482739
Well-Known Member
Loverly youngster
Guess what Spider got up to next?
- Thread starter Bananaman
- Start date
henryhorn
Well-Known Member
That's exactly the method my husband uses and he too exudes total confidence to the horse.
Sadly it didn't work with naughty Jacques, but normally he canters/hacks out the first day too. (J had been broken four weeks)
Even worse he mounts them in the lane not the arena.. (but he does wear a hat and body protector)
I've lost count of all the horses he's started by this method, but all have turned out really nicely schooled, and most have sold to the first person to ride them after himself.
Your chap looks exactly the type to start horses, sadly he is too far from us I bet, as after his broken heel, P says he is too old to do any more horses..
I agree with a horse that strong and big, start him now. (I thought he was a year older from the pics!)
Sadly it didn't work with naughty Jacques, but normally he canters/hacks out the first day too. (J had been broken four weeks)
Even worse he mounts them in the lane not the arena.. (but he does wear a hat and body protector)
I've lost count of all the horses he's started by this method, but all have turned out really nicely schooled, and most have sold to the first person to ride them after himself.
Your chap looks exactly the type to start horses, sadly he is too far from us I bet, as after his broken heel, P says he is too old to do any more horses..
I agree with a horse that strong and big, start him now. (I thought he was a year older from the pics!)
MillionDollar
Well-Known Member
That is gobsmackingly amazing!
What a good boy Spider is, he really is going to be a star.
TarrSteps
Well-Known Member
He's a lovely horse and it's great to see you putting so much thought and effort into giving him the best start. It's such a competative world for stallions these days, it's so important to get as much right as possible. Good luck with the rest of his career!
The trick to backing is to have a good, simple system which you have confidence in and which works for you. Often trainers have "habits" that came out of a particular situation or from experience and they keep doing it that way because being able to do it on "feel" is everything. Lot's of great horsemen do it a little bit differently but the common denominator is that it's calm, straightforward and "horse friendly". There are plusses and minusses - the trick is to see the system as a whole.
It sounds like this guy is an experience talent with great feel. I know it's unpopular to say it these days but that's so much easier on a horse. Those first few rides are sooo important as the horse learns most of what he EVER needs to know. Confidence in communicated and good feel leads to good, split second decisions, which lessens stress and optimises learning.
Some people longe a lot and then ask for a lot right undersaddle right away, as in the traditional German system. Some do nothing on the ground but then don't expect the horse to be "riding fit" right off the bat. (I go more towards the latter, although I've certainly been critised for not insisting on a "frame" the first day.)
I think starting 2 year olds can actually be easier a lot of the time and wouldn't rule it out, especially in the case of a stallion or a horse I think might start to think a lot of itself later. The biggest problem is that once they're broken people want to RIDE them, when, as mentioned, they should really go back out and grow up. A system that does little ground work and uses an experienced rider who teaches all the right things quickly is much easier on a horse than one that takes longer and a lot more work to get a good result.
The trick to backing is to have a good, simple system which you have confidence in and which works for you. Often trainers have "habits" that came out of a particular situation or from experience and they keep doing it that way because being able to do it on "feel" is everything. Lot's of great horsemen do it a little bit differently but the common denominator is that it's calm, straightforward and "horse friendly". There are plusses and minusses - the trick is to see the system as a whole.
It sounds like this guy is an experience talent with great feel. I know it's unpopular to say it these days but that's so much easier on a horse. Those first few rides are sooo important as the horse learns most of what he EVER needs to know. Confidence in communicated and good feel leads to good, split second decisions, which lessens stress and optimises learning.
Some people longe a lot and then ask for a lot right undersaddle right away, as in the traditional German system. Some do nothing on the ground but then don't expect the horse to be "riding fit" right off the bat. (I go more towards the latter, although I've certainly been critised for not insisting on a "frame" the first day.)
I think starting 2 year olds can actually be easier a lot of the time and wouldn't rule it out, especially in the case of a stallion or a horse I think might start to think a lot of itself later. The biggest problem is that once they're broken people want to RIDE them, when, as mentioned, they should really go back out and grow up. A system that does little ground work and uses an experienced rider who teaches all the right things quickly is much easier on a horse than one that takes longer and a lot more work to get a good result.
S_N
Well-Known Member
That's simply incredible!!! WOW!!!
Enfys
Well-Known Member
Hmmmmm, well said Bananaman, that should have cleared up any confusion.
Now I shall be forced to have lots of coffee breaks as an excuse to Board hop.
Now I shall be forced to have lots of coffee breaks as an excuse to Board hop.
Tia
Well-Known Member
Sounds very similar to the western approach. It works beautifully.
