Starting The Young Horse 5
By Jason Webb
Last month I got to the end of the first week of starting the young horse. All being well, I would have ridden the horse in the round pen and out into the arena.
Day 8 and 9
These days are consolidating on the previous week’s work. Training horses is about repetition, so I tend to introduce anything new after I have gone over the lessons of the previous day. I would expect to be riding the horse more in the arena rather than the round pen at this stage and will perform some changes of direction and transitions through the paces.
Remember that you cannot expect perfect transitions and movement at this stage. The horse will be very erratic at first and I tend to concentrate more on achieving forward motion and developing the horse’s rhythm and self-carriage with as little rein contact as possible. Personally, I do not ask for any vertical flexion at this point, as I feel that it prevents the horse from learning to move forward freely. I have found that introducing a constant and stronger rein contact can promote resistance and problems further down the track.
You must not forget that everything you do has an effect on the horse. Everything he learns at this stage is from what you teach him. Therefore, if something goes slightly wrong, do not panic! For example, if he suddenly rushes forward, grabbing at the reins could reinforce the flight instinct and lead to future problems such as bolting
Day 10 and 11
At this point, I will start mounting the horse in the arena rather than the round pen. I will also take the horse outside of the arena for the first time. Before doing so, I always check my horse’s state of mind and that they are travelling in walk, trot and canter in a settled way. The first ride out will be around the stable area where there is a lot for the horse to look at but is still relatively enclosed. I will open and shut any gates from on top of the horse. You cannot underestimate the use of gates for training horses! Think of all the movements needed - forward, backwards, sideways, standing still while the rider leans over...!
Day 12 to 14
Now it is time to venture further afield into open space! I will still mount in the arena and check that the horse is settled. I will ride round the yard and all being well, go into the fields. At first, it will be one circuit walk and trot and if the horse wants to float into a canter, I will let him provided there is no panic in the horse.
One of the problems you may encounter is that of spooking. Do not make it into a fight to get the horse past an object he is spooking at. I tend to turn the horse back towards the object and take them back to the place where they felt comfortable before spooking. Then I would try and go past the object again, repeating the above if they continued to spook. By doing this, you are keeping the attention on you rather than the ‘scary’ object and you are keeping the horse from panicking. It might take two goes before he walks past quietly, but it could take half an hour! However, if you stay patient and calm, you should teach your horse a valuable lesson and avoid future problems.
For more information, contact Jason Webb on 01580 211662 or visit www.australianstockhorses.co.uk.
