Moving to new yard and starting work with my youngster....advice please

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Charla

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My youngster is at a yard with no facilities whatsoever and although I thought I could manage, it's turning out more difficult than I imagined. He's not the type of horse that can just be handled once a week, he needs doing everyday if possible.

So I found a yard about 5/10 mins away that has a vacancy coming up and have decided to move him there. They have a flootlit outdoor AND indoor school! Yay!! Problem is he is such a sensitive horse, the type that the tiniest thing upsets him and sends him backwards!

The point in moving him is to get him in work and going, finally! But because a move will be a rather stressful thing for him, how soon should I get him in that school and get on him?
I've been on him a few times recently which he's ok with, (just standing and taking a few steps forward being led) I just am wary of a different reaction if he's unsettled! But on the other hand he will probably take months to settle. And if he was sent away to be schooled professionally he would be started on near enough immediately.
He's always better to handle on the ground when he's in some work too.
 
Hi,

Your post doesnt sound like you are especially confident about starting work with him so I would find a nice profesional and have him started by them. they will be used to dealing with nervous or stressy horses and will know how to approach this very important stage in his life.

If you dont want to go down the profesional route and feel you can do it yourself then I would give him a day or two to settle in then start work.

I have a stressy youngster who I have moved a couple of times in the last 4/5 months. I give her a couple of days to adjust to her new surroundings then begin work. I think it gives her something to distract from the stress of the move and the more work she does the quicker she settles.
 
Ditto Missmac really - don't leave it too long before getting on him otherwise he will get very fresh. Lots of lungeing in the meantime will keep him ticking over - perhaps long lining around the new yard and schools would get him used to the sights and sounds.
 
Move him to the new yard give him a few days to settle and then start walking him in hand of lunging him in the school.
You need to help him get used to different surrounding and try not to fret yourself, this won't help him. The quicker you get him into routine the better, you might find once he is working consistanlty he'll find handling new situations easier.
 
Missmac said:
Hi,

Your post doesnt sound like you are especially confident about starting work with him so I would find a nice profesional and have him started by them. they will be used to dealing with nervous or stressy horses and will know how to approach this very important stage in his life.

If you dont want to go down the profesional route and feel you can do it yourself then I would give him a day or two to settle in then start work.

I have a stressy youngster who I have moved a couple of times in the last 4/5 months. I give her a couple of days to adjust to her new surroundings then begin work. I think it gives her something to distract from the stress of the move and the more work she does the quicker she settles.
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He was broken lightly last summer with the help of my instructor and turned away for the winter. I have recently started him again myself and he's been going well, just haven't been able to do it often enough. When I start him at the new yard, I will be having my instructor back out anyway.
 
I would start pretty much as you mean to go on... give him a few days to settle by all means but get him in the school as soon as possible and do little bits with him. even if it is just leading him round and letting him investigate. If you put him on a lunge line it means you can go stand by a scary object and touch it etc an he doesn't have to be anywhere near it... he will gradually gain confidence and you can encourage him to approach you and it.

Then build it up to a bit of lunging and maybe with the help of someone else you can begin leaning over again... basically retracing old steps but in the new environment... from there you can build up to sitting on and being led round. repetition is key! do everything at least twice in a session. get on, well done! get off, well done! get on, well done! get off, well done!

I think in a way, his lack of confidence in his environment may help you as he will come to rely on you a little more. sometimes they get so comfortable with their surroundings that they get cocky!

Good luck!

I'm starting my boy at the moment and it's very Exciting but I know how you feel!
 
I think the sooner you crack on with them the better in new situatons, specially with youngsters, he'll probably settle sooner than you think if you are keeping up with your usual routine (what ever it is you do with him), even if it is somewhere else because that is the only normal thing to him that he will be used to, he'll gain more self confidence in his new surroundings if you are there to focus his mind the things he's used to doing.
 
Thanks everyone for the helpful replies! I will pretty much just get on with it when I move him there.

About horses getting cocky, oh that is him all over haha!! Soon as he knows what is wanted of him or how to do something, he really gets full of himself and is like, yeh yeh I know, I can do that without you even asking!

I must say I can't wait to crack on with it and finally get him going properly. I've waited far too long for this :)
 
Ive been through this situation last year when I had to move yards with my 3 year old (unbacked).

Like your youngster, my filly is very sensitive and sharp, however this often comes with a willingness to please with a good deal of intelligence.

So I used the move as an oppurtunity to allow her to explore her new surroundings and show off how brave she was sniffing the farm machinery and discovering new things and she relished in the reward she gained and her confidence grew further, and so did mine.

You may have to take a fair few steps backwards and do small daily tasks, such as leading and tying up until she relaxes, and then lead back down to the field. Then increasing what is asked of her as the days progress.

I found that keeping the same routine as at the old yard helped too.
 
Charla, your youngster sounds very much like mine!

If you repeat something that she's good at too many times, she is so forward thinking, that she will do the task before youve even thought of it! and then she will get bored of it and find a way of making the task more 'fun'.

That's when i know she is ready to move on and maybe just touch on it every now and then as a refresher!!

Horses like this are very trainable though, but they get bored easily and need new things to do to keep their minds occupied!
 
Pod77 said:
Charla, your youngster sounds very much like mine!

If you repeat something that she's good at too many times, she is so forward thinking, that she will do the task before youve even thought of it! and then she will get bored of it and find a way of making the task more 'fun'.

That's when i know she is ready to move on and maybe just touch on it every now and then as a refresher!!

Horses like this are very trainable though, but they get bored easily and need new things to do to keep their minds occupied!
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Haha yes that is exactly him! He is sharp, very forward thinking and extremely trainable, picks things up very quickly, but does definitely get bored easily - then really cocky.
He really shocked my instructor at how quickly he picked up what was being asked of him. Said he was a delight to work with, yet definitely not boring haha.
He isn't the easiest of horses, maybe too intelligent for his own good! But then again, a very talented horse, and most need to be that bit quirky eh.
 
Wow, how fabulous- I would KILL to have one school forget about 2. I too am at a no facility yard with a youngster and its hard! he needs schooling but i dont have anywhere to do it I'm having to wait for the fields to dry out. Currently just hack hack hack!
I find with mine that just the more he does the better he is, so i would be inclined to give him a day or so then lunge in the school a few times so he knows the school and its not too exciting before he's ridden in there.

best of luck and i hope it all works out really well for you
 
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