Help needed breaking 14hh Section D- NW

[LavaPanda]

Hello there!! - I hope this is okay to post

I have a 3 year old Section D that needs backing. I was planning on doing this myself but unfortunately he's proving to be a handful and I'm going to need help. I hadn't budgeted for this at all, so I'm looking for super competitive prices or someone who just does it for fun.
I'm in Bolton Lancashire.
I'm only after the basics, walk, trot and canter- nothing spectacular
I would prefer him to stay on the yard but if he can be taken away for the right price then I'd do that

Photo is him shown as yearling

Thank you
Chaz

 

[Tiddlypom]

When you say that he is a 'handful', what exactly does he do? Has anyone tried to sit on him yet? Many people who regularly start youngsters are reluctant to take on a failed breaker, as they can be so unpredictable,

A lot of horses are rather unsettled at the mo, due to the bad weather. Can you wait til the spring or summer, and use that time to save up to get a decent job done?

 

[LavaPanda]

He's new to everything educational and unfortunately he's realised he can drag me around the arena on the lunge and I am just not strong enough :C He's not been sat on or a failed breaker. I've backed before, I just need someone more experienced with stronger horses He is a little unsettled due to the weather, but nothing major.
I have a 10 week old baby- saving is a little hard atm haha

 

[_GG_]

What are the issues you have with him exactly? What is his management like at the moment. Is he having to be kept in more than normal? What are the conditions in which you are trying to do this? Is he used to being taken away from other horses to be worked with? What kind of preparation work have you done?

 

[LavaPanda]

I'm just having issues that he knows he's stronger and likes to take me skiing across the arena and I just can't pull him back into control- as the horses I backed were all fantastic lungers and I'm not that experienced in this field, I just don't know how to work on this because he can be quite nervous of the whip. He is having to be kept in but I always give him time to calm down outside in the feild before being worked.
He is used to being away from other horses and I haven't been able to do anything as he just drags me around, I literally need someone to start from scratch with his education.

 

[_GG_]

I'm just having issues that he knows he's stronger and likes to take me skiing across the arena and I just can't pull him back into control- as the horses I backed were all fantastic lungers and I'm not that experienced in this field, I just don't know how to work on this because he can be quite nervous of the whip. He is having to be kept in but I always give him time to calm down outside in the feild before being worked.
He is used to being away from other horses and I haven't been able to do anything as he just drags me around, I literally need someone to start from scratch with his education.

Why don't you forget the lunging for the time being? I'd honestly just wait until a bit later in the year when he is out full time. He's got a lot of energy to get rid of. I'm sure it would take the pressure off you a bit too. Maybe you could even try and save a bit in the meantime to help you get him professionally started in the spring?

 

[LavaPanda]

Okay, thank you

 

[AengusOg]

It sounds as if there is a huge amount of preparatory work to be done with your horse before he is ready to be backed. If he is towing you about on the end of a rope he needs a fair education on the ground.

I only say this because if someone does decide to help you, 'for fun', they should understand that the horse is not ready to be backed. If, on the other hand, you have to pay for the work, you could incur considerably more cost for the basic training he needs.

Preparing a horse for backing should include in-hand training, longeing (if only to get him paying attention and responding to commands), and long-reining. This will instill confidence in horse and handler, and will create a willing, confident and compliant horse to be backed and ridden away.

It's only fair on the horse that he is properly set up for his future.

Maybe leave him till next year, and he may be more mature and ready.

 

[_GG_]

It sounds as if there is a huge amount of preparatory work to be done with your horse before he is ready to be backed. If he is towing you about on the end of a rope he needs a fair education on the ground.

I only say this because if someone does decide to help you, 'for fun', they should understand that the horse is not ready to be backed. If, on the other hand, you have to pay for the work, you could incur considerably more cost for the basic training he needs.

Preparing a horse for backing should include in-hand training, longeing (if only to get him paying attention and responding to commands), and long-reining. This will instill confidence in horse and handler, and will create a willing, confident and compliant horse to be backed and ridden away.

It's only fair on the horse that he is properly set up for his future.

It is that basic in hand training that the OP is struggling with. The youngster is mainly In, the weather is awful and it al sounds really quite stressful.

I don't think the OP or anyone offering free help should really be working with a youngster that has a bit if an attitude. The attitude being perfectly normal for the situation...not that the horse is bad in any way.

What is done to a horse at this stage of education is of paramount importance, so I don't think it can be played at or started and stopped. As I said, I think the OP would be better waiting and saving and sending the horse away to be done professionally.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Unfortunately horses cost money, this is fact, and really you can't expect to find someone to break you horse in for you, you may be lucky, but there is a lot of work to do from early on, and once he learns a bad habit, it is not going to go away.
If you are struggling now it might be time to consider his future, costs increase at this stage.
There is a picture of him in hand, he seems to have learned to behave at that stage, what happened?
Is he entire by any chance?

 

[AengusOg]

It is that basic in hand training that the OP is struggling with.

I know. My point is that the horse is not at the stage to be backed (which is what the OP wants for him).

I don't think the OP or anyone offering free help should really be working with a youngster that has a bit if an attitude. The attitude being perfectly normal for the situation...not that the horse is bad in any way.

Why would someone offering free help be considered a risk to be working with this horse? I have worked with horses for people without charging for my services. I would hate to think that anyone would question my ability on the basis that I didn't need paid.

So, in your estimation, has the horse got an attitude or not? He is only a 3yr old, and he is mis-managed and lacks basic training, so he will be presenting problems for an inexperienced or time-constrained owner. I don't think he has an attitude, at all.

What is done to a horse at this stage of education is of paramount importance, so I don't think it can be played at or started and stopped. As I said, I think the OP would be better waiting and saving and sending the horse away to be done professionally.

Anything which is done with any horse at any stage of his education is important. However, if things are done well I don't think it matters if there are periods during which training is sporadic, in my experience, as the horse forgets nothing. I recently backed a 3yr old filly which I'd done 20 hours work on over the course of a year. Every time I went to work with her she was just as I'd left her in terms of her education and readiness to be brought on. I'll see her again in a couple of months and start hacking her out as her owner is otherwise busy. And I didn't charge a penny.

OP, I just wanted to point out that your horse is not ready to be backed, on the principle that he is not in the correct frame of mind owing to his lack of basic training, and that is something worth considering for success in the backing stage of his future. If he were mine, and I were you, I would seek some help with proper halter training and teaching him to accept tack, and set him up for backing during the summer. There are people out there who may not charge the earth, but will still have a professional attitude to their work.

 

[Amyjayne]

email me amymillett@outlook.com if you still need help. im sure i can help you as my horse is the same