Schooling a newly backed horse

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Little Rose Bud

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Bit of background, I bought Rosie, a 4 1/2 yo, well handled but unbroken Welsh sec C. I am in no rush to do anything particular this year, just some hacking, and teach her some basics, going at her pace and learning together. She is incredibly laid back and confident about being handled so her progress has been fast so far.

Week 1 - Rosie has had no problems accepting tack and rider, and has been out on a couple of very short hacks up the bridle path following another horse, just being allowed to do her own thing, stop and go when she wanted and just getting used to carrying a rider and seeing a new place.

Week 2 - I am now starting to do some very basic schooling (5 min sessions), I've been working on teaching her that when I squeeze my legs, it means go forward, and when I sit deeper, it means stop (she's got a fairly good grasp of verbal 'walk on' and 'woah' so I've just been adding aids). I've also introduced a bit of steering, but not insisting too much, just letting her go mostly where she wants in the school so she can concentrate on learning go and stop. Today we added a short bit of trot.

I was just wondering, does anyone have a tried and tested order they teach things in? Or is it completely individual to each horse? And how often/how long are schooling sessions for a 4 yo? I'm not in a rush with her, but I see all these 4yo horses for sale already out jumping, doing dressage, hacking alone etc and think I'm babying Rosie just doing our few minutes a day?

In between these short schooling sessions we have been out and about (in hand) getting used to 'scary' things like tarpaulins, farm machinery, sheep, dogs, coloured poles and jump wings and whatever else we find. She has an incredible nature, she's interested in everything but nothing has really spooked her yet :)
 
You're going about it the right way. 20min schooling is plenty, you can build up to longer hacks. There are lots of horses out competing young but they will (hopefully) have started their basic handling and conditioning work a lot younger, those aren't the ones who have been left to be a horse for 3-4yrs then backed. It's all mentally tiring for a youngster as well as physically.
 
Mine tend to get backed towards the end of their third year and are expected to have the basics of walk and trot - and usually canter - and basic steering. I tend to do it in the school with the person who did the initial lungeing standing in the middle of the school giving the voice commands that the horse has become used to with the rider timing their aids to coincide. This is usually only for about 10 minutes and usually done for three consecutive days and then three days off and then three days ridden again.
Once they have the basics I then turn them away until the following spring.

At four it tends to be much of the same with a little jumping but asking for more reaction ie. doing what they are asked when they are asked. I do like the horses to learn to work properly from a young age so they are ridden to the contact as I don't like them to go round hollow and on their forehand.

It usually gets more exciting when they are five and start working properly as the goalposts move a bit and more is asked and expected.
 
That's a great start you've made, in my limited experience it depends on the pony as to how fast you go, but the few I've started had 3 schooling sessions a week of about 20 mins. The rest was hacking in walk with a short trot. Then ground work every day.
The schooling sessions just introduced, starting and stopping, large circles, changes of rein and transitions into trot and back to walk.
These were perfected over a number of weeks with increasing trot work and intoduction of leg yielding.
Always end on a good note, even if it means repeating an already achieved movement. There's always another day if they just don't quite 'get' something !!
 
Wow, thanks guys :) This is all so encouraging! I'll keep doing what I'm doing then. I am hoping to get her out on the bridle path on her own next week, there are a couple of good hills near by to help build some muscle on her. I have just booked a trainer to come and start to teach her to lunge on Monday too. Once she knows how to do it I can lunge her myself, but I don't know how to teach her from scratch.

I completely agree with ending the session on a good note, I always aim for this :)
 
We always have the steering, going forward and stopping well in place in long reins before anyone gets on board.
 
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