First Ride?

I posted another thread, but re-reading it I realized it was unclear. This horse is bombproof and broken, but has only been ridden at a walk up and down the mountains.

What should I teach him for the first time I ride him?

How should I go about doing so?

And: what equipment do I need?

Those are some pretty big questions
I would just start by getting to know him and finding out what he already knows. It also depends on what you plan on doing with him. If you just going to continue trail riding, you might progress him to side passing to open and close gaits. That's always a handy thing for a horse to know how to do.

If you have to ask I wonder if you have the ability to actually teach him anything??

You have to start somewhere. There's a first time to everything, is there not?

Thanks Vidaloco, for the advice. I'll try that. :)

da

Yes we all have to start somewhere but at what cost to the horse???
Most ruin their first horse. Some ruin every one after that tooo

To train a horse you either have to be very knowledgable about what you are doing or be under the guidance of a person who has this knowledge. To just ask on a forum how to do things is a recipe for disaster for both you and the horse.
Like I said yearier good luck and I hope it works for both of you

Thanks! I'm looking for someone to help. :) I'm afraid though, because he's such a big, fast, strong, healthy horse.... I don't want to waste him.... but I think he's been ridden quite a lot already... well, we'll see. I'm looking at some training books. Maybe they'll help!

I think for the first ride, I would just figure out what he knows. Try his walk, trot, canter, and halt. You need these to be solid before you move on. The halt or stop is the most important thing that he needs to know. "Whoa" should be the strongest word in his vocabulary, if it isn't already.

From the point of having 3 gaits and a stop, I would start working on steering and circles. Circle an equal number of times in each direction, to keep him balanced physically. You can set up cones or other markers to make patterns to ride through to practice.

Remember, almost anything you could ever teach a horse can be started on the ground and transferred into ridden work. If you can get him going forward, backwards, left, and right on the ground, fantastic.

Don't ride him for too long or too hard, you don't want rides to be a chore for him, you want him to enjoy and look forward to being with you and working together. Always end on a good note, if you have to leave something that he hasn't totally gotten, stop that when he takes even a little step in the right direction, and cool down doing something that he knows really well and you can praise him for as you get off.

You are definitely on the right track. In my experience, the people who ruin their first training project are the ones who don't look for and judiciously apply extra input and advice, whether from an in-person coach, a book, or an online forum.

My own book recommendation for you: Clinton Anderson's Respect and Control for English and Western Riders (I think that's enough of the massive title for you to find it, I don't have my copy in front of me, lol.) Lots of excellent exercises, whether you have a green baby or are setting ground rules for a new horse. I usually ask Scout for a few of the groundwork exercises before I mount up, just to make sure that he's focused and ready to work.

Most ruin their first horse? Rather harsh blanket statement IMHO.

Ruined can mean many things. While the horse physically is happy and sound his/her manners can be crappy. Won't stand quietly in cross tie, always pawing, won't stand to be mounted quietly, doesn't know leads , ground tying, standing quietly while standing talking to someone, sidepassing, backing, etc etc.
The list goes on and on.
Make a pet of an animal and it will most likely be ruined to guys like me who demand perfection.
Very few people are actually trainers, most are want-a-be's

If you don't know exactly what you are doing how do you expect to get across to a horse what is expected?? You must know what is a clear signal, how to get it across to the horse and how to keep that signal light and at the same time get a horse to react to it like it is scalding hot and yet you are very light with the cue.

I would never demand perfection from a living, breathing creature. A machine yes.

A good trainer recognizes the limitations of the animal they are training as well as themselves. Again, there is no perfection in the living, breathing creature. Equine or human.