When should I start training my 75 percent quarter horse/ 25 percent Arabian filly ?

You should start it already, ground work, leading, trailer, grooming, hoof work, anything without a saddle can be done at this age, you can start the desensitizing - anything you do with the yearling is training for it, just start it light and easy - the attention span of a yearling is pretty short, do it in baby steps.

First things first..... you dont need to just jump on her and ride away. There is alot you can teach a young horse just by being on the ground. Lunging is a good place to start and you can find all kinds of info in books and on the web. Then introduce her to the bit. Even lunge her in her bit. Let her eat in eat etc....Dont leave it over night.

Then work up from there with the blanket, reins, saddle etc. You should do this everyday if possible. The last thing you should do is get on her.

Sometimes breaking a yearlying can take a couple of months. Go slow, listen to your horse and let her take her time. Dont rush it. You will thank yourself later if you dont.

Since you are talking about when to ride, consider a few things.

First you need to make sure that her knees have closed. She needs exercise to build up her back muscles. Also she needs to be mature mentally. Add in the factor that Arabians mature physically slower than other breeds, I would not break her until she is 4 years old and then keep the lessons short and not work hard until she is closer to 5 to 6. This will help to keep her legs and back sound and to keep you and her from getting so frustrated as she matures and understands better what you are asking from her.

You need to halter break the filly now. Teach it to lead and load into a trailer and stand tied pick up her hooves be brushed. You can even get pony/child saddles and start working on her getting her use to the idea. but DONT ride before she is 2 or even older. And since this is all new to you, realy you should send her to a trainer. I know everyone has to start sometime but you need more experiance first. What ever you do always remember she is cute now but she will grow up to be a full sized horse so dont teach her any bad habits that you might regret when she is older.

I'd say no sooner than 3 1/2 to 4 but my filly is 2 on Oct 16 and I put the saddle on her just so she is used to it, she does everything my older horses do except get ridden.

If the first thing you're worried about when backing her is a swaying back, you're probably going to need assistance. I don't know what kind of a filly she is, but the horses I know with a decent amount of Arab blood are notably skittish and willful. Not a primary factor, but certainly one to consider.

Second of all, don't just consult random people on the internet. If you know some very experienced horse-people, CONSULT THEM. You don't want to back her until age 2, in my experience, but I can't say what groundwork you'll need, and it's extremely hard to decide what's appropriate for a young horse based on her age, height and breed.

Best-case, take someone who knows both of you and get their help. Failing that, at least get their advice.

If you can't, get books, books and more books. Read them on various sources and try to tell, based on your information, the best course. Email experts you can find; look for their credentials, see if what they're saying makes sense on their site. Take all advice with a grain of salt.

You two may be the best of friends, for all I know, or you might not be. But either way, this is going to be a major experience for her, especially backing, and her first experience with tack and groundwork. It's a lot easier to form good habits from the start than correct bad ones.

Ex: In a year or so, when you're backing her, if you spend an entire "lesson" trying to get her to stand still at the mounting block, make no progress and put her away in frustration, it might not seem like a big deal. However, there's a QH at my stable, whom I now lease, who routinely swings his hind end away from the mounting block, because he's learned that it gets him out of work. He's getting better now, especially indoors, but it's taken four months to make progress.

Frankly, I know his owner just gets on from the ground and doesn't bother to correct it; I wish somebody hadn't let him get so bad with this vice.

But I digress. Get this right from the start, and contact someone whom you know has trained young horses before. If you don't, you might want to hire a trainer. If you don't want to do either, get as much reputable help as you can.

But seriously, don't just ask on Yahoo questions. I'm not calling you negligent, I'm just suggesting some better courses of action. This is a big step in her life, and I hope you do well. =]

well hopefully you imprinted her, so she has ground manners. if not, then you should start that now. do the ground stuff first, trying bathing trailering, but dont start riding her until she is AT LEAST 3 years old, preferably 4. and you need a professional to train a horse for riding. dont try yourself if you have no experience because it is dangerous to you and your horse.

so i have kind of the same horse, haha arabian quarter horse, she is now 4, she was born on our farm. we started working her when she was born, like getting her used to humans and stuff, and haltering, leading and touching her, so that she wont be sensitive. My horse i started harder ground work, at about 1 and started getting blankets on her and stuff, and putting a bareback pad on her, so that she would be fine with cinches. i am now riding her and she is four and great. i think it does depend on the horse, if she is really smart you could work with her and stuff, if she is kind of shy, you will probably need to go a bit slower, have fun i wish you luck!

You have a long time to go. I'd wait until she is at least 2 1/2, or 3 before starting to put any weight on her.

Well I'm assuming you've already done ground work. Lunging and learning to walk on a lead is really important. You don't really want to be breaking her to ride until shes atleast three years old. When she she's three her bone structure will be stable enough and well enough developed to handle someone on her back.