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Are you about to start the training with your young horse? And you’re wondering how and when to get started?
Or your horse has been backed and ridden several times, but he’s still very tense?
Well, you’ve come to the right place.
First of all, there are quite some opinions on when and how to start with a young horse.
Some say you have to start backing them when they’re almost 3 years old, others are convinced that you can best leave your horse in the field until he’s 4-5 years old.
But when it comes to the process of starting your horse, most of the people seem to agree on one thing: “He just has to learn to cope with the saddle and the rider.”
Let me stop you right there. Because this is important.
Learning and coping should never be in the same sentence
Because learning is an empowering process where the horse gains knowledge.
And coping is the same as forced conditioning.
So when you are teaching your horse to cope with something, for example a rider on his back, you force your horse into a situation he has to respond to in order to survive.
He can use his natural instinct, which is fight or flight. Or he will find a way of coping with the rider, so he can survive.
The only thing your horse learned, is that he didn’t die from it.
I explain a bit more about this in the video below (starting at 1:25).
So it is very important that your horse learns to manage himself, so he knows what he needs to do when he gets in a situation that would normally seem life-threatening to him.
But when do you begin?
I start working with horses from the moment they are born
At just a few hours old, the horse is old enough to stand. And when he’s old enough to stand, he’s old enough to learn.
A horse can already learn instinctively, from the beginning. They don’t need time to develop a part of the brain for learning.
And teaching a foal a state of relaxation and trust around humans from the beginning, is the perfect foundation for setting a positive mindset for the future.
Read more about my point of view on starting working with foals in the following blog.
The first thing I do with all horses, whether they’re 3 days or 3 years or 30 years old, is my groundwork pattern.
The groundwork pattern teaches the horse how to become relaxed in his body. And, remember, what happens physically, happens mentally.
For example, if you’re nervous or tense, you take a few deep breaths and try to relax your muscles.
Once your body feels less tense, you also become less tense mentally.
With horses it works the same.
A relaxed body creates a relaxed mind
And you want a relaxed mind when you’re backing your young horse or training with him.
So it’s important to teach your horse the groundwork pattern.
Because it teaches your horse what he needs to do in his body to feel relaxed. And when he gets tense, he can always rely on that pattern.
So when he’s introduced to something new that he doesn’t know yet, he doesn’t have to rely on his natural instinct, which is fight or flight.
In this demo I gave during the DressagePro Masterclass, I explain the first steps of the groundwork pattern and the importance of it.
Once your horse understands these patterns, the next step is to teach him how to respond to different pressures.
When you are backing your horse, you need to introduce him to new things like the saddle and bridle.
But even though your horse has just learned how he can relax in his body, he doesn’t know yet how he can apply this to situations that cause pressure.
To situations that make him feel tense and want to rely on his natural instinct.
Situations like…
… tightening the girth
… putting your foot in the stirrup and adding some weight on one side
And instead of trying to distract him or trying to comfort him, saying it’s ok and trying to convince him not to bolt, you can also teach him that he doesn’t have to fight or flee.
And instead, teach him how to respond to different types of pressures.
There are four elements of pressure: approach, touch, movement and sound
What I’ve experienced, is that these elements are all part of things that scare horses the most.
For example, approach. When your horse spooks in a scary corner, he is approaching something. When you have a horse that is scared of other horses, something is approaching him.
Waving flags, running from your leg aid and getting tense when he hears a car: these are all examples of movement, touch and sound.
And when you’re putting on the saddle for the first time, you want your horse to manage himself and be relaxed instead of getting tense and ready to bolt at any moment.
In the video below I explain more about dealing with these elements and how you need to work with the tools.
The rider getting on the horse is also a kind of pressure
And now that you’ve prepared your horse and given him the right answers on how to manage himself in that situation, you can use yourself as a tool.
Because most riders sort of ‘sneak on’ young horses, being quiet and trying not to move.
However, when you ride your horse, you will make noises and you will move. Your balance will shift and your horse will see you from a different angle.
Your horse needs to be prepared to manage himself in these situations.
I demonstrate how you can prepare your horse for the rider’s shifting balance in this clip from a Horse&Country TV episode that aired last year.
But working on the ground with the tools isn’t enough.
Your horse also needs to be able to manage himself when he has the saddle and bridle on.
In the video below I demonstrate how I work with a young horse to prepare him for the riding with his tack on.
If you are following all these steps, you are doing a great job at preparing your horse to be ridden.
He knows how to feel relaxed in his body and can manage himself when he’s faced with an element of pressure.
The next thing I always teach the horse before the rider actually gets on, is letting the horse park himself next to the block.
Normally, when we want to ride, we would take the horse to the block or we would put the block next to him.
This way we are forcing the horse into a situation he might not feel confident about.
And when he isn’t confident, he isn’t going to be able to manage himself at the moment you want to get on. So…
Make sure your horse is confident with presenting you the saddle
When you teach your horse to park himself next to the block, you are asking him to take himself there.
You are asking him to make a decision instead of making him do something.
And when your horse thinks that he is doing it himself and he is presenting you with the saddle, it will make him feel confident about it.
Learn how I teach horses to draw to the block by watching the clip below. It is part of a Horse&Country episode that aired last year.
Alright, you have almost taught everything to your horse that he needs to know to become a great riding horse.
“Almost? What else is missing?”
Well, there is one more thing you need before you are ready to ride your young horse.
You need to install the safety pattern
The safety pattern is a pattern you can use whenever your horse is getting tense, bolts, spooks, etc.
The movement is something he already knows from the groundwork patterns, so he can make the connection with his body ánd his mind.
Because the safety pattern is actually moving the hind legs at the moment that your horse becomes tense.
When your horse becomes tense, the muscles will contract and the energy will go up.
By then turning the hind leg, you are reminding him of his body posture.
“Hey, you’re getting a bit tense. This will make you feel better, remember?”
Your horse will make the connection, relax again and you are able continue your riding.
I taught the safety pattern to the owner of this horse during one of the Horse&Country TV episodes that aired last year.