[chika1235]

im going to be working on my ground driving for the first time with my 18 month old quarter horse. he has had a saddle on, can lounge, has gotten used to the bit, ive got into the saddle, ive desensitized him to whips, ive even done some ground poles with him,and ive gotten him used to water. now im gonna try ground driving and i have no idea as how he will react as he is completly diffrent from my other horses who are a bit more sensitive than him. any tips on how to get him to understand what to do, he has lounged with the saddle and all his tack on already but all he knows how to do is go into a circle and hes not the smartest horse there is. im going to be using 2 50 foot lounge lines and should i put his tack on the first time? thnx

 

[SaddleUp158]

im going to be working on my ground driving for the first time with my 18 month old quarter horse. he has had a saddle on, can lounge, has gotten used to the bit, ive got into the saddle, ive desensitized him to whips, ive even done some ground poles with him,and ive gotten him used to water. now im gonna try ground driving and i have no idea as how he will react as he is completly diffrent from my other horses who are a bit more sensitive than him. any tips on how to get him to understand what to do, he has lounged with the saddle and all his tack on already but all he knows how to do is go into a circle and hes not the smartest horse there is. im going to be using 2 50 foot lounge lines and should i put his tack on the first time? thnx

If he is use to having a girth done up around him he will be fine with the surcingle. The problem he will most likely have, as you have already mentioned, is that he thinks he is only suppose to go in a circle around you when on a long line. First I would start off by standing on the inside of him (like you do when lunging), but still fairly close to him so that you have plenty of control and not too much line between you and him to get tangled or whatever. Ask him to walk on alongside a rail so that he has something to "balance" on or as a boundary. You can then ask him to take a step or two off the rail to see how he is going to react. If he is fine with it begin asking him to 1)make a circle, 2) cut across the arena. If he is handling all this fine you can begin to step back so that you are behind him, but still a bit to the inside of him so that he is reassured by being able to see you. Gradually you will be able to step completely behind him if needed.

 

[chika1235]

thanx!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AlmagroN]

we break all of ours as yearlings (yeah yeah i know the crap i hear on here about it, but its the racing industy and thats how it is) anyway, using the lunge lines and driving lines is right. we usually start with complete harnessing of the horse. of course, ours dont wear as much as the horses that drive on the road and such, this is all they wear....

we get them used to all parts of the harness, then start ground driving. we put the lines first throught the quick hitch when starting, this would be a low ring on a surcingle. and have a person on either side with a lead hooked to their halter (halters are kept on under the bridle when first breaking) those 2 people stand back so that the horse cant see them (we also use a blind bridle), they keep their leads loose and are just there for added support (the horse wont turn, they can pull a little to help to get them to turn) the driver stands behind and drives. do everything, figure 8's, left turn, right turn, stop, go, etc. when turning lightly pull back on the lead that you want them to turn on (ex: right lead right turn) and keep the left against their rump to help get them to turn their rear with them (sometimes they will try to just turn their heads) as you work you will be able to tell how quickly they will learn. you may not even need those extra people since you have worked with your horse before, we have yearlings and they are only broke to drive, not ride, so this is all they experience. good luck

 

[chika1235]

hahaha yeah i know about all of that there too young crap. the tn walkers are broke to ride by 18 months down in this area of tennessee. and i got a lot of crap for trying to ride my 18 month old quarter horse.i think the youinger they are when their broke the better horse theyll be as long as they dont overload them or ride them too often. i only weigh barely over 100 pounds and ive only got on him once or twice.

 

[AlmagroN]

hahaha yeah i know about all of that there too young crap. the tn walkers are broke to ride by 18 months down in this area of tennessee. and i got a lot of crap for trying to ride my 18 month old quarter horse.i think the youinger they are when their broke the better horse theyll be as long as they dont overload them or ride them too often. i only weigh barely over 100 pounds and ive only got on him once or twice.

exactly. i get a lot of crap about it on here, but we dont overwork the babies. they are taught what they need to learn, do some light work so that they become reliable to drive (they dont spook at things like tractors, other horses, cars, those dumb orange construction cones they keep putting on the inside of the track to keep horses outside the rail) and then we turn them out and let them rest until they are 2 and they start training. my yearling was just broke this summer, she worked lightly into the late fall/early winter (about 5 months) and now shes here at home romping in the field. shes perfectly sound, no problems. and to top it off shes like a 13yr old horse. calm, cool, colected... doesnt pull any crap. shes perfect, and thats what i like. i like my horses to know what they need to be at an early age.

 

[chika1235]

and the best part about them is i think the younger horses learn faster because in the 2-3 months ive had my quarter horse he has learned all of the basics, bathing,lunging,tacking up,going over logs,picking up feet,basic ground manners,learned respect,he just got over cribbing. and before i got him he had never been handled! i even got him used to cats because my cat loves horses so ill often find him in p.k.s stall asleep with him or eating with him and ive even threw him on p.k.s back and he didnt spook.when im lunging p.k. the cat will follow him around and the cat will go to drink with him.the only problem ith the cat liking horses is my mini horse charlie, charlie hates the cat and will pick it up by its back and literally throw it! the cat just comes right back to him.

 

[chika1235]

got off track a little

 

[MacabreMikolaj]

Your best bet is to ensure he's desensitized to ropes touching his back legs and start by "long lining". Different people use different terms, but essentially to start off you will position yourself exactly as if you were lunging him with the outside rein coming through the surcingle and around his bum just above his hocks. This allows you to use both reins and accustom him to the bit and motions, while being able to keep him moving. From there, you can just graduate to shifting yourself to be more and more behind him - start off asking him to move out with you standing slightly diagonal at his hip so he can see you and then progress to being behind him.

I find round pens are also excellent for the first steps of graduating to being directly behind him because he can stay on the familier fence line - then start asking him to do turns and before you know it, you're ready for open spaces!

 

[AlmagroN]

like i said, we start off right behind them. you should be far enough back that you cant get kicked if they do anything. youre not supposed to stand right up their butts. but we do things differently. we dont spend weeks on weeks breaking them with long lines, we spend maybe 2 weeks at the most before we hook them up to the cart.


and i agree, those young ones man, their brains are like little sponges. they learn so fast. my yearling has been shod with no problems, bathes, crossties, drives, trailers, leads, etc. like an old horse. you would swear (if it werent for the way she looks) that she was 13 or something. shes just so calm and does everything without a problem.