Pulling my hair out!

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lucyjane96

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Can someone tell me how to get my ignorant gelding to work when i tell him too?! He's 3 and can lunge however when he gets hot or starts to get a sweat on or just doesn't want to trot he won't and im at my whits end with how to get him to work. I need to get him fit but at the moment its impossible as he's so reluctant to move when he can't be arsed! His teeth and back have been done in the last 2 months. Thanks if anyone can help please do!
 
He is possibly not been stubborn but is just unable to cope, mentally with the level of work you are expecting from him. Very few horses have been broken, turned away and brought back into work as a 3 yr old. Perhaps easing off the work, and giving him time to mature more will give the results you want.
 
You would be surprised how a young horse can seem very stubborn when it is actually physically not quite there yet.
 
Out of interest, what do you need to get him fit for?
The best way to strengthen them up is generally to turn them away on a hilly paddock if you have one available.
 
Ready for when i break him and to build his muscle up. Also when he wasn't worked he got bored and destroyed things and caused havoc but since having his mind set he's been a lot better. No i dont have one available
 
Tbh, I wouldn't worry too much about fitness for riding atm. You don't want him too fit when you sit on him for the first time as he might do something silly. Maybe try not to focus so much on 'work' and 'fitness' and actually just concentrate more on just enjoying his baby phase for a while, do more grooming, fuss and desensitisation work. In my opinion you need to take it nice and slow with youngsters and let them get there in their own time. When you push them too hard too soon, you can come up against problems which are then very hard to solve. It sounds as if he's trying to tell you that he can't cope with what you're asking him to do.

I know it can be so frustrating as the prospect of really moving forward with a youngster is exciting. However, if you just slow it down and be patient, hopefully you will find you have a happier, more willing horse and you will have a better relationship with him in the long run.

Good luck with him.
 
Yes Clare85 i agree iv just run out of things to do with him :( he's completely bombproof without desensitizing him so that plan went out the window. So any fun things i can do with him would help
 
lucyjane96 said:
He won't walk forward on his own long lineing :( walk him out inhand which he enjoys but looking for more variety
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For you or for him?

You can't long rein until he's responding to voice commands and you can't get him responding to voice commands if you don't put the work in leading him out in hand and teaching him what it is you want him to do.
Also it gives him the confidence to follow the voice commands.
 
Personally, I am not a great fan of lungeing, especially youngsters.
My Welsh D has now just turned 4. Last year was spent long-reining, walking him out on the roads, voice commands and transitions. All inhand work for discipline and a small amount of fitness.
Now he is 4 the same work has continued. I have backed him and he gives everything he can, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. If I were to ask him to go round and round in circles I doubt he would appreciate it nor I enjoy it. TBH the last thing I want when backing him is a super fit animal with excess energy.
I also show in-hand, always red or blue and its never been mentioned that he needs to muscle up.
His feed is hi-fi lite, baileys no 14 conditioner, micronised linseed, hay & grass. No hard feed. Please don't expect too much, he's still a baby and some methods can cause more harm in the short and the long term.
 
lucyjane96 said:
Yes Clare85 i agree iv just run out of things to do with him :( he's completely bombproof without desensitizing him so that plan went out the window. So any fun things i can do with him would help
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With babies I don't think you need lots of variety, it's repetition that is the key. The more you ask of him the more confused he will be and the less willing to go forward he will be. It might sound boring but I would keep doing very simple stuff until he masters it and then move on slowly.
 
Variety for him. He understands voice commands but for some reason won't do it. He's also a bit of a kicker when he doesn't get his own way lol im always in the top 3 minus one show where she said he lacks maturity and top line
 
Forget all the past frustrations with him - give him a clean slate and start again.

This time forget the aim of getting his topline to a certain point by a certain time. Decide that he will take the time that he needs.

Don't keep repeating things that don't work (he's not ready for lunging or longreining just yet) and go back to simple things that he can do.

You need to set him up to succeed. Use your superior human brain to stack the cards so that things go right (this is exactly what my instructor said to me once and it really helped me).

Accept that he doesn't do things wrong to annoy you, so try to stay calm at all times, especially when things go wrong. Reward him quickly when he gets something right (eg say 'good boy' and give him a pat), quickly correct him when he gets something wrong. Always end on a good note. Keep training sessions short unless you take him for a walk in-hand, which can be long or short depending on the route you take.

My 3 year old gelding has a really short attention span but he loves going for walks and during each walk, he learns something new without even realising it. Recently there were cows in a field and he hadn't met them before, this was great - he learnt that cows aren't scary. :)

Every time that you ask him to walk on (even bringing him in from the field) say '*his name* walk on' and every time that you ask for halt say '*his name* staaand' (say stand in a slow, calm way). This constant repetition will sink in and once he walks on and stands reliably, then you can start to build up to longreining/lunging. I'm not a fan of doing much lunging with young horses as it's hard on their joints.
 
Dint take the judges comments too much to heart, that wad one judge and their opinion

Some breeders concentrate on in hand showing and will produce the pony specifically for this at an early age - lots look like they have been to the gym. not all of those will go on to success under saddle though.

Play the long game and don't panic at this stage and do too much too soon
 
Thank you. :)

Sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves (or other people make comments that cause pressure to get things done quick) and with young horses, you really do need to take the time that it takes IYSWIM.

As soon as you take that pressure away, you can start enjoying the training process again and acknowledge all the little steps of progress that the horse makes.
 
Horse Agility can be good fun for handler and horse, also is good for when they are broken, you can build a few things for not much money and can also go to training days to get him further outing experience :)
 
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