Handy hints for breaking in please.....

[cariadssogreat]

Hi there, I have done all aspects of breaking before - but never seemed to do the whole job of the breaking in, I have always ridden on the freshly broken youngsters etc, however until now I have never seemed to have done the whole job! Any handy tips from people out there?

 

[the watcher]

I would need a whole book, and there are some good books out there.

But general principles are the same as starting to ride a young horse
1)take your time
2)make safety a prime consideration
3) consolidate what the horse has learned in the previous session before moving on to the next step and only go up one stage in each session
4) always be consistant
5) be sure that your horse is physically ready, ie, teeth and back and action are ok, no point building on a bad frame and training in problems

 

[cariadssogreat]

Thank you very much - I think that is all very valuable advice - I start her monday - wish me luck!

 

[vicijp]

Only tip I can give is work with what fits to the horse. There is no specific order or way to do things, take your time and do whatever the horse is comfortable with.

 

[spike123]

Let the horse be your guide.Move on very slowly.There is no rush to get any horse ridden.The slower you go at ensuring the horse is happy and fully understanding of what is being asked the happier and more willing the horse once he is working and the less likely you are to come up against problems.

 

[marmite]

The main thing i do is move as fast as the horse tells me it wants to move,dont forget bitting the horse and when you go to get on for the first time i always,always,always slap the stirrup leathers against the saddle to see if it gives a reaction and i always bounce up and down as if im preparing to get on this is the best way to see how the horse may react to mounting.
And the first time i put my leg over after leaning i always keep down against the neck and sit up very slowly as if you sit up too quickly and the horse see's you from the corner of its eye it could get a big shock and go mental.
Ive had a few close calls by doing things to fast.

 

[SillyMare]

Different things work for different people (and horses) changed my approach as a result of breaking Lexi (athletic and difficult).

Can't underestimate the importance of the right 'helper'. Has to be someone you trust completely not to panic and let go if things go wrong! Also has to have some form of bond with your horse (actually the way we usually do it is that whoever knows the horse best stays at it's head and the other one gets up on top).

Lexi used to explode (at random and with no warning) and because she is athletic would dump me.

Problem was the more I hung on, the more she panicked and the end result would be me on the floor anyway (athletic young horses can drop most riders if they put their mind to it).

Change in tactic was to take my stuirrups off the saddle completely so they weren't flying around making the situation worse if she flipped. The plan was to just jump as soon as she kicked off and then get back on as soon as she settled.

Think I only actually jumped a couple of times - felt far more relaxed myself once I had given myself 'permission' to jump and wasn't worried about staying on at all costs. Definitely a massive turning point with Lexi.

Now I would always get them used to the stirrups hanging while they were on the lunge, but take them off the first few times I sit astride until they are relaxed in their back.

 

[Seahorse]

Loads of ground work eg lunging, longreining, walking out in hand etc I also do loads of obstacle type things like walking over tarpulien, in and out of cones, over poles, we had a filled in pallet so did loads of walking over that. putting old feed bags on the floor and shaking them (I can put feed bags on Axels back and he doesn't care)

hope this helps

 

[MagicMelon]

I agree with seahorse. Lots of groundwork. Especially (like she says!) walking in hand over things like tarp, poles etc. so nothing should spook them under saddle. And also just doing basic stuff like when lungeing, put on a noisy rug so the horse gets used to things flapping around him. Even lungeing the horse in different saddles can be useful so they get used to different feelings on their backs. Lunge the horse over poles and the odd tiny jump (once its happy to), I find this is the best way to introduce jumping as they can work it out on their own.

Otherwise, lots and lots of praise when the horse is good and calm. Take everything slowly and calmy. Make everything chilled out and no hasstle, definately try not to get into any arguements!