Tips for a Green Rider?

JumpinJack · 12-27-2010, 02:53 PM

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this form and new to having a horse. I have ridden before but only only on guided trails. For Christmas, my Dad got me a 6 year old Quarter Horse to keep at his house. I live 3 hours away and with work and everything I can only make it over about once a month. My fiance and I are planning on moving to the area but it won't be for atleast another 6 months or so.

Anyway, my first questions is, can I still earn his respect without being there and working with him daily?

Also, he did buck my Fiance off. Sacred me to death, he just took off as soon as he got on him and started kicking like crazy. Of course, he began pulling back on reins, which was the worst thing he could have done. But now I'm a little nervous when I ride him and he knows it. Any tips on how to relax?

A little bit about his temperment.....He is spirited, When we first start to ride around the ring, you can tell he wants to run SO I have to be firm to keep him at a steady pace. I'm not confident enough to canter or gallop yet because he does kick a bit. Any advice on how to get him to stop kicking? He does fine at a walk or a trot.

I could ask a million more I'm sure LOL

ANY advice you all have to offer for a noobie would be greatly appreciated

Thank you!!

Spastic_Dove · 12-27-2010, 03:44 PM

The first thing to address is the kicking. Does he always do it? Have you ruled out pain caused by tack or through his back/teeth?

It's my opinion that you can earn a horses respect any time you ride them if you are firm and confident in your commands.
I do think it will be harder seeing him so infrequently, but I do think it is possible to get good rides out of him.

Is he being ridden at all other than the 1x a month you see him?

JumpinJack · 12-27-2010, 05:47 PM

No he does not always do. My Dad's wife rode him around at a good gallop, I did notice him kick his back legs out once but that was it and I figured it was due to excitment.

The day that he bucked my Fiance, he had just gotten back from school and jumped right on him after I had been riding him for about an hour. I also think he may have been irritable, we were having a really hard time with the head stall he was bought with (complicated thing I tell ya) So the bit had been in and out of his mouth atleast 5 times until we gave up and I bought a new more simple head stall. He is not a fan of putting taking the bit begin with but we are working on it.
I rode him the next day and didn't really have any problems he sometimes doesn't like to turn right but after I get him to do it a few times he's fine. But I have not got the guts to canter or gallop yet. We will be visiting this weekend, so I think I'm going to do a day of ground work and then give it a go after he is warmed up.

He gets rode about once a week some times once every 2 weeks (atleast that's what I'm told)

As far as tack goes, I'm not sure. We did purchase his tack with him and that's what my Dad's friend who he bought him from has always used. (other than the new head stall). He is having his teeth checked on the 2nd along with getting shoed and vaccines done.

Thanks for the reply : )

PaintHorseMares · 12-27-2010, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JumpinJack

Anyway, my first questions is, can I still earn his respect without being there and working with him daily?

Respect comes from your confidence and consistency. Sure, it comes faster the more you interact and ride, but if you can only ride 1x a month for now, it causes no harm.

Quote:

I'm a little nervous when I ride him and he knows it. Any tips on how to relax?

One of the hardest things to do when riding a very strong, fast, 1000 lbs animal! Take a deep breath and don't think too much. Remember, this is fun and that every ride is different...there will be good days and bad.

Quote:

A little bit about his temperment.....He is spirited, When we first start to ride around the ring, you can tell he wants to run SO I have to be firm to keep him at a steady pace. I'm not confident enough to canter or gallop yet because he does kick a bit. Any advice on how to get him to stop kicking? He does fine at a walk or a trot.

Sounds like you're doing fine and that he's just fresh. I would be surprised if he doesn't calm down when you have time to ride more. Just continue to keep him at the pace you want. If he starts to misbehave (e.g. Kicking out/bucking), get him into tight circles or stop and make him relax.

lacyloo · 12-27-2010, 05:53 PM

Are you familiar with lunging? Its a good way to earn respect and get his attention before you get on him.

JumpinJack · 12-27-2010, 06:39 PM

Thank you Soooo much for all the replies. I did find that making him do circles when he gets frisky calms him. I have been reading alot about lunging and plan on trying it this weekend with him.

He is a good horse, he does not spook and does not act up when being rode around other horses. My Dad has 2 others, a 3 year old completely green Ariabian gelding and a pony he rescued. They are quite the group. At night the pony stands gaurd while the 2 big boys lay down and rest in the pasture. Funniest thing I've ever seen. Typical men leaving to the woman to stand guard! LOL

LauraKate · 12-27-2010, 08:01 PM

I second the lunging. It helps get the ginger out of them before you ride. I've seen some very "well behaved" horses cut up on the lounge line, and thought, wow, I'm glad we found that hiccup before we put that little kid on her!

tinyliny · 12-27-2010, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JumpinJack

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this form and new to having a horse. I have ridden before but only only on guided trails. For Christmas, my Dad got me a 6 year old Quarter Horse to keep at his house. I live 3 hours away and with work and everything I can only make it over about once a month. My fiance and I are planning on moving to the area but it won't be for atleast another 6 months or so.

Anyway, my first questions is, can I still earn his respect without being there and working with him daily?
---------

My feeling is that there's kind of two levels of earning the horse's respect. One is longterm, and that one comes from a lot of experience with the horse, such that he gets to know that his rider will stand by him when things are scary and will never harm him or force him to do something that's more than he can bear. That sort of confidence seems to carry over with pretty long absences.
The other is recreated every time you walk toward the horse with "intention" in your body. Once the horse see that he is the focus of your intention (and he sees this in your body, not your voice), a relationship starts. How you approach him, how you walk around him when your tack up, how you lead him , how you hold/control the reins, how well you sit in the saddle and how you react to the unexpected; these things set THAT day's encounter for respectful or some degree thereof or not.
SO, though you won't be able to create a deep level of respect, you can get his attention each and every time you ride. As you know, a seasoned cowboy could get on him and in 10 seconds have his respect for the whole time he was in the saddle. You may not be able to do that (I couldn't ) but you can approache the horse with the goal of having his attention and being safe.

Your expectation has a lot to do with how he views you. If you walk up and expect him to be respectful, it's uncanny how that attitude will transfer over.

On the other side, since you can ride so little, you must be realistic on any progress to be made. I would kind of take it easy and just go at baby steps until you are closer and can ride at least once a week (bare minimum) A 6 year old is still rather young.
In all honesty, if I were getting my first horse and had as little experience as you do, I would have looked for more of an older steady eddy horse. But that is neither here nor there----------\

Also, he did buck my Fiance off. Sacred me to death, he just took off as soon as he got on him and started kicking like crazy. Of course, he began pulling back on reins, which was the worst thing he could have done. But now I'm a little nervous when I ride him and he knows it. Any tips on how to relax?

If a horse started bucking on me, you bet I would haul back on those reins! I would not allow him to get his head down and I would pull his head around tight to one side into the "one rein stop" (which you will read a lot about on this forum). So, your fiance did not do wrong to take up more rein.
I would be nervous too to get on a horse I had just witnessed buck someone off. It's normal. If bucking behaviour continues, you will need to look into getting a trainer to help you, which in all honesty, would be a good idea in any case. Once you are in the vicinity for good, find a reputable trainer who will help you learn things like lungeing and how to lead correctly and teach/require good ground manners. Those are things that are hard to learn without a mentor helping you. Most of us had more experience folks help us. It's a Godsend.

A little bit about his temperment.....He is spirited, When we first start to ride around the ring, you can tell he wants to run SO I have to be firm to keep him at a steady pace. I'm not confident enough to canter or gallop yet because he does kick a bit. Any advice on how to get him to stop kicking? He does fine at a walk or a trot.

Him kicking/bucking out at the canter could be pure exhuberance. He is young and he is born to move and move fast. Being held to a trot or walk all the time might make the change to a canter very exhiting.
It could also be a sign of pain. At the canter he will move differently and put a lot of weight on the outside lateral (front and back) pair or legs with each push-off stride . So, if there is any issue there , it may show up more at the canter. Also, poor saddle fit might be more painful at the canter. There are a lot of reasons. Again, that's why having a mentor is worth a ton!

I could ask a million more I'm sure LOL

ANY advice you all have to offer for a noobie would be greatly appreciated

Thank you!!

Thank you for letting me respons at such length. Your enthusiasum is very pleasing and I look forward to hearing more about your adventures and hope you will post a photo as soon as you can. Good Luck! Stay Safe! See ya!

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