Backing - quiet horse?

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domane

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Have any of you backed your own horse with no explosions? Do any horses just accept backing or is some kind of resistance along the way inevitable? Can you share your experiences please?
 
Mine was good as gold to back and break. No bother to tack up or get on at all. I think my little one's going to be fine too - he's too young, but he's fine to drape arms over and is so chilled about everything... In my experience, other than a few "hyper" type horses, people normally encounter problems when they rush and push boundaries to early...
 
I've only ever had one who was a ticking timebomb and that's purely because the people she was originally sent to did everything wrong and turned her into a nervous wreak. All of my others have been get on and go's. My latest one, her only problem was she didn't like things going under her tummy. I discovered that in the autumn last year and so just did some quiet lungning and long lining with just a bridle on and she wore a rug over night so got used to straps and having things faffed about with underneath her. Come spring she didn't have so much of a problem, she only ever put her back up slightly when doing the girth up tight enough but that was all she did and she put it down again within 10 seconds.

So long as the ground work is done properly and you don't rush things you shouldn't really have many problems at all.
 
To be honest I've never had one who exploded on backing nor even when the roller was put on first time. They've all gone out for a hack on the day after backing or the next day if they're spooky and usually alone:eek:. I find it difficult to give myself so they have to do it themselves, once got a friend to come and give a lead to a Tb, the day after backing, riding my hunter. we hadnt gone far when we met a JCB and the youngster had to give the hunter a lead past it :D. None of them have ever been any different later either. However I would say that I probably put a bit more time in to the basics, as they were home breds, than someone who was being paid and under pressure to get the job done as soon as they could.
 
Both mine were fab, Roxy you just got on and away she went. Ayla couldnt quite grasp the fact she had to walk with someone on her but she caught on in the end :)

I used a sand bag for a few days before back just to get them used to weight on them.
 
If you have done your ground work you shouldnt have trouble backing, although having said that a horse I have had as a weanling was very nervous about the rider so had to take things very slowly, I mean three weeks of laying on him before we could get on, type of thing.Its generally the riding away that resistances/ problems crop up.
 
If a horse explodes the first time you get on then you haven't done your job properly. I don't know why people think that is normally the case. I've done so much groundwork etc with mine so that when the time comes to actually get on I am confident that they can cope with it and will accept it.
 
I have not had any big problems backing them some young tbs can be a bit hairy but most with the proper groundwork are fine.

Saying that i have a two year old who loves an excuse to get all excited and be as silly as she can she is very explosive and thinks its great fun to get herself in to a worked up state so i think it will be fun with her or maybe she will be more mayure by then.:rolleyes:
 
All of MINE have been a doddle. My clients, not so much, but that's why they are my clients :p :p!

I think it took me three days to back my first ever horse and I was 14, I literally did get on and go haha, he was an angel though.
 
Never had one explode, or do more than look a little confused for a bit really.

Key things I think are to do lots of ground work so horse is moving away & forwards without hesitation, from handler. Ensure they are cool about flapping, banging noise & sudden movement with long reins, handlers etc. Stand above them regularly so they are not suprised when you appear there. Do everything from both sides. Go slowly & ensure each step is solid before moving on. Be attentive to the horses demeanour. Don't faff, be matter of fact, reassure and pat, but don't act as if things are scary, just business as normal.
 
As said if ground work is done correctly there should be no worries.

As a child I noticed that small ponies ever worried about being backed whilst big horses did because ponies were use to the shadows of people as they were taller than the pony but horses never saw anyone above them.
I get mine use to that shadow by standing on things taller so I am above them and by leading them from another horse.
Rarely do they react to the weight of someone leaning over them, the shock comes with the shadow. Get that over and done with before actually sitting up and they are fine.
 
I'll be honest and say mine did explode, but as the others have said, it was probably due to my inexperience, I think I did things before he was really and truly ready. I had done months of groundwork but it wasn't enough. As a sharp horse who was prone to occasional panic attacks anyway I didn't do him many favours. On looking back I would actually have left him a whole extra year before sitting on him. (Happily he is also terribly forgiving and after the initial setbacks I took everything much slower and he is a wonderful horse...although still a 'hot' horse at times and prone to bronching when really excited).
 
I've backed plenty without explosions
In fact only had three or four explosions over the nearly 30 years and they were fairly quickly contained/
 
Thanks for the reassurances :) Just to clarify I didn't mean actual explosions as in "chuck a saddle on, mount and expect a rodeo" :D, I meant some kind of resistance at some point during the initial riding... perhaps explosion was the incorrect word to use, bearing in mind we've all seen vids of the wrong ways to back horses...

But thanks again... most helpful
 
only problem i have encountered with one of mine is not wanting to move forward once you're on board, he long reins in walk and trot no problem but as soon as you get on he just stands, or he goes backwards like he's trying to find me and can't quite work out why i'm still behind him:rolleyes: oh and he did sit down once , been told since that it's not so odd really considering we teach them to give to pressure but expect them to support the pressure when we sit on them;)
 
I have had one who was a nightmare to back - but we got there with quiet determination - which was really the way he went ever after TBH. He was never going to be an easy horse - he'd been largely either ignored or badly treated as a baby, and was afraid of his own shadow. However, even with him being a largely nervous wreck, he only had 1 minor incident where he bounced a few times, and then things were handled so as not to let him get that far again.

My most recent breaker was my first homebred foal - and I have never had anything so easy to break before. She has only ever had me handling her, and so trusts me completely. She was the 1st 4yo ever that I would go out and get straight on in the middle of the field with no one around.

In some ways though, I did prefer my boys reaction at the beginning - it's almost that it gets it out of the way, whereas with my last girly, she was such a good girl to be backed, it was inevitable that she would have a whoopsy at some point. And I do think when you have got a super quiet horse to break, it is very easy to forget sometimes that they are still babies, and ask too much
 
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