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May. 22nd, 2013 11:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickMore thoughts on breaking horses.
So you have (continuing from last time) the rudiments of steering installed on a horse that is comfortable with someone standing on a bucket, leaning over his back, and petting him while putting (some) weight in the saddle. He stands there on a slack lead and doesn't take any steps. His head and neck are relaxed, his eye is calm, and he seems entirely unimpressed by the proceedings. He's easy to tack up and has seen the bridle/saddle enough times to not be interested in them anymore.
This is a horse that a forty-year-old might be interested in throwing a leg over. Generally I do a certain amount of riding readiness from the ground before swinging a leg over. Riding readiness includes the rider doing the following things... pick up the stirrups, flop them around a bit, put some weight -- using one's hand -- in the stirrup, rock the horse slightly off balance while standing in the "getting on" position (both sides) until the horse spreads his front feet and braces slightly to resist the rocking motion. And then I get on using a bucket (or mounting block, if you're being posh) for the first couple of tries. In a few days, I switch to regular mounting.
When you've swung a leg over and are sitting on the critter, pet his neck. Talk to him. Make sure he knows you're up there. Once he is soft and relaxed in his body, you can pick up a rein and practice turning his head to each side (like you did from the ground). He should keep his feet still for this part. Keep it short, and get off again. Give him a little bit of a break, lead him around a little, and then get on him again. Repeat what you did the last time. Maybe practice some one-rein-stops from your turning. If those are OK, you can ask (gently) for some steps forward. Sometimes green horses are a little sticky, like they don't know that they can walk out. If you have one of that kind, sort of wiggle your butt and ask gently with a click or whatever for moving forward. Be persistant, but don't up the voltage. (This may take two minutes or so.) If, after a reasonable interval, nothing looks to be happening, you can have a helper lead you out the driveway and back or whatever. And then try again.
The first couple of rides are very much short, basic, and (hopefully) uneventful. Get on, walk a bit, turn left and turn right, halt. Stand. Walk on. Right turn in a circle. Left turn in a circle. Walk on. Stop. Stand. Walk on. First rides are not more than five or ten minutes. They should not have difficult questions that the horse does not have much hope of getting correct. You want four skills. Start. Stop. Left. Right. Horse should know all of these from ground work, so the "new" part isn't what to do, it's "halp, a human is sitting on me".
Once you feel pretty good about the first four skills (start, stop, left, right) then you can add back & trot. (Seriously, back. My horses back up on ride three or four. Early on, and quietly.) With these six, you can go on rides, like real ones, out in the big, wide world.
(Tired. Bed now.)
So you have (continuing from last time) the rudiments of steering installed on a horse that is comfortable with someone standing on a bucket, leaning over his back, and petting him while putting (some) weight in the saddle. He stands there on a slack lead and doesn't take any steps. His head and neck are relaxed, his eye is calm, and he seems entirely unimpressed by the proceedings. He's easy to tack up and has seen the bridle/saddle enough times to not be interested in them anymore.
This is a horse that a forty-year-old might be interested in throwing a leg over. Generally I do a certain amount of riding readiness from the ground before swinging a leg over. Riding readiness includes the rider doing the following things... pick up the stirrups, flop them around a bit, put some weight -- using one's hand -- in the stirrup, rock the horse slightly off balance while standing in the "getting on" position (both sides) until the horse spreads his front feet and braces slightly to resist the rocking motion. And then I get on using a bucket (or mounting block, if you're being posh) for the first couple of tries. In a few days, I switch to regular mounting.
When you've swung a leg over and are sitting on the critter, pet his neck. Talk to him. Make sure he knows you're up there. Once he is soft and relaxed in his body, you can pick up a rein and practice turning his head to each side (like you did from the ground). He should keep his feet still for this part. Keep it short, and get off again. Give him a little bit of a break, lead him around a little, and then get on him again. Repeat what you did the last time. Maybe practice some one-rein-stops from your turning. If those are OK, you can ask (gently) for some steps forward. Sometimes green horses are a little sticky, like they don't know that they can walk out. If you have one of that kind, sort of wiggle your butt and ask gently with a click or whatever for moving forward. Be persistant, but don't up the voltage. (This may take two minutes or so.) If, after a reasonable interval, nothing looks to be happening, you can have a helper lead you out the driveway and back or whatever. And then try again.
The first couple of rides are very much short, basic, and (hopefully) uneventful. Get on, walk a bit, turn left and turn right, halt. Stand. Walk on. Right turn in a circle. Left turn in a circle. Walk on. Stop. Stand. Walk on. First rides are not more than five or ten minutes. They should not have difficult questions that the horse does not have much hope of getting correct. You want four skills. Start. Stop. Left. Right. Horse should know all of these from ground work, so the "new" part isn't what to do, it's "halp, a human is sitting on me".
Once you feel pretty good about the first four skills (start, stop, left, right) then you can add back & trot. (Seriously, back. My horses back up on ride three or four. Early on, and quietly.) With these six, you can go on rides, like real ones, out in the big, wide world.
(Tired. Bed now.)
