The first step of starting a young horse

When starting your young horse, it might seem tempting to think that getting the saddle on and riding is the end goal.

But it often leads to your horse not understanding the saddle and, in extent, the concept of riding.

That misunderstanding can lead to many other problems later in their life, like bolting, spooking, and general fear of our human environment.

In the videos below I explain what the first steps look like to prepare your horse for the riding without running into problems later on.

Often, when we think of starting young horses, it goes along the lines of this:

Step 1. Lunge the horse

Step 2. Put the saddle on and lunge again (with a lot of bucking)

Step 3. Hang onto the saddle

Step 4. Get on.

Actually, it might look a bit like this: ↓

Mission accomplished. Or… maybe not? Does your horse really understand what’s being asked of him?

Or are we simply trying to get him used to having a saddle on?

In this blog I show you there’s a better way to prepare your horse for the riding and show you what the first steps look like.

So that they don’t feel like they’re being controlled, but that they really learn the self-management of controlling themselves.

One important reminder before we continue: starting your young horse under saddle is definitely a job for a professional.

These videos are just here so you can have a step-by-step guide to prepare your horse well so that they understand what’s being asked of them.

I explain more about that in this video:

When I start, I first look for where the attention of the horse is. Is he looking else where?

Or is his attention here, where I am and he’s interested in wanting to learn something?

Because if his attention is somewhere else and he’s not present, he won’t be looking to me for answers. At that point, I can’t be the good mentor and give him answers.

Redirect your horse’s attention to you

However, by pulling on the lead or by making them do something, I might get their attention. But at the same time, it takes away their control of themselves. They can’t make their own choices.

But by teaching your horse to want to be a part of the training, you’re also teaching them to want to be a part of the process of learning to be a riding horse.

Through the groundwork, I try to direct the horse’s attention by walking towards their hind legs, to see if they want to follow.

I explain more on that in the video below:

Ask your young horse questions worth answering

After working with Bonita for a while, I discovered that she’s shy and easily distracted, but not forward thinking or pushy.

Every horse is different, of course, but it’s important that you keep looking at your horse and remain open to a change of their demeanour.

If you know what kind of horse you have, you know how high or low your own energy needs to be.

But whatever horse you have, you should always ask questions that your horse can achieve. You need to set them up for success, so your horse feels good when answering your question.

Learn more about that in the last video:

Help your horse feel stress-free

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