I agree with you. i think she maybe tired or bored, but 45 minutes is a long time for a three year old to focus. I would not get down when she does it because this might teach her to misbehave when she doesn't want to work. I wold stop training/riding before she stars acting up. you seem to know it is at the 45 minute mark, so stop at 44 minutes, you can probably feel when she has had enough before she has to tll you by kicking and jumping.
Good luck

I would aggree with richandi. That is a long time for a young horse. When I am working with young horses. I do hour lessons. I would work 30 min (IF they are behaving and doing the right work.) I take them over to the water and dismount. Let them get water if they want but most of all just to rest. I stay there for about 5 minutes. Then start training agian. So for you if you know she misbeaves at the 45 minute mark. Work for 20 minutes, then rest for 5 minutes or so then start training agian.

Hi Bea
.
The other thing that you could have checked is her back to make sure that she is not in pain from any form of miss-alignment in the spine. When my horse's back was out, it took him about 30 minutes to start getting sore enough to cause him to act up a bit. He is good now after treatment.
.
But by what you say, she is probably telling you she has had enough. I also agree with Richandi and Christena's comments.
.
Kind regards,
.
Gen

I also agree with what has been said. 45 min is indeed a long time for a 3-year old to keep up work and concentration.
Save for outdoor treks, I wouldn't do mounted work on a horse that young longer than 30 min each session. (Not counting warming up and down at a walk, which can be done on foot.)
.
Granted, she is young and I'm sure she also wants to test and see if she can get rid of your demands, so for you to ease up on her *before* she starts up is probably the best way to go.
.
Resting her before she gets upset is a great advice!
Take every opportunity to let her "of the hook" whenever she has done something well - whether it is 10 min or 20 min. before you get it.
.
Good luck and stay safe!

Good morning Bea,
Something that may encourage you and give you some really good advice is the lessons on dressage with JJ Tate found here on the UNI forum under lessons.
If you watch these and listen very clearly you will find out a lot of information.
This is my goal with STAR, she is just too young and I am only training for muscel right now.
Keeping the connection between her and I.
You have a good day.
Ronda

Hi Bea and all!
Adding to all the great advise here, I would suggest having her saddle checked.
She still grows, her muscles build up, so have a professional checking her saddle for freedom of shoulder and spine.
Take it easy on her, give her a lot to think about, but don't overtrain her at this age.
You want to have a good solid relationship for the life of the horse, give her time to develop her personality and physics.
Keep us posted on how you're doing!
Miriam

Hi, thanks a lot for all your comments. I must say that when i count 45 min, this includes 20 min walking outside, visiting the "new" place. I would never let her work 45 min! I think that she is also ticklish.
Still learning to know her. I must say (i left a post on join up) that i have a very good relationship with her when i don't ride her. That should help while riding her, shouldn't it?

Hi everyone.

Got a simple question. What bit would you recommend to start my youngster. I have been on the Monty shop site, ready to order the black and copper bit recommended by Monty but there is a thick and thin version and I don't know which one more suitable thick is less severe when put into action but it says thick is more suitable for large horses he is a warmblood x Arab but I think he has a more warm blood head and mouth not so much an Arab please help I am confused.

Bea,
I'm sure your good relationship is of help to you both, but mounted work is a whole new game. Ok, then I understand how you count the time! :) 25 min sounds a lot more reasonable.
I still think you will benefit from giving her a break before she starts up. But an alternative - if she is frisky - is to longline her 10 min or so before you mount to warm her up and get the excess energy out of her system.
.
Viv,
Your horse is the only one who can tell you what bit that will work best.
.
My advice would be to borrow from friends and find out what size/material your horse prefers.
Start simple with a common snaffle in metal or rubber - not too thin, and short enough that the joint part won't hang down on her tongue. Some horses prefer the weight of a thicker bit.
.
Another great bit to start with is the three-part (two-jointed) variety. The short joint in the middle will never cause a nut-cracker effect or hit the roof of her mouth, nor can she "take" the bit.
But you need to be careful with the length as it can hit her gum/teeth when you pull one rein since the "arms" are shorter.
Mind you, it is also a bit sharper than a single jointed snaffle and even more so if you choose fixed D-rings, (Egg-bit), so be careful with that.
Good luck! I hope I didn't confuse you even more.

Hi Viv,
About Monty's sweet iron/cupper bit: I guess the thin one is correct for your youngster, the thick one is very thick, a real mouth-full for any horse that is not draft-or coldblood.
I have both, but mostly use the short-thin one for young horses.
It is not too thin, so don't worry about it being sharp.
Hope this helps,
Miriam

Thanks Miriam will order today I was more inclined to go for thin just needed some support and back up, just love this site.

Viv
Does your horse react the same if you are not in the dressage arena? Forty-five minutes can either be the right amount of time for training or way too long, depending on the type of training. In dressage you are asking the horse to move in a very controlled manner, while you as a rider are riding in a very controlled manner, not relaxed low pressure attitude. This can be quite a chore for a young horse, which is why good dressage horses are at least ten years old in most cases. So short lessons when training for dressage followed by a relaxed walk around of ten or fifteen minute then if the horse is ready you can go back and perform on or two maneuvers and quit training as soon as your horse completes a maneuver correctly. It don't have to be perfect, only correct and the horse understand the command.

Horses love to be challenged in a fun manner so giving then new things to do and see are all part of keeping your horse interested in their work. Lately I have been riding with my fellow partners as if we are at a parade. This can be real interesting since I am riding a stallion and we are placing him between either two geldings or a gelding and a mare.
Given the quality of his training and personality he is a very well behaved horse and really is enjoying the exercise. I also found that if there is a maneuver that is hard for him like a side pass, or he really does not like it I will perform the maneuver soon after I get on him and only do it once, rewarding him for his effort. At the end of the training I will perform the same maneuver again. I have found that after a few weeks of doing this he is much more willing to perform the maneuvers correctly since he knows it is only one time.

Cheers