pretty short. He was never sulky about being redirected to work, but frequent redirection was required. These days, he seems able to focus for longer stretches of time, making our lessons more enjoyable and productive.
He also seems more confident, which I suspect is a side effect of physical maturity. He’s still cautious (I’m not sure he’ll ever get around a cross country course), but he’s more willing to attempt new things without as much coaxing. Jumping is a good example of this. Before he was broke to ride, he spent about a year doing groundwork with my trainer. She introduced him to ground poles at this time. Later, he learned to negotiate ground poles and very small jumps under saddle. Despite having no negative experiences, he was very backed off from even a single ground pole. He never seemed frightened or panicked- he seemed cautious, and usually wanted to walk over the pole a couple of times before trotting it.
However, in recent months, he trotted over poles and small crossrails without issue on several occasions. He’s done short stints in the hay meadow and cantered in a circle on a gently sloping hillside, both previously impossible tasks. Best of all, he’s gradually gaining enough strength to stay straighter at all gaits and open his canter stride.
My theory is that because his body is finished growing, he feels more balanced. Because he’s more balanced, things like trotting over a ground pole or traversing uneven terrain aren’t as hard as they used to be. Because they aren’t very hard, he’s willing to do them.
Of course, we still struggle! Madigan still prefers cantering up-and-down to down-and-out. Sometimes his haunches are tracking three feet to the inside of his shoulders. He attempts flying changes when I try too hard to straighten him out. Trot and cantering lengthenings are almost non-existent. It feels like we’re finally getting somewhere, though! It feels like these are all problems we’ll overcome with more time and more practice instead of insurmountable obstacles we’ll never conquer.
I remain cautiously optimistic that one day Madigan will even enjoy going on trail rides and jumping! Maybe one day.
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