How much experience to back a horse?

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letrec_fan

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I wondered how much experience people thought it took to back a horse? I have looked at several equine rescues (proper registered charities) and alot of the horses avaliable are not backed. So, with support (e.g instructor etc) does it just take common sense and a positive but gentle approach? I know there are very experienced people on here that can give their opinion. I know you do not want to do any harm but I think of the New Forest sales etc that sell them straight off the forest - surely not everyone that buys is experienced? And would rescues let you take a horse that was not backed unless you could prove you had experience? Opinions please. :)
 
I would say that if you are confident, can lunge and long rein, and, providing you have a good secure, independant seat, then with help you would be fine.

It is very important to have someone knowledgeable around to help though. Even if you've been doing it for years there are parts of the backing process which are almost impossible single handed. Also IMO having balls of steel is reasonably important. Most horses don't do anything hugely dramatic but if they do really you have no choice but to get back on and keep going, given that they are at an impressionable age and all.

If you've never done it before you could try and find someone near you doing it so you could have a nosey and see what it is all about. I would hardly describe it as rocket science though :)

I don't know much about rescue charities they might want evidence you would be able to do it but I expect if you could prove you had experienced help then that might go quite a long way. Everyone has to start somewhere after all!
 
How much experience? Loads imo.
You have to be totally prepared for the horse to totally over react to everything - they normally have a good bronc and leap and you cant react you just have to keep riding forwards calm and quiet and positive - normally you would lunge them first with tack so they understand the basics and then spend time putting weight on them. You normally have 2 people doing it aswell - its very hard to do it all by yourself but much simpler with 2 experienced calm people.
You also have to prepared its quite possible you will get thrown off several times - it happens alot. So you need to ask yourself if you are equipped to deal with it - if your not sure you could always have someone do it for you and you could be a part of the process.
 
To sit on the horse? Not alot. To do a proper job and have a nice horse at the end of it i would say you need alot of experience. You'd also need good facilities and an experienced helper. Working on yards i've seen lots of horses come in for rebacking after someone's botched up the first attempt
 
it really depends on the horse ;) some are easy peasy- you take you time and they never put a foot wrong, some are awful and rodeo you off lots of times... even though you approach it in the same way! i have to say, having broken in my now 5 year old myself i think i would just send one away for a few weeks in future- to have the initial work done- wouldn't take too long/ cost too much and is much quicker/ painless than doing it yourself...
 
diggerbez said:
it really depends on the horse ;) some are easy peasy- you take you time and they never put a foot wrong, some are awful and rodeo you off lots of times... even though you approach it in the same way! i have to say, having broken in my now 5 year old myself i think i would just send one away for a few weeks in future- to have the initial work done- wouldn't take too long/ cost too much and is much quicker/ painless than doing it yourself...
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I love doing my own! Can't imagine sending away. There is something so satisfying about youngsters, even the ones that do bronc you off over and over. I've been doing them since I was a kid though, horsey mother.

My 2yo will be frisky when I do her. She's got that attitude about her even now. Full of high jinks. I am going to have to invest in a new body protector I reckon :)

Seriously OP. If you have it in you to be nervous (and I have no reason to know either way) then don't try it as you may be unlucky and get one like mine.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I wouldn't be thinking about it till atleast next year. A month ago I lost my ex racer in awful circumstances, so I am far too upset to put energy into any kind of new horse at the moment and I am happy to take a break for a bit, especially since it would be silly to take on a new horse with winter approaching. I just thought I would ask the question. In reply to how experienced I am..? As above, I have retrained an ex racer from a rehabilitation rescue and lets just say I am well accustomed to ending up on the floor! But before he passed away, we had achieved so much already and were looking onto greater things. It probably wouldn't be the best thing, I am just having one of those days where you um and err everything over. Your whole life can be turned upside down in a day... :(

Thanks everyone.
 
I'm gonna back my now 16month old myself, with help from my knowledgable OH and my lovely instructor. I THINK the way its going to work is I'll do all the ground work, all the long reining, lunging and tack introduction, then my instructor will sit on her and do the basic walk/trot, as he has a superglue bum and will sit basically anything, and then I'll go from there with her.

So long as you understand horses, take lots of time, patience, don't lose your temper and always go as slowly as the horse needs, and you can ride with clear signals, I dont think you can go far wrong.
 
jesstickle said:
I would say that if you are confident, and providing you have a good secure, independant seat, then with help you would be fine.
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Totally second this. I think as long as you are firm but fair with training and backing youngsters and you feel confident and have a good seat then why not give it a try.
I successfully backed a few of our youngsters many years ago. I pretty much did it all myself. I would get a friend to ride another horse of mine to get them hacking out but I got on with the backing slowly and surely and I had no problems as such.
 
diggerbez said:
it really depends on the horse ;) some are easy peasy- you take you time and they never put a foot wrong, some are awful and rodeo you off lots of times... even though you approach it in the same way!
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Exactly! We start ALL our youngsters the same way -lunge without tack, lunge with tack, tech voice commands! THEN we decide which of 4 different approaches to getting the rider aboard - and the horse moving forward under the rider - will work! If we make the wrong decision, the rider ends up on the floor, the horse is either badly frightened - or if he's a smart sod - he's learnt he CAN dump the rider! It's the experience (many years of it and hundreds of horses backed) that means we very rarely get dumped!:rolleyes:

The 'doing' is straight-forward! The knowing what to do - and when - under dozens of different circumstances is what takes some learning!

There is something so satisfying about youngsters, even the ones that do bronc you off over and over. I've been doing them since I was a kid though, horsey mother.
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If a breaker is broncking you off - over and over - then you're obviously not learning from your experience! :D
 
One thing to remember is that the 'rider' should only be a passenger for the first few rides and there should be someone holding the reins from the ground. That way the horse can get used to someone on board whilst voice commands and cues come from the ground. Once the horse is settled and understanding then you can introduce nudges for move off and steering :)
 
Inky_and_Sunny said:
One thing to remember is that the 'rider' should only be a passenger for the first few rides and there should be someone holding the reins from the ground.
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With many, even most horses, I'd agree! But with SOME horses that's a recipe for disaster! I recall one particular laidback gelding - I held him while rider mounted (all the preparation had been thoroughly done)then I led him forward one stride and WHAM! I was on the ground with 17hh of bucking gelding above me. The rider followed me onto the ground!

So we went to Plan B! :D

The basic problem was that he had been distracted by me - and lost focus on the rider. He was FINE when rider was lying across him - and I was leading him forward - because he could still SEE the rider (or at least his head!) When the rider sat up - he had lost focus - and there was a horse-eating monster on his back! I'd say about 1 in 15 horses have this problem! We have two different methods of tackling this - depending on the individual horse's temperament and our 'educated guess' about which will suit the horse best. One is to send the horse out on the lunge -rider hanging onto the neckstrap. The horse 'runs' (the horse is a 'flight or fight' animal!). Once he's done about 20 circuits on the lunge he's outrun his instinctive fear - and he slows down! The second is for the rider to have NO leader - to initially lie cross the horse and turn him on a small circle, using voice and rein aids, and then gradually move up to sitting - leaning forward, and then sitting upright - ALL the time continuing to talk to and pat the horse so he KNOWS it's a 'friend' on his back. For obvious reasons, you need a strong and experienced handler doing the lunging for the first method - and it suits smaller, well-balanced horses better. For big, gawky youngsters, the second method is usually best (if they panic and run too fast on the lunge, they tend to either pull the lunger over - or fall over! :rolleyes:)
 
JanetGeorge - I agree with you there about the pony eating monster. We get round that by having a 'youngster' stable with a ledge running around the outside - that way someone being above them is second nature :)

Fingers crossed, I've not had the bucking problem yet - all my backing have been really dull :(
 
Inky_and_Sunny said:
JanetGeorge - I agree with you there about the pony eating monster. We get round that by having a 'youngster' stable with a ledge running around the outside - that way someone being above them is second nature :)

(
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Even better is to start preparing them for backing from the day they're born! My own babies rarely give us trouble because they're used to me doing odd things - most of my weanlings don't bother to get up when I go into the stable, and most are then 'sat' on (lightly, obviously)

This is my darling Daybreak (lost to a twisted gut as a yearling)

Daybreak-sleep.jpg


And this is my colt Prince (as a yearling -he's now 4 and was an angel to back! ;))
Prince-back.jpg
 
Farma said:
How much experience? Loads imo.
You have to be totally prepared for the horse to totally over react to everything - they normally have a good bronc and leap and you cant react you just have to keep riding forwards calm and quiet and positive
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I haven't read the rest of the posts, but thats simply not true! I have yet to have one react like that, and if they did I would be going back a fair few steps until they were comfortable with the process.

But you need experience or really, really REALLY good help on the ground in order to make a good job of it. The getting on is the easiest part, the riding away and educating the horse is the difficult bit. It can be done by someone who has never done it before, but the horse would have to be chosen very carefully and the right help be found. Its not a cheap process to have competent people on hand every day for weeks, in fact its much cheaper to buy something broken and ridden away than do it yourself.
 
JanetGeorge said:
If a breaker is broncking you off - over and over - then you're obviously not learning from your experience! :D
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Given that I was breaking some of them as 2yo colts at a flat racing yard you'll forgive me I'm sure :) It hasn't always been my own choice as to the way things are done. Unfortunately I'm not lucky enough to be able to work for myself and always do things my own way. Life's a b*itch when you're young and poor hey?
 
People say I rush my babies - I just get them used to 'everything'. I always do it loose in the field so they can tell me when they've had enough. My little man wore a saddle (for seconds) at 8 months old - just because he was being nosy when I was saddling my 2 year old (not being ridden just tacked).
 
I've just had the pleasure of breaking in my Girl - Mum has been doing it for years with me helping - but this job was definatley all mine (with Mum being the helper this time) - Has been Hugely rewarding!!! :D

Thing is - You have just had a huge heartbreak, (I dont know anything about you of course) but I would hate for you to come back into horses and have a rotten time!

Rescure Centres vary hugely - I would have a chat with them about if they want you to take one - I know a Centre near me would definatley come and visit - maybe watch you have a lesson, and check you had suitable help.

IMHO - Just think, if it chucks you in a ditch for no reason and gallops over you to bug**r off home - What will your reaction be - Honestly.
And if you get hurt - Will someone be able to continue working 'him or her' until you are better?

Depends on the horse and help - will your instructor be available as much as you need - really? -

But its not terrifying - im not deliberately trying to put you off - but please do think about it in the worst light - then things can only get better!!! :D Good luck and keep us posted!
 
this is all really interesting as i have just been asked to help a friend break in her 6yrs old. they were given it by someone and for various reasons they have to keep it for now and they have decided to go for it and make it what they want.

i have watched people break horses in before and i know how it is done and i have been riding for a very long time.

it does bother me that its 6 and nobody knows why it hasnt been broken in apart from it was with gypsys so any reason really.

wish me luck, i love lunging so im going to take it slow and let the poor horse work it all out:o
 
If I can do it ;)

However, it did take huge amounts of patience, a lot of groundwork, a lot of love, and quite a few mistakes - and you have to be able to admit to them. Plus, I fell off quite a few times ; never when he bronced or did anything obvious, just a step to a side I wasn't expecting and stuff (I broke him bare back). Can't emphasis ground work enough - lots of leading and police horse training before you get on.

I found the book The ABC of Breaking and Schooling a Young Horse was (and still is) a bible, I just did things much slower. He is sort of turned away now, just the odd session every week - lots to do in the spring :D

Good luck !!
 
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