All about horses

Now that we have backed the horse (see part 3 for creating a horse with good manners )we will be ready to bring The Horse into a little bit larger area.

The Horse should be confined to an area that is 20 x 20 m so a small fenced in paddock ,relatively flat ,if you do not have an arena.

A round pen that has tall walls so that The Horse doesn’t become distracted or ideally an indoor riding arena that can be closed are best .

Starting by properly leading the

horse around the area where you want to work him .

You may use a long lunge line and sidereins (see previous posts )

Remember to wear gloves whenever working around your horses so they don’t slip out of your grasp.

Start to accustom the horse to the longer line and whip and see if you can desensitize him by using the whip to rub and groom him all over his body .

Be very gentle and use a soothing voice.

Without attaching the side reins walk beside the horse in both directions keeping the whip pointed behind him level with the hocks,no higher.

You must be able to touch The Horse with the whip to get him to move forward but never crack the whip that will scare him.

Start to move toward in side of the circle that you want him to move around on .

Your line the horse and your whip should form a triangle.

Do this on both directions keeping the circle small so that you can keep the whip behind him and have him not turn around on you.

You may then try this in the trot but again keeping the circle small keeping your whip between you and The Horse so that you don’t get kicked and just add a few steps of trot and bring The Horse back so not a lot of trotting so that he doesn’t get too excited.

After doing this you may allow someone else to be thrown over the horse but not mounted in the saddle just riding across the saddle for a few steps. This would be a good day at this point.

If you can repeat this successfully many times being repetitive is the way you train a horse.

Lunging and long reining The Horse can help to expend some of his energy so that when you do want to sit on him he is very good and calm.

Make sure your horse stays calm through the whole process.

If not ,keep going back to the step that you did before until The Horse is relaxed.

Repeat the process with your sidereins attached fairly short but not forcing his head down .

Keeping The Horse relaxed is the most Important!

After your horse has tired a little it will the best opportunity to mount a rider in the arena /round pen where there is more space .

Remove the sidereins.

The handler should hold the lunge or lead rope attached to the bit and have a firm hand as the rider lays over the saddle .

If The Horse remains calm and does not have a worried expression on his face you can talk to him and rub him gently and then the rider can swing the leg over to be sitting astride. Handler should help the rider by leading them around the arena starting with a small circle and eventually moving out onto a larger circle. Walking is the best thing to do for several days and then you may consider adding a few steps of trot with the Handler staying next to The Horse. Reward Your horse with lots of patting and a voice with soothing tones.

To qualify for the part of the rider…

The rider should be fairly lightweight and athletic!

They should be experienced in riding and have a good position in the saddle.

The reins should be short enough to stop the horse but the rider needs to be able to put the hands forward and not pull on the bit.

Even the best rider may have to do an emergency dismount if your horse starts to react and leap around.

Stop the horse and quickly and if possible and try to stay on him !

Horses don’t know that they can get you off so you certainly do not want to teach him that behavior.

Emergency dismounts should be practiced beforehand using an older reliable horse.

You should be able to land on your feet from a walk and trot and even the canter.

Pony clubbers are taught this early on .

It is important to remember to check your horse for any injuries or back soreness while grooming before riding.

This should be done on a daily basis .

Use your hand to feel the back bone and make sure your horse does not seem sensitive and doesn’t try to move away from a reasonable amount of pressure.

He should be happy to stand and allow you to massage him .