Backing a nervous young horse, how do you do it?

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Agent XXX999

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Having just replied to this....which got me thinking....

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Good idea. Next time I get on one of YO's youngsters, I'll get on in the stable, shall I? Just in case it bucks me off and disappears with my tack. Heck, I'll just ride it in the stable.



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With this....

Well actually , sorry to be penickety, but most racing yards get on the horses in the stables, as it is considered safer for rider and horse, and they can ensure everything is correct before they take them out into the big wide scarey world.

Just a point, I think they are mad too, however if you thing about it it does make sense, everything is done in a controlled environment, the landing is soft, and someone can hold onto the horse without getting towed.

I was wondering how you went about backing horses? Do you think getting on them in a stable is a good idea?

I have done both, depending on the blinking horse!
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I have it on authority from my daughter who was test pilot that being bucked off in the stable is far more painful as you hit the wall and then the floor, when she was bucked off the same horse in the open she just hit the grass.

I have to say that after that we made sure that we ended each lesson on a positive note for the horse - including having a rider on and staying calm for lots of praise - and then got a professional to carry on as daughter didn't find the landings fun at all. Little horse has never put a foot wrong for him so we can't have traumatised her too much.
 
Every horse is different. I got on it wherever it is most relaxed. Many are absolutely fine in the school (with nice high fences) especially if they have been doing groundwork in there for a few weeks.
A couple I have got on in the stable first because they were much happier in the box. Getting on in the stable is also much safer if you dont have a helper.
 
Well, I've never backed a horse but I've been watching a friend do it. He hops on them bareback when they're doing something else like walking through the gate to the next field, waits for them to walk and then gives the aid to walk so they learn that way. I asked him how he gets them used to the saddle and he said he does the girth up very gently and stands well back... Not for everyone but I've had two of his horses and they are seriously bombproof!
 
I agree i would much rather hit the deck and land on a school surface/grass, (which would also mean I could roll out of the way if need be), than a stable wall/floor (and then not be able to get out of the way and get stomped on to boot!).
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I have only met one horse who VIOLENTLY refused to be backed...... saddle,bridle, long rein, lunge etc all fine, leaning over/sat astride all fine, ask her to move and you had the most amazing display of "get the f'ing hell off me now"....... and no she didnt have a back/teeth/health problem...... she was turned away and tried again every year until she was 6.......... never ever was ridden, but was the best broodmare, and her foal never complained at all! Glad noone got on her in the stable!
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I have been enlightened. In my too many years i have always been taught 'never' to mount a horse in a stable. I would never do it but reading some posts it works for some. I would be terrified of getting trampled in the stable. The horse can run off in a small field or menage.
Never seen it done and new to me so can't realy comment too much.
 
I was reading a book by Ginny Holgate - (so it's a bit old!) and she backs her horses for the first time in the stable. Not sure I would fancy it for the same reasons as already stated but each to their own I suppose
 
well, i've always done mine in a stable (huge, no beams!), and never had a problem. the horses are relaxed, i have a helper with treats, i've done tons of homework already so they're totally comfy with girth tight, saddle on, me being above their backs etc. i just put pressure down on the saddle with both hands a few times as hard as i can, and if there's no reaction, i get straight on, stepping across from a high mounting block/stepladder, not putting weight in the stirrup and pulling the saddle sideways. most of them don't even react. i do this once or twice in the stable on consecutive days, and if they're good as gold, and happy to circle both ways, stop and start, and it isn't windy, then i'll ride them out of the barn (no top to stable door in barn!) and into the manege on the 2nd or 3rd day.
 
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Backing a nervous young horse, how do you do it?

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First, you get a gun...
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Of course, I knew there was something wrong.......... or you could just sell it before backing??
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I think when backing alone it is often safer to start in the stable.
I guess what works for one won't always work for the next so its useful to have a range of facilities and methods available so you can adapt to suit the horse, maybe start in stable then ride out to lunge pen to establish basics then into fenced arena then hopefully out into the big wide world !
 
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well, i've always done mine in a stable (huge, no beams!), and never had a problem. the horses are relaxed, i have a helper with treats, i've done tons of homework already so they're totally comfy with girth tight, saddle on, me being above their backs etc. i just put pressure down on the saddle with both hands a few times as hard as i can, and if there's no reaction, i get straight on, stepping across from a high mounting block/stepladder, not putting weight in the stirrup and pulling the saddle sideways. most of them don't even react. i do this once or twice in the stable on consecutive days, and if they're good as gold, and happy to circle both ways, stop and start, and it isn't windy, then i'll ride them out of the barn (no top to stable door in barn!) and into the manege on the 2nd or 3rd day.

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That was our plan and we carried it out up to "circle both ways" at which point she freaked - both inside and out. Both times we finished with rider sitting on horse, lots of treats, praise and cuddles. She was just very unconfident of moving with a rider's weight but I guess Barry was that much more confident of his ability to stay on board.
 
Have always done it in a school...

I think if enough groundwork is done there generally shouldn't be a problem but obviously its an unknown. I must say I couldn't think of anything worse than being launched off a horse in a confined space..
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i can't think of anything worse than trying to stay on a youngster with no brakes or steering yet, and the whole menage/field to charge around in...!
i guess i've just been very lucky so far, i've never seen one or had one act up doing it this way. i do sit still on them until they're completely relaxed, however long that might take, before asking for a step or two though.
 
I have done both ways and had the odd problem with both. I have also backed in a field with headcollar, which is less than conventional.

I am surprised at the amount of people that are shocked people back in stables! TBH I have found this better for more nervy horses, as they tend to feel more secure and panic less about the big wide world. I know racing yards that do it this way with all their youngsters.

I would also say that I have never backed a youngster from a block...thats just me, I prefer a moving mountain block (ie a person that can get out of the way) who is good at leg ups. That way less to get tangled with if the horse panics. I always get on youngsters with a leg up, then teach them about mounting blocks/getting on from the floor when the leg up way is established!

Probably a very arse about face way of doing things?
 
i'd agree with this, but my helpers tend to be clueless about leg-ups, and it's quite an art imho... especially with a first backing, it needs to be exactly the right speed and height! i use a tallish stepladder and have my helper primed to whisk it out of the stable the moment i'm on.
i've backed in a field with no saddle or bridle too, very unconventional, worked perfectly for that particular horse. mind you, i was younger and braver/stupider then!
 
QR.IME racing yards tend to back in the stable as the horses have had precious little groundwork. have done it both ways and would rather do it in the open-if the groundwork and prep has been done right then there wont be an issue most of the time
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When we back babies we tend to do it in the indoor school whre they have been doing their lunging and long reining. We actually lay over them first and the horse is led with the rider lying over them before the rider swings a leg over and 'sits' on them properly
 
I think the best thing, especially when dealing with a horse that's "tricky" is to have a system you are comfortable with, practised in, and that you know is safe and works. People start horses in all sorts of different ways, depending on a whole host of factors: the sort of horses they usually start, the facilities they have, their own strengths and weaknesses (for instance, I'm very tall so not everything that works for me works for my short friends), how they were taught etc etc.

I've backed horses in the box, in a round pen, in an arena, on the longe, held, by myself - all manner of approaches depending on circumstance and whether I was the trainer or just the rider. I now have a system drawn from those experiences (including some REALLY dumb ones!) that I feel confident and works for me so I would be very reluctant to change it. I back in an enclosed area with good footing, not in the stall (I will not start horses anymore without a safe place to ride them - it's a deal breaker because I'd say it's the one thing I've found makes the biggest difference to the quality of the end result) and almost always without a helper. I know that makes some people cringe but over the years I've found controlling the horse AND another person is more trouble than it's worth. I have a whole "prebacking" routine that prepares the horses they way I want and I've found provides the best base for riding away - where I get on the horse is a fairly minor part of the process! In fact getting on should be pretty much a non-event if everything's been done up to that point. (Which, by the way, doesn't have to take long at all. I would not back a horse too quickly because I think there's a fitness issue but some, honestly, one could get on the first day from a strictly mental and training perspective.)

The important thing is to have a system where you don't need to worry about the details or the procedures so can concentrate your full attention on the horse. It is really important, I think, to have a minimum of drama anxiety because that's when people and horse get hurt! However one feels comfortable getting that done is the best way.

Truth be told, most decently bred, well brought up horses are pretty easy to start and will respond to decent, considerate, patient work even by relatively inexperienced people. But like most things in horses one is really preparing for the 20% or so of the time things don't go "normally".
 
LOL!! I didn't realise you'd quoted me!!
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I'm quite flattered.
Personally, I wouldn't get on a nervous horse at all; I'd work with it from the ground until it wasn't nervous any more, but then again I've never worked with completely unbacked hossies.
The way they do it here is that they tie the horse (from its headcollar, I believe) to the girth of a quiet horse, lead it round in its tack, and then get on (they take a bit more time over it, obv!) Horse can't feck off and is comforted by its quiet friend. Rider has reins, but horse usually has a hackamore and he barely touches the reins at all.
 
I have known people to back their horse in their stable and it has worked great for them...but the only people to have done this who i know are people who have quiet calm cobs who everyone knew would not care in the slightest about their owner sitting on the back of them.

I have a TB x and have just started working towards backing him, i think i am going to lie over him and eventually back him in the school rather than the stable. I think this because it worries me incase the horse goes crazy...i don't want to be enclosed with a mad horse or end up being bucked of into a wall. At least in a school if comes to the worse and horse freaks they will normally run of round the school so you are less likely to get harmed by them.
 
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