Riding very green horses.... any advice

[horse_lover]

does anyone have some advice about riding young horses, say 3?

[Mackoroni]

PATIENCE PATIENCE AND MORE PATIENCE. Make sure that you are in a good and quiet mood. Any emotions you are feeling will be passed along very easily to a young horse. It is essential to stay in a good mood and refrain from thinking bad thoughts. If you think about getting thrown off of the horse, chances are you will be. This does go for all horses but young horses are more tuned into your personality and feelings. Hope this helps and good luck.

[PrissyBritches]

I 100% agree with Macaroni. Also, make it fun for you and the horse. They can get bored sometimes and not want to listen to you which could make you revolt with anger and make the horse not want to participate in riding. I have a 3 year old mare that I ride also. She is almost done with her training also. I try to keep her interested with what we are doing. I will also play games with her. Try not to do the same thing everytime you ride her because like I said before the horse will get bored. Try to switch thigs up when you ride the hrose that way the horse will have something to look forward to...
Make it a good experience for you and the horse as well.

I wish you the best of luck. :)

[mandyicequeen14]

i wouldnt train your horse if you have no idea what to do. you or your horse can get really hurt! i would read books on horse training, and watch videos, and have a trainer there to make sure you are doing things right

[silverleprichuan]

Always ride under the supervision of a qualified adult.
Keep rides under 20 minutes
Spend the majority of the ride at the walk and trot doing little if any canter
don't do circles under 20 meters
keeps legs on but quiet
encourage the horse to seek out contact
take breaks often and reward the small steps forward

[Barrelbabe_23]

*trianer*???

[horse_lover]

don't worry mandi, he is going down to training before I ride him, lol, I'm not that brave, thank you all very much, he is a pint/ ARAB so I was a litle nervous

[mandyicequeen14]

lol ok, i thought you ment like compleatly green never been under the saddle. but i still suggest the books and videos they will help alot

[horse_lover]

k, thnx! :D

[francesca=]]

wear a helmet =]

[Love My Dun]

hmm, Hold on? lol

When my horse was 3, I lunged him before and after every ride, not intense, but enough to get him a workout before I got on. He spooked a lot, but it just takes a lot of patience.

but, I had him since he was a yearling, so our bond of trust was unbelieveably strong. idk about your horse. I'd work on that bond more than anything, teach a lot & try not to stick on one subject for too long.

[horse_lover]

yeah, same here, I've had him since he was 19 months old, I've been working a lot on him with ground manners, he learns X tremely fast!! I have been lounging him and he is awesome! He will stop on a dime no matter how fast he is going! but since he is so arabian like, and spooks at nothing or barely anything, he is still young and at times unpredictable, I don't really trust him....at all...well...maybe i do... i guess... a little...

[alliekk]

Ground driving. If an arab can get over that then he can get over anything! Just something you should keep in mind, no matter how calm an arab is, he will ALWAYS be unpredictable. I can pack a flag on Shaz, ground drive (probably pull a cart if I wanted to), throw coats off of him, rope my dog (hehe, it's pretty fun. not mean or anything, she'll be just standing there and I'll throw it off of him. Pretty much he is a remarkable horse, but he will spook at the dumbest things that normally don't scare him. I was on a trail ride with Casper and he spooked at a pheasant. He likes to spook while doing a hand gallop. He's just unpredictable, which is why I like to stick to pleasure classes on him.

[horse_lover]

I know he will always be unpredictable, well, I think I am going to write all this stuff down, lol. Any Ideas for the "games" that Prissy talked about? Does she mean like games games or just different things like teaching leg yeilding, or playing w/ his mouth til he drops his head?

[horse_lover]

alliek, what is ground driving, do you mean like pulling a cart or something?

[silverleprichuan]

I know he will always be unpredictable, well, I think I am going to write all this stuff down, lol. Any Ideas for the "games" that Prissy talked about? Does she mean like games games or just different things like teaching leg yeilding, or playing w/ his mouth til he drops his head?

bend his head around to the girthline and teach him to stand completely still when he does this
leg-yielding
baby turn on the forehand and haunches
backing up
walking over scary tarps
touching scary items

Anything you can do to teach him to yield his body and mind to you will make him more predictable and stable undersaddle. He needs to learn to trust and respect you even in scary situations.

[zansgoodnews]

I know he will always be unpredictable, well, I think I am going to write all this stuff down, lol. Any Ideas for the "games" that Prissy talked about? Does she mean like games games or just different things like teaching leg yeilding, or playing w/ his mouth til he drops his head?

When "Prissy" and I "play" with our horses we will set up different obstacles that we have encountered on judged trail rides, such as walking over tarps, stepping over poles, bringing out jackets that make noise and desensitizing, also desensitizing with and umbrella, opened and closed. It keeps her horse interested in what we are doing. I still do these things with my old mare because she stays tuned in.

[Alwaysridin09]

patience and time. also experience. just remember to try not to get to frustrated when the horse gets upset because it is very young. ;)

[*Nothin' But Equestrian*]

Have tons of patience! They might not do what your told but just hold on! Be prepared for anything, im not saying its going to happen but just be prepared just incase it does! Try and kick any of the horses habits early so you wont have to deal with that when the horse gets older! Good luck! Have fun! :)

[Ruby Rider]

does anyone have some advice about riding young horses, say 3?

take your time and have fun... um i ride a 4 year old, she just turned 4 i had her over a year ago
so if you have any specific questions about training horse i can answer some of them. I have been training 3 year olds for about 5 years. I train imprinted and un-imprinted horses so ya.

[horse_lover]

ok, wow! you guys r so helpful! thx!

[fowlerk]

does anyone have some advice about riding young horses, say 3?

Do not show them!!!! I had a very bad experience. All I can say is pacients, an da lot of it. Good Luck! :)

[DixieGirl]

I wouldn't ride a 3 year old anyway. Maybe when I'm older but not right now I wouldn't!

[horse_lover]

I've been riding a long time, I can handle him, I've allready been on his back, he didn't do anything ( and that was before he was trained) now he was trained be a trainer ( duh, trained by a trainer) a he it isn't like he is some crazy horse or anything, he loves me alot an I love him, He is going to be trained some more just to make sure, I made this Thread b/c I couldn't wait to ride him so I just wanted to be ready once I FINALLY do.

[snapmyapp]

ONE WORD

Round Pen.


even if heza good boy, til their really good with their ques and whatnot, its easier for them to understand, and not feel so vulnerable out in the open :) I'll ride in the round pen for two weeks, or until their ready :D

[horse_lover]

k, thanks!

[horse_lover]

here's my boy's profile!!!http://canterculture.com/custom_view_horse_profile.php?recKey=1947

[snapmyapp]

ah! he is so cute n__n this is my boy! http://canterculture.com/custom_view_horse_profile.php?recKey=1453

[horse_lover]

OMGsh!!! he is breath taking!!!!!

[BigStarLover]

well when i was at the riding center at my summer camp, while we were riding the assistents (lol stupid word!) would be training the very yound horses say 3 like yours. Well the assistents where very helpful, you could try singing to them to keep them in control (amazing grace works wonders ;) )