Mr. Bear is the first introduction to having a rider. The horses learn that something sitting up on their backs is nothing to be afraid of. They get used to him hanging, flopping and sometimes falling off (it happens to the best of us) lol!
Mr. Bear is a favorite stage of training for a lot of my followers. I promote making training fun. Learning should never be stressful. If it’s fun then progress and the new lessons stick in their heads. Good experiences, calm environment are key!
Dollie has never been saddled so these are the steps I take to prepare her to have her first saddle experience. I set them up to succeed, I want it to be boring for them then I know there’s no holes in the process. If they react instead of think then I know I missed a step and they’re telling me they’re not ready yet.
Yawning and sighing is the best sign of relaxation. That tells me I’m going at their pace and they’re comfortable with the new lesson being learned.
Lex always tossed her head at the lope. I taught her to drop it instead. It takes a while to teach this at liberty, no ropes no gimmicks to achieve the head to drop. Never forced, only clear communication, consistency and routine.
By teaching Lexus to drop her head instead of tossing it she is building top line, a strong back, strong hip and natural collection. If her head is up, she will be hollowing her back, traveling on her front end and building incorrect muscle memory. It’s much harder to teach a horse to move correctly under saddle if they are allowed to move incorrectly at liberty.
I don’t know about you, but if there’s a battle, I much rather assess and correct it from the ground not from their backs.
Riding is supposed to be fun for both horse and rider. Riding is a close partnership with your animal. I refuse to get into battles while riding. If there’s a hiccup and the horse starts to act up I go back to groundwork. Horses don’t just act up, there’s always a reason or possibly a hole in their training. Ground work and refreshers are needed all throughout the horses education journey. I have yet to run into an issue that groundwork has not solved.
Soft horses come from patience, understanding and routine.
Why do I teach my horses to drop their heads? This right here is the result! Strong backs and hip because they’re actually moving correctly at liberty.
Then when I ask for them to travel under themselves, round their body and relax their head under saddle there’s no battle. It will come at ease and they will CHOOSE to travel correctly without nagging from the rider 🙂
I can’t stress enough how important it is for horses to have sand or otherwise course ground where they can walk on daily.
Sand helps promote circulation in the hooves and it keeps the foot growing and shedding as it should.
Without sand or course ground the hoof gets soft, breeds bacteria and doesn’t shed or grow properly causing severe sensitivity and an all around unhealthy foot.
I like gravel around gates and the water trough at the very least so you know they’re walking on course ground multiple times daily to drink. Ideally I’m very fond of my sand arena. The horses get worked for an hour or two a couple times a week in it and I have zero horses with sensitive feet, I have zero issues with thrush and they grow a beautiful foot with no stress lines!
Moral of the story, get sand or gravel. Your horse will thank you!
Two weeks ago I took in Dollie an almost 4 year old AQHA Quarter Horse mare. She was malnourished, infested in worms, her hooves were really odd and my farrier said due to lack of nutrition the hooves didn’t grow properly. With proper nutrients she hopefully will recover and start growing healthy hooves. She was sore all over due to lack of selenium which causes severe muscle soreness in acute deficiencies. She could hardly walk. The first week she was here I got her hooves trimmed and assessed by my farrier, she was vaccinated and dewormed. She’s been on high quality feed ever since her arrival and daily grain and vitamins with added selenium. She’s recovered now and pain free! She’s free from parasites, she’s shedding all her hair and getting a healthy summer coat. Dollie is now healthy enough to be out with my herd and she’s settling in well with them. She will be started on my training program this week and will be broke to ride in a few months!
Kat is an 11 year old AQHA quarter horse mare. She was under weight, covered in rain rot and her hooves were very overdue for a trim. She was apprehensive about people as well. I got her vaccinated, hooves trimmed and dewormed the first week she was here. She gained great weight in a short time and a few baths cleared up her skin condition.
Yesterday my two rescue horses arrived. Both are losing hair due to rain rot, they had medicated baths last night and they weren’t holding back their enjoyment which was so sweet to see! They’re both very cautious and wary of everything and everyone but after their baths last night with warm, medicated shampoo they both were following me around. They get their hooves trimmed tomorrow which is much needed and extremely over due. They’re getting caught up on TLC and they’re loving the attention like little love sponges! They’re both registered AQHA quarter horses! Watch their journey here!
Setting horses up to succeed!
Training and learning is supposed to be fun for horse and trainer
For sale
2022 registered AQHA black gelding.
Here’s his training journey
J Randol horse training