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Help/advice needed; young horse

2K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  TheLovedOne 
#1 ·
Last year in April, i got a 4 year old lusitano mare who was starting to be broken in.
with the help of my trainer, things were going good, and i was riding her on the lung; in October i rode her 3/4 time off of the lung and things went well...
until the bad weather came and i was told no to work her in the arena (we only have an outdoor one) as she could damage her tendons, bla bla bla.
with this, i haven't heard from my trainer for nearly 3 months and i feel let down and all the work we had done, and gone down the drain.
The last couple of week, the weather has been great and dried up the puddles and the he still hasn't bothered to come and see how she is, or even work her. So mum made me start working her again, and ride her.
It has been going really well as i only walk her while riding, just so she knows im on top of her.
Today, i tried to get her in to a trot, and she would stop and wouldn't move. when i would ask her just to walk on, she would buck and then walk. Is there something i am doing wrong? :?
Has anyone got any helpful advice that i could use that would help?
thank you xx
 
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#2 ·
Sounds like she just thinks she's still on vacation. If she's bucking when you ask for forward, it's most likely a training issue. I would start her back to work first on the longe line to make sure she's sound and capable of 3 good forward gaits before adding the rider component. The line is a lot more safe for you since you can get after her when she won't move forward while still being at a distance. Once she's fully obedient on the longe, then move onto under saddle work. At that point, if she still plants and refuses to move, grab mane with one hand and pop her once behind the leg with your crop to get her moving forward. Young horses will play that game all day if you do not deal with it swiftly. Good luck.
 
#4 ·
Do you lunge the horse befor you get in the sadle? If not it would be wize to. It gets them thinking about learning and not playing. I also like to use verbel comands while lunging so then in the sadle when i asked them to move forward with the rider cues they git backed up with a verbel cue they are familer with.
 
#7 ·
ok you say she starts out doing well with moving forward then after a pierod of time she stops going foward. She could be tired. I hate to say a young horse is testing you for the semple fact is they do not know any better. Think of her as a todler. When they go to tuch the hot stove even when you told them not to. They are not doing it to defy you they do it cause they do not understand why they can not touch something they see you use all the time.
 
#8 ·
If she is good on the lunge but not under saddle, then one might think , "saddle fit issue". A very young horse often won't put up with a poorly fitting saddle . An older horse can be very stoic (endures pain quietly), but a baby will just go, "What! this feels bad, get if off me!"
Being young, the baby will also change shape a lot, so the saddle that fit 4 months ago, may not fit so well now.

By the way, someday I would love to go to Portugal and see the great riders and fine horses of your country!
 
#9 ·
once again, thank you.
I will get her back a saddle checked asap. Bad weather has come again so might not be able to do much for a couple of days.
Portugal is great, and there are some great horses.
Later on, i will make a post of the big horse Fair :)
 
#10 ·
hi everyone, i really love reading all these posts, they are really helpful, alot of great advise on here! i have a question, have a 2.9 year old appaloosa gelding that we have raised since birth, he was born on our farm, did alot of ground work with him as a yearling, until he turned 2..still do groundwork, started him at 2 , just walk, jog..have to say he has done great, heard alot of bad things about appy's, but overall, he has been a great little guy..never got big, he is 834 pds, and 14.1 hands?is this small, do you think he will get bigger since he is only 2 1/2, he will be 3 on april 5th..i hear he will get wider fill out, and grow maybe 1 hand? i can ride him, but dont think anybody else will be able to, due to his size, mom who we have is a reg.QH, big girl 15.2 1300pds.dad, 15h,reg.appy...So the only thing iam having problems with is saddling him up?he is rotten!!once i get on him, which he stands, he is great under saddle,no bucking,no bolting, we actually ride him western on very loose rein..he back fine,great mover, but tacking him up is a real chore??any ideas on how to fix this?i have a indoor riding ring, i did have a round pen in the indoor, which i started him in there with the lunging, and riding in the beginning, then took it down, it actually took up alot of my riding ring..i appreciate any advise on this..thanks
 
#11 ·
hi everyone, just joined..have to say i love reading all the posts,they are all so helpful, you can defiltly learn alot from all of you:) i have a 2.9 year old appaloosa gelding, that we raised since birth at our farm..we have mom, who is a reg.QH, and dad a reg.appy..he has been a fantastice horse so far, broke him at 2, born april 5th.. has been doing only walk, and jog..which has mastered this..this is my first time raising a baby, and boy what a ride..he really hasnt been a bad appy, considering all the stufff i hear about them..did alot of lunging and groundwork before riding,maybe that's why?he never got too big, only 14.1h, and 834 pds..hoping he will get bigger, what do you think?i mean iam not a big person so i will always be able to ride him, but nobody else will..unless there little..mom is big 15.2h and 1300pds..dad is 15h..so maybe he will get a growth spurt around 3 ??So the only problem i have with my little man, is tacking him up?he is sooo bad, wont stand still, try's to kick cow kick at that?but, once i ride him, perfect gentlman?? cant understand, had my farrier look at him, who use to train, he said he's fine, saddle not heavy at all 15 pds., not sore on back did the test run your hand down his back to see if sore, nope..didnt flinch?so is this a baby thing??i know he is still young,, but want to nip this in the but now, before he gets worse?i have a indoor riding arena, use to have a round pen, took it down, after he was broke..took up too much of riding ring..so, any ideas on how to break this, or is this something that will pass??some people say, he's just young and will outgrow??i dont know, would like your input, thanks
 
#12 ·
I've had some saddling issues in the past. Two things that come to mind are (1)not wanting the saddle to go onto the back and (2)not wanting the cinch to be cinched up.

(1)When you get your saddle put it on a barrel or on the ground somewhere safe and then get your horse. Walk with your horse to the saddle and stop maybe 5' away and ask your horse to touch the saddle. If he will touch it great. Pick it up and just start walking around the arena with it in your hand and him following behind. Every so often put it down on the ground and ask him to touch it. This is something that will take time and can be done over several days. So don't get impatient, look for small steps. If he touches it and has no issue then you can start the next step.

The next step is picking up the saddle and standing at his shoulder. Rock the saddle back and forth just gently until he is Ok with that. Then rock it back and forth getting ready to place it on his back. It's really hard to describe this in words but you have to gently place it on his back like you're giving him a hug. Then you do this until he's totally OK and then you can go to cinching.

(2) When you're ready to cinch you've got to cinch the horse up in at least three steps. Just pull the cinch up and when he relaxes let the cinch release. Be gentle as if you're putting a belt on a really delicate piece of clothing. Once he's OK with that then cinch him up like your fastening a belt and then lead, drive him or move him around a little. Tighten the cinch a little bit more and move him again and do it until the cinch is tight enough for you to ride safely.

The best thing for you to do is purchase the level 1 DVD from Pat Parelli to learn how to do this well. There could be another DVD out there that shows you all the steps but I'm sure that that DVD could help you out.

Good luck
 
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