HorsesByNet.com: Training & Showing: Starting a Horse/General Training: Training an old horse

Home


	MAIN INDEX	SEARCH POSTS	WHO'S ONLINE	LOG IN

Home: Training & Showing: Starting a Horse/General Training:
Training an old horse

pearcefamilyco
New Member

Oct 28, 2005, 12:13 PM

Post #1 of 8 (840 views)
Shortcut

Training an old horse	Can't Post

Do you go about training and starting an old horse the same as a young horse? I have a 15 year old registered quarter horse that has had awsome ground work done, but never has been ridden. Any suggestions?

JimHess
Silver Member

Oct 29, 2005, 12:01 AM

Post #2 of 8 (824 views)
Shortcut

Re: [pearcefamilyco] Training an old horse [In reply to]	Can't Post

With all due respect, how does a horse get to be 15 years old without being ridden? Sounds odd. Is there a reason why it has never been ridden?

-Jim

pearcefamilyco
New Member

Oct 31, 2005, 9:27 AM

Post #3 of 8 (807 views)
Shortcut

Re: [JimHess] Training an old horse [In reply to]	Can't Post

I had an uncle who was a horse trainer and bought this horse as a yearling, but he was 70. He did all of the ground work with him and then had several heart attacks. The horse was therapy for him and he continued doing ground work and walking with him until he died, but he was afraid to get on him in his old age. He didn't want anyone else to work him because most of the trainers wanted to have him at their place and my uncle couldn't bear to part with him. He is a sweet horse and was very attached to my uncle.

JimHess
Silver Member

Oct 31, 2005, 1:10 PM

Post #4 of 8 (796 views)
Shortcut

Re: [pearcefamilyco] Training an old horse [In reply to]	Can't Post

Wow, what a story. When I read it to my wife, I said what a sad story, but her reaction was that your uncle must have gotten a lot of pleasure from the horse. We're just backyard horse owners and trail riders, but my wife has been riding since she was big enough to hop up on. We have gotten several 2 and 3 year olds that had never been ridden. We would first put a saddle on and let them get used to that feeling. Do you know if your uncle ever did that? After they got comfortable with wearing the saddle, with me steadying the horse at his head, she would ease up on. It just seemed to us that half the battle was having the horse be comfortable with us and trust us. When she would first get on, I would lead the horse around the field for a while 'till everybody was relaxed, and then, while still holding the lead line, I would fade back a little and let her start guiding him. People get Mustangs that have never been ridden, and I think that after initially winning their trust the process would be about the same. Maybe someone with more expertise will write with better advice. Good luck!

-Jim

JimHess
Silver Member

Oct 31, 2005, 2:14 PM

Post #5 of 8 (795 views)
Shortcut

Re: [pearcefamilyco] Training an old horse [In reply to]	Can't Post

One other thought on the older horse training thing. Once we got an 18 year old Appy who was a great riding horse. But since we only had one horse at the time, we thought why not drive him? That way two people can enjoy one horse. We put the harness on him, and with one person at his head leading him the other person walked behind "ground driving" him. As he got used to that, the person at his head just kind of faded back and let the person behind start guiding him. When he was comfortable with that, we introduced the cart. The one difference was, we got an extra person to help us so there were two people at his head while one got in the cart. Again, we lead him around for a bit before fading back and letting the driver take over. It worked great and we drove him many miles, 'till he was 25. His previous owner was shocked that we were driving him, he had a reputation for getting excited under saddle. In hindsight we figured since he hadn't driven, he hadn't had bad experiences to equate it with.

-Jim

pearcefamilyco
New Member

Oct 31, 2005, 3:48 PM

Post #6 of 8 (791 views)
Shortcut

Re: [JimHess] Training an old horse [In reply to]	Can't Post

That all sounds great!!! Thanks for the advice. I'm not sure if he tried a saddle, but I really don't think that would be that hard to put one on. I didn't think about driving. I am a member of a local driving club and my kids just love it. My 13 year old placed in some driving shows here and it was his firts year. Most of our club is either ponies or clydsdales, so it never crossed my mind to use him for that. I have never trained a horse to drive, but people in our club have. That would be a great idea. Mostly I just worry about being only worked by one person, but I really think he understands that my uncle isn't here anymore. Horses just amaze me with how they are so intuitive.

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 2, 2005, 2:32 PM

Post #7 of 8 (769 views)
Shortcut

Re: [pearcefamilyco] Training an old horse [In reply to]	Can't Post

If you are serious about riding your horse I would look into taking a clinic from someone that starts horses. There are a lot of rawhiders out there so try to find someone that has the background. Names that come to mind would be Ray Hunt or Bryan Neubert.

If the 15 year old has good ground manners and used to people, then you are well down the path to getting� it done. Just plan on taking it slow and build the horse confidence. If he was started well, is good minded and tolerant then it may go quickly. If he was not started to be ridden or is fractious then it may take longer.

I think the steps you take are all about the same (very rough outline below):
1. get him good on the ground
2. make sure he tolerates being touched by hand and something like a plastic bag or soft rope all over
3. make sure he will take a saddle blanket and allow you to run your hand around his girth
4. get him to let you swing a saddle to his back
5. get him cinched up (not tight at first)
6. make sure, once saddled, you can touch him everywhere again
7. see if he will let you put a foot in the stirrup and add a smidgen of weight
8. check to see if you can add more weight.
9. swing a leg over and get off
10 swing a leg over and don�t get off

Having said the above�it�s rarely what to do but how you go about doing it. You need to be comfortable that you can read the horses reaction and see if he is going to tolerate what you are going to do. Some horses you can push and some get too nervous.

I think doing a good job of getting a horse ready to ride is one of feel so maybe some good guidance would help.

My 2 pennies�.
Mark

pearcefamilyco
New Member

Nov 2, 2005, 6:30 PM

Post #8 of 8 (766 views)
Shortcut

Re: [Mark4510] Training an old horse [In reply to]	Can't Post

All of that is EXCELLENT advice and well taken. So, it was worth more than 2 cents to me!!! I will let you know how it goes.

Search for (options)