Hi, I'm new. Taking on a loan horse tomorrow. Advice please.

[Bluebells]

Hello everyone,

My 11 year old daughter has been riding for 18 months and is quite a confident rider. She canters on hacks with her riding school and jumps small posts there. All of her riding has so far been under instruction.

We have decided to loan her a horse at a stables where her friends have horses. However, she will be alone with him at weekends as her friends have Sundays and my daughter has Saturdays. They will spend holidays together

She tried out her horse last week and she managed to tack him up, get him to the arena and walk and trot him without issue. But when she cantered him he was a bit cheeky and turned so fast, he almost lost balance. The owner was watching and calmed the situation but she said he was 'taking liberties'.

It gave my daughter a fright but hasn't put her off wanting him. However, she wants to know how to handle him when he tries it on, but if she doesn't know what he's doing, then she doesn't know how to correct him.

Any suggestions please? I don't know enough to help her.

Thankyou

 

[Woolly Hat n Wellies]

From your description it sounds rather like he was doing what my share gelding likes to do if he can possibly get away with it, which is to speed up, cut the corners, and whip round like a motorbike. Personally, I do a lot of transitions with him, halt to walk, walk to trot, trot to halt, halt to trot, and plenty of changes of direction and circles to get him listening to me and not anticipating that I want to zoom round at 100mph with my inside knee scraping the floor. Then when we move up to canter I keep gently checking him before he gets too fast, rather than waiting for him to try it on and then struggling to stop. At the corners I use lots of gentle squeezing with my outside hand (like squeezing a sponge) to ask him to stay steady, and inside leg to push him out into the corners. Poles placed randomly around the school to step over are also good for making him think about where his feet are going, rather than just whizzing.
But really, it's very hard to say what would work best for your daughter and for this particular horse from a post on the internet. I really recommend regular lessons with a good instructor who can see exactly what's going on as it happens, and work through it in stages which will boost your daughter's confidence as well as her skills, and give her something specific to work on between lessons. A pair of experienced eyes once a week and plenty of homework in between is really invaluable.
Good luck with your new loan horse!

 

[Bluebells]

That's so kind of you to reply with such detail and really appreciated.

My initial plan was to get a freelance instructor to work with her and the horse but trying to find one here (Wetherby) is proving more difficult than expected. I will keep trying though as I do think that's the most sensible option - especially as we need to become more confident with ALL aspects of being responsible for a horse. In the meantime, I will definitely have my daughter look at this post and follow your exercises and tips.

Not so daunted by tomorrow now! Thank you!

 

[mandwhy]

Yes, the horse is taking the pee, my horse has just been through a phase of doing this in trot! I changed her bit to a hanging cheek which was a mild change from the loose ring snaffle she had before but enough for her to listen to more. Your daughter needs to work on half halts and transitions, an instructor will sort you out, it won't take long. Do short bursts of canter, quality not quantity!

An instructor will also advise you about changing bits etc, this may be required if your daughter is particularly lightweight and the horse is strong.

I worked for weeks trying to ride with my core but in the end some horses just decide not to listen and a change of bit can help get their attention back.

 

[Bluebells]

Firstly, thankyou Woolly Hat! The tip regarding going back to basics and making him listen to my daughter worked a treat! She took Humphrey into the arena and for half an hour just took him through simple transitions. He was so good and calm that she felt confident enough to take him out on a gentle walk along a bridle path (with myself and dad at the sides!) She even went as far as to go ahead of us to trot him a little!

Hello Mandwhy, thanks for the additional advice about tack. I wouldn't have known that! My daughters riding instructor has agreed to come twice a week and teach my daughter and Humphrey 1 - 1, so I'm really confident that she will get them comfortable with each other and be able to advise further on the tack tips.

Thanks again both of you

 

[TrasaM]

Well done Bluebells and Bluebells daughter for getting the upper hand with Humphrey Hope this is the beginning of a long and happy partnership.

 

[Bluebells]

Ah thankyou! It's a whole new world isn't it! Good to know there's such strong support here.

 

[FreshandMinty]

this is wonderful to read

lucky daughter with sensible parents (there are many who appear on here who aren’t), most refreshing From little acorns and all that I started out much the same way, 30 years ago eek, your description of the walk out brought back memories.

 

[Bluebells]

That's very kind, thankyou. I thought I might get told off for not knowing anything about horses and getting my [largely] inexperienced child a horse! Well, actually, the 'not knowing anything about horses' is a bit of a fib as I got a Blue Peter Badge for my obsessive horse collection when I was a kid! I had everything to do with horses - but just nothing to practice on! I rode a little here and there later on in life but only on those 'at your own risk' beach hacks... terrifying! I guess the 'sense' you mention comes from me wanting my daughter to enjoy riding with a little more structure and control! She's definitely found her passion in life so I intend to make it as safe as possible for her. This site will be invaluable for support and becoming familiar with the culture.