Tips for teaching a baby to trot in hand

[SNORKEY]

Ive just got my self a lovely little gelding, he's 20 months old and very quiet in all ways, he'l hopefully be my future plod once broken in.
Anyway I want to teach him to trot in hand and walk on a little more, I dont want to scare him by slapping him with the lead rein on his side or anyone shooing him from behind. At the moment if I try to run on or gee him up he just stops and looks at me like im mad! lol

Its been many years since ive had a baby, and when my older gelding was little he was a lot more forward going.
Any tips please!

 

[Sparkles]

Get someone behind him to start with. It won't scare him.

 

[Enfys]

I have to do all the work with youngsters by myself, so I do it the easy way for me and teach them to trot on in the round pen first, simple if it is a foal - they just follow their Mom, otherwise I just use a trained buddy that they will follow.

If a youngster is halting and walking on at your shoulder when you do, fast walk, slow walk, stop, go, then jogging/trotting generally comes automatically - when you move a bit faster, they'll stay at your shoulder. If not then I carry a schooling whip and just tap their back end, they'll figure out that the irritating taps stop when they move on. It doesn't scare them, especially if they are used to having a stick all over them.

How I do it depends on the horse, some are bright as buttons, some are lazy, some are born placid, some are shy etc, etc.

I am also not adverse to using bribery and corruption if it works best, treats can always be phased out and do not make a nippy horse unless you allow it.

 

[SNORKEY]

He's not really moving with me, that's the problem. If I run on he doesn't move with me.
I tried giving him a little flick with the lead rope today and he spun around like i was about to beat him, I dont know if he's been hit in his early life.
Il have to drag my hubby up the yard at see if him standing behind him works at all, or maybe the bribery may work!

 

[Enfys]

He's not really moving with me, that's the problem. If I run on he doesn't move with me.
I tried giving him a little flick with the lead rope today and he spun around like i was about to beat him, I dont know if he's been hit in his early life.
Il have to drag my hubby up the yard at see if him standing behind him works at all, or maybe the bribery may work!

Perhaps take a few steps back, as it were, and get him used to having a rope/stick all over him first? Then try moving him on with rope or stick again.

Hubby to the rear to chivvy him on may also give him the idea as well.

He sounds as if he perhaps isn't quite sure what you want him to do just yet.

 

[TBB]

When teaching foals to walk and trot in hand as part of their sales prep, I work on the walk and halt until they can do that without any hesitation. when they are being walked in hand there is usually somewhere that they speed up their walk, with some it is going back towards their stable and their friends and with others it is going towards the paddock where they go out or any place they quicken the tempo a little, then I click at them and see if I can get a step or two of trot and I bring them back to walk and praise them and maybe do it again on the next round. I don't run in the beginning as I find it frightens the babies and just walk fast as they are only doing a step or two and even when the trot is established I like to wait for them to start to trot rather than take off running (hard to explain, sounds a bit stupid!) I've found that this works with 90% of them and if I've got one a bit slow on the uptake I walk it along the side of the yard wall (with the wall on the foals right) and carry an old lunge whip which has no lash and tip them behind with it and as before I'm happy with a step or two to start with, I always give voice instructions for every movement and they soon pick it up. I'm sure there are other ways of doing it but as I'm always working alone this is what works for me.