Is there a difference between starting and re-starting a horse?

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Andalusians

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Just curious really.......

A lady on my yard has just bought a horse that hasn't been ridden for about three to four years, he's nine years old and as far as I can tell it was the previous owner's ill health that stopped the horse being ridden rather than anything the horse did.

Would the horse remember anything after this time?
 
Starting a horse is easier in some ways as there are no past ridden fears, or issues lurking in the woodwork.

Re-starting, depends entirely on the horse and the reason it was rested in the first place. A friends old show pony used to have to be re-started every season after his winter holiday but equally I have had horses who could be got on for the first time in three years and go almost perfectly, if a little rusty to start with.

Sorry to be so vague but it depends entirely on the horse really.
 
I suspect the horse will still remember but would go right back to basics anyway to make things easier for both of them. IME re-starting a horse can be more difficult as often you're having to correct other people's mistakes. When starting a youngster from scratch you have a blank canvas to work with which is much easier as long as you take things at their own pace. However, I've only had experience of re-backing horses due to behavioural issues. If the horse in question was originally started well and happy in his ridden work then it may be easier as the tack/rider/aids etc will all be familiar, although they may need re-introducing. :)
 
I've got a horse that's been restarted and one that's not long been backed. It's more refreshing to ride the newly backed one as above, no previous human errors to deal with. It's bliss!
 
Way easier starting one.

With one that has already been there you need to undo all current faults then begin to teach new things. With a non started one you get a clean slate.
 
Very easy to generalise. There is no fixed rule to this. An unstarted horse may have issues that date back to before you knew it. A re-start may be easier than anticipated. I'd treat them both exactly the same, and therefore hopefully uncover anything that needs a bit more work along the way.
 
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