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His future.

2K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  flamingauburnmustang 
#1 ·
I have a little guy, hes a 8-9 month old quarter cross. I imagine he wont get about 15.2hh but Im always hopeful. I want to try alot of things with him, but I really perfer combined training. (XC scares the poop outta me.) Hes halter broken, accepts pressure on his body, lets me brush his body/mane/tail and pick feet. He leads fairly well (fora baby) and hes not that spooky (but could always use more work.) I wont start him till 3, maybe later depending on if I move/ how long it takes me to find a trainer ect. Ive ridden lots of fresh greenies, but never started a horse myself. I contacted a few trainers already, they told me to just play with him till hes 3, and call them then.

My question is: What can I do with him now, to get him excited about jumping? Is it too early to get him used to ground poles (varying distances and the like)? Im hoping to show him next summer in hand, maybe trail obstacles if he'll do it.
 
#2 ·
There isn't really a way to get a horse "excited" about jumping. It will just come on it's own when you do jump him in the far future.

Although, while you lead him with a halter, show him a few poles and jumps of different shapes and colours to get him used to them if you are planning on jumping him. :wink:

Otherwise, that's all I can think of that you can do with him at this point.
 
#4 ·
Find somewhere to turn him out with a few other horses and let him be a ahorse for a while. Also it will improve his coordination and endurance.
 
#5 ·
I Have a baby too and this will be the 2nd baby i will have trained and broken. He is only 15 months. My motto is "Never to early to start". What i do at this age is just lunge him, saying word commands! like if he is walking tell him to walk. If he wont go any faster i throw a rope out behind him to get him in a trot then i start to making the clicking noise and tell him to trot. them if he starts to walk again i tell him to walk. After a few days of this he'll start to see the what i say is what hes doing and then this is the time where you make him tort by clicking and saying to command "trot". Soon youll have a baby that knows his word commands. This works for a canter command and a stop command. I make a kissy noise for canter and the Mighty "Whoa" for stop. When they reach two I start to tack them up and then i get on there backs at two and a half. then after that is the real work!!!!! I hoped I helped you in some way.
 
#11 ·
I Have a baby too and this will be the 2nd baby i will have trained and broken. He is only 15 months. My motto is "Never to early to start".
This statement/your entire post scares me and makes me a little sick to my stomach. No way would I ever dream of longing a baby that much. No way would I ever longe a baby. Way too much joint stress and yes there is such a thing as "too early to start."

As for the original poster, I agree fully with Kevinshorses. Give your baby time to grow up and be a horse. There is nothing better for them to be turned out and let to grow. I personally don't like to do much more than give them a good start on manners.
 
#6 ·
I was told not to lunge him untill hes around 2 or so. I dont wanna do to many tight circles while hes growing. I though about setting up a round pen just to get him used to cues to turn and stop though.

Hes out with two mares two llamas, a goat and 10+ sheep (24/7). Hes on the bottom of the pecking order, so hes learning to socialize very quickly. I probably work with him twice a month right now, besdies the normal grooming routine. Im not talking about starting to get him into a training routine. Im just talking about fun stuff to do. I just dont want to wake up one day and have a 15hh 1000lb "baby" on my hands lol.

Would putting some ground poles in his pasture be a bad idea?
 
#7 ·
I personally think working him in-hand over ground poles would be fine. There's no harm in teaching him to pick up his feet when he walks. Lunging him now does seem a bit extreme though. Maybe just teach him all of the stuff that will be useful? Ground tying, getting him to bend, maybe you could do clicker/trick training? I don't know how certain tricks might affect him since he's still growing though.
 
#8 ·
Yes, it would be. They need to be used under supervision. If you left them in a paddock, thats just an injury waiting to happen.
Try leading him over some poles next time you lead him. And try and lead him over a tarp with just a little bit of water in it.
Just basically introduce him to lots of things, but make sure he is disciplined when he is naughty because now is the time you need to start. You are essentially shaping the horse into what it will become when its older.
 
#9 ·
Yes. Discipline is a HUGE must for young horses. This one "colt" at the stables where I board has serious attitude problems. When he was just a foal his owners allowed him to "gum" their fingers and put his legs over your shoulders. He was very small, and it was cute at the time. But as he grew older, they didn't discipline him enough, and now he is a 3 year old that bites and tries to "jump" up onto you.

They can become very dangerous if things like that are left. So, always remember to teach your horse good manners RIGHT from the beginning, but without taking away his natural growing and experiencing time. :smile:
 
#10 ·
You can do alot with babies; leading them over stuff, teaching him to stand ground tied, teaching him to handle having stuff rubbed on him, taking him for walks along the road to get him used traffic, getting him used to baths, clippers, trailers, etc...the possibilities are endless really. The more you can get him used to now, the easier saddle training, and stuff will be, because you're not having to get him used to 'everything' when he is a 1000 lb 'baby'...
 
#13 ·
Different strokes for different folks and I don't really care what people do so long as it is not physically or mentally damaging. That is just what I prefer and what works well for me. I like them to know my couple of main rules and that's all they need to know as far as I'm concerned until they get started at 2 (depending upon physical/mental development). As long as I teach it right the first time I shouldn't have to repeat the same lesson several times over.

What I do have a problem with though is excessive, damaging and unnecessary work. Such as longing a 15 month old.
 
#14 ·
As long as I teach it right the first time I shouldn't have to repeat the same lesson several times over.
Are you SERIOUS? Do you understand conditioning? It takes hundreds to thousands of repetitions to train an animal. You cant teach something ONCE (or even two to three times) and expect it to be learned behavior.

For letting the be a horse... as long as horses are exposed to other horses most of them know how to "be a horse". Its programed into their DNA. I understand some people do things like not turning them out, that can lead to issues. The longer you wait to teach a horse the harder its going to be, just take imprinting for example. Horses have a learning curve, just like everything else. Its ideal to stimulate them early on.

I was thinking to myself the other day, what if I decided to waited till he was 3 to do anything. That would be a total night mare. He would be over stimulated and wouldnt really understand as fast as a horse who was worked with early on. It like kids going to preschool then kindergarden, compared to kids just going to kindergarden. The horses who had a significan amount of ground training (in moderation) before being ridden did alot better then those who just sat in a pasture (from my personal experience.)
 
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