Advice on training a rescue horse!

[GracieW]

Hello,

My mum and I adopted a beautiful 7-year-old, 15hh TBxCob mare a few months ago and have very slowly been trying some basic training techniques as we do not know what experience she has had. She seems to be taking to most thing pretty well, she seems to be perplexed by lunging but has long longlined well with a roller and let us get a saddle on her a few days ago. I am not sure whether or when to try backing her as this is my first time training a young horse. Any tips for gauging what experience she may have had and advice on how to proceed would be much appreciated!

 

[Red-1]

I guess it partly depends on what you mean by a rescue horse? To me, a true 'rescue' horse is one that has been removed by the RSPCA or similar, and they tend to need more than a few months of rehab before thinking about riding, to have feet sorted, worms, build up condition etc.

Sadly, many people call horses a 'rescue' horse when it is simply that the horse has been kept other than how they like to keep horses themselves, where there may not be that much wrong at all, such as a racehorse retiring.

In any case a 13.2 coloured cob that has been abandoned after little handing would need a very different rehab than an ex-racehorse that someone has done an inexperienced job on, that has set it up badly.

It sounds like you have good intentions but are not experienced. In this case, I would send the horse to a professional breakers yard so it has the best start. Even riding away a horse that has not needed 'rescuing' is no easy job. You only get one chance to get backing a horse right, doing it wrong leaves issues.

 

[Widgeon]

Yes, send her to someone who backs green horses as part of their job. Ask around on local groups and maybe on here for recommendations, and don't trust everything that people tell you about themselves. They may have been backing horses for thirty years but that doesn't mean they're good at it.

As everyone will say, you only get one chance to get it right and unfortunately I now know from experience how difficult it can be to sort out a horse that has been badly backed! Particularly as you don't know what she's had done before (and this complicates things) I really would steer clear of trying to do it yourself. She sounds like a kind mare so hopefully you can find a really good professional to get her started for you. They should also be able to give you their opinion of her, i.e. is she likely to be straightforward for you and your mum to ride away and bring on yourselves, or is she going to need a professional on board for longer.

Good luck, she sounds really sweet.

 

[paddi22]

Yes, send her to someone who backs green horses as part of their job. Ask around on local groups and maybe on here for recommendations, and don't trust everything that people tell you about themselves. They may have been backing horses for thirty years but that doesn't mean they're good at it.

As everyone will say, you only get one chance to get it right and unfortunately I now know from experience how difficult it can be to sort out a horse that has been badly backed! Particularly as you don't know what she's had done before (and this complicates things) I really would steer clear of trying to do it yourself. She sounds like a kind mare so hopefully you can find a really good professional to get her started for you. They should also be able to give you their opinion of her, i.e. is she likely to be straightforward for you and your mum to ride away and bring on yourselves, or is she going to need a professional on board for longer.

Good luck, she sounds really sweet.

/\/\/\/\/\/\ this 100%
it is so easy to make a mistake or scare a horse accidentally and then the horse can have issues with that thing and it can be very hard to undo.

 

[Goldenstar]

Send to someone who does it all the time it’s a much better experience for the horse when she’s about ready to come back go over and ride her with the person so you and the horse are confident when you get home alone .
I used to back a lot of horses but I always sent my own away for backing and riding away .

 

[GracieW]

Thank you for your advice. To clarify, she is a 'true rescue' as she came from the Blue Cross. I have done courses in equine therapy and have a fair amount of experience in ground work and bonding with a new horse and the work I've done seems to have been successful but it's the actual backing process where I have little experience so I think seeking outside help, as you suggest, would be best.

 

[ycbm]

If she took to the saddle without batting an eyelid, I'd just lean over and if that doesn't faze her either, sit on and if that's all calm, get her led away. A few steps the first day, more every day.

I don't disagree that the safest option is to send her away, but in truth few horses are a problem to break and if she's completely and totally calm about wearing tack and leaning over there is no reason why you can't back her yourself.

But don't do it if you have any doubts, you'll transmit them to her.

Whatever way you choose will you let us know how she gets on? It's always nice to follow a journey like the one you are starting.
.

 

[Tiddlypom]

How long was she at the Blue Cross for before you took her on? At 7 yo, the danger is that someone may have tried to back her before they got her and made a mess of it.

 

[GracieW]

If she took to the saddle without batting an eyelid, I'd just lean over and if that doesn't faze her either, sit on and if that's all calm, get her led away. A few steps the first day, more every day.

I don't disagree that the safest option is to send her away, but in truth few horses are a problem to break and if she's completely and totally calm about wearing tack and leaning over there is no reason why you can't back her yourself.

But don't do it if you have any doubts, you'll transmit them to her.

Whatever way you choose will you let us know how she gets on? It's always nice to follow a journey like the one you are starting.
.

That's really helpful, thank you! We might be able to get someone who has a experience breaking horses to come and see her at our field, at any rate I wouldn't send her away, I'd want to be involved in the process myself. I'm very into Intelligent Horsemanship and the most important thing is she trusts me and we have a strong bond and I don't want to risk someone else interfering with that.

 

[paddi22]

I retrain a lot of rescues and I honestly think there's a lot of confusion about what a bond is and it nearly damages the training process because people are afraid of breaking their 'bond'. just be very wary of thinking you should have the strongest bond with the horse. a happy horse is one that is confident dealing with different people. you also have to respect your horses personal view on who they like. I've a horse that absolutely adores my trainer way more than me. given the chance he would happily move into her yard, she's very German, regimented, routine based and methodical.i am the opposite. he def prefers her approach. I don't take that as a personal insult, I just take it as a learning experience to see what qualities the horse prefers in her than me and I try to bring more of those qualities into my personality when I'm dealing with him. we still have a lovely working relationship and he respects me, but I don't expect him to adore me or be the most important thing in his life.

another easy mistake I see when people take charity horses back home is they go too soft on them. I nearly go stricter with rescues. they honestly find it reassuring to have everything in black and white, and always consistent. I don't treat them any differently to any other horse, so I stop thinking about them as rescues at all.

as regards trust, your horse doesn't learn to trust you because you are nice to it, they learn to trust you when they understand what your behaviour will be to them in any situation that occurs, they trust you when they know the rules of the world you ask them to live in and those rules are fair and consistent.

that is a fantastic idea you have to watch someone training. them, you will learn so much and really enjoy it, that sounds like a fantastic solution.

 

[Goldenstar]

You do a horse a great disservice if you teach it only to trust you ,that why my homebreds went away to be ridden away .

 

[ycbm]

That's really helpful, thank you! We might be able to get someone who has a experience breaking horses to come and see her at our field, at any rate I wouldn't send her away, I'd want to be involved in the process myself. I'm very into Intelligent Horsemanship and the most important thing is she trusts me and we have a strong bond and I don't want to risk someone else interfering with that.

OK .... getting someone to come to you to help is good.

But I strongly advise you to forget all about bonds and concentrate on fair and consistent leadership and direction, with firm correction if and when necessary.
.

 

[tristar]

i`d sort the lunging issue first.

its true you can sit it on a lot of horses that have not been sat on before, i personally would never do that, i`ve seen a few explode, i always try to teach them everything i can think of before backing, as arsenal of tools to use as and when needed, and believe education of the young horse is the gift that we can give it, so it can become well schooled yet safe enough to be ridden by a novice is my aim

 

[paddi22]

when you say she is perplexed by lunging what do you mean?

I get ones in that have been tied up in housing estates and chased on ropes etc, so their default is to always spin and face towards the danger and they often really don't like having people behind them. if she's a trotter then the long lining has probably been done before she went on a cart by someone. but they see the lunging differently, so you really need to make sure your body position is 100% so they clearly understand you are behind them and driving them forward to go on the circle. you can't start out in the usual lunge position at all. when the natural horse person comes to you then can show you the correct way to send them out and forward as it can be tricky with some. you could also long line and then curve the horse around in a circle till its lunging, If that makes sense?

I back the rescues here myself but one thing to be very conscious off is that 90% of them would have had someone just on their back at some stage. so some when you sit up first, their automatic reaction will be to shoot forward at speed cause they might be used to lads jumping on and cantering them off. the most no nonsense ones have sometimes also perfected a 'one buck and you're off' technique because it obviously worked for them in the past. so even if a horse is quiet there's no guarantee it won't react to some past memories. a mare I kept had literally perfected the 'one buck and you're gone' technique and I thought she was always going to be difficult and do it, but once it didn't work she just got on with things. I think if I'd been a nervy rider and come off she's the kind of mare that would have used it whenever it suited her to avoid work, but she seemed to click it didn't work with me and just moved on.

is she a trotter?