Training Your Horse

To train a horse properly, the cost can be in the amount of time consumed. If you wish to buy a well-trained horse you must expect to pay for this training. The ability to train depends on knowledge and experience, but anyone with the basic knowledge of horsemanship can train a horse. Today people want a gentle-broke animal. However, the new owner must be warned not to buy a horse that has been started by an inexperienced horseman. Usually this is the reason for selling. The animal may have been so misused that it cannot be retrained and the result may be much trouble and possibly danger.

Any professional trainer taking on a new horse will ask what has been done. The time it takes to undo bad training will be added to the usual training price, and also the disposition of the animal will be taken into consideration before acceptance. If the new owner has found a gentle colt, unspoiled, there is no reason to forego the job of training if a careful step-by-step plan is followed and if each lesson will not be hurried.

Too many animals are ruined by being pushed into training when they have not been prepared for it. First, the trainer must be quiet-spoken and patient. Even a sixty-pound child can start a colt under saddle as a yearling. There is no age at which the colt can't learn. However, there will be more satisfaction with the training if the gentling can be started from the day of foaling. If the foal can become accustomed to being handled daily, the child will have little difficulty when the actual training starts. Many horse owners dislike the idea of buying a weanling because they feel there will be too long a wait before the horse can be ridden. But the feeling of accomplishment can be rewarding as you watch a young colt develop under daily handling, and the time passes quickly if you are interested. It is up to the parent to decide whether the child is capable of training, under supervision, or whether to buy an aged animal for the child to play with.

The young owner must be impressed with the importance of moving quietly and slowly around a young colt. The baby first must get used to the feel of hands. To hold the animal gently, slip the left arm under the colt's neck while the right arm encircles the rump.

At first the colt might try to free himself, but he will soon learn to stand quietly. The next step is to pat the colt over the whole body, scratch around the ears, and rub his back. The colt must tolerate this handling before taking the next step.

Handling the colt's feet is in the next lesson. Keeping the right hand on the halter, the free hand should be run down the hind leg, grasping the lower part of the pastern. Lift the leg slowly, moving it forward and back. The colt may lose his balance and jerk his foot. Try again and again, until the colt learns to balance. Pick up each foot every day and move it about until the colt does not object and learns to balance. It is important to praise the colt after each successful move.

Start talking to the colt so he will begin to understand the tones of the voice. The colt will start to enjoy each lesson because of the petting and the praise, and eventually there will be no sign of fear. About this time the colt will try to play. Colt play consists of striking, biting, and kicking. These antics are cute in a tiny foal, but as the animal grows and becomes stronger they can be dangerous. Now the colt must be taught what no means.

Limit each lesson to periods of ten minutes, gradually increasing the time as the colt grows older. He will lose interest if the lesson is too long. No matter what age, never work on a lesson longer than twenty minutes for the best results. This appears to be the animal's limit of concentration. Be sure to finish the lesson with the act the colt knows well. Never quit on a failure.

The average horse learns about twelve words. These must be used as commands. The colt will learn quickly that a sharp "no" means something is wrong. Say the word sharply. If the colt tries to bite, strike him lightly on the nose and say "no." For the first ten days of the foal's life he has no teeth. He chews on anything and everything just as a puppy does. Baby teeth are sharp, so the foal must be taught he must not bite people.

The same words should be used for each command, such as "hold it," when the colt is to stand quietly; "come," to bring the colt to you; "easy," if the colt becomes restless and impatient. A halter can be put on the colt when he is two months old. By this time the colt should look forward to being handled and will come willingly whenever the trainer appears.

The eventual quiet, well-mannered colt results from slow, unhurried training. When the colt is led for the first time he should be guided along behind his mother. Put the left arm under the neck and the right toward the rump, with two fingers slightly under the tail, using a light pressure to propel the colt forward. Then use the rump rope. Hold the colt by the halter and loop a rope around the rump just above the hocks, holding it together over the back. By grasping the two pieces of rope across the back and pulling slightly on the halter at the same time, the colt will move forward. Sometimes this is all that is needed to teach a colt to lead. If there is difficulty with the rump rope and the colt still does not lead, use a chest rope.

Tie one end of a long rope into a slip knot. At times it may be safer to use a bowline instead of a slip knot, if the animal is excitable. Place the rope over the colt's back and pull the balance of the rope through the slip knot or bowline. Bring this up through the front legs, up through the halter, to make a lead rope. Now, as you pull, the pressure of the chest rope between the colt's front legs will cause him to move forward. Be gentle and give only a slight tug, otherwise the colt will leap forward. For the next few weeks the colt should be led around until there is no necessary pressure on the chest rope or breast hitch. This is also a good time to accustom the colt to being tied. Tie short enough so that the legs will not become entangled in the rope. If the colt should pull back, the pressure of the chest rope on the under arms of the front legs of the colt will cause him to come forward. If you have an old inner tube, tie one end to within a few inches of the colt's halter and the other end a few inches from the tie ring. The colt may pull back, but the elasticity of the tube will give with him and he has less chance of being hurt. The colt will connect the discomfort with pulling back and you will be saved many broken halters. However, the age of the colt is important and also the size animal you are working. Naturally, a large colt will be more difficult to handle than a small one.

Sometimes foals are not handled until weanling time and then you have a hefty colt to handle. The method you use will be determined by the size and gentleness of the foal or weanling you are going to work. If you can get your arms around a foal for the preliminary halter breaking, it will be a simple matter. If the animal is too large for this, then the best method is to adjust the halter and place a chest rope in position. Allow the colt to drag this around for a while and quite a bit of the fight and fear will be gone before the handling. Then you may use a come-along. This is the same as the rump rope but run through the halter, and the trainer stands to the front of the animal. Also, a head come-along can be used. A rope is tied around the neck (bowline knot) and looped over the nose so that the rope comes over the loop. A pull on this rope causes it to tighten, and the colt will discover he is relieved when he steps forward. A heavy cement block in company with an inner tube will take the preliminary starch out of a young animal. The tube gives enough to prevent the animal from injuring itself and yet holds enough for restraint. Every day the colt should be subjected to the method that works best for him.

Each day the colt should be groomed, feet handled and cleaned, led about, and sacked out.
To become a safe animal the colt must learn not to be startled by anything. This is done by sacking out. Hold the lead rope in the right hand and gently slap the colt about the shoulders with a gunny sack. If the animal is uneasy, rub the sack all about his body. When this is tolerated, slap the colt about the legs, then the rump, and, lastly, the head. Proceed with each part of the body only as the colt tolerates the sacking. When at last the colt can be touched anywhere on the body, in any manner, with the sack, he may be considered quite gentle.

Only the lack of maturity prevents the colt from being mounted at six months of age, because a young horse is capable of learning at any age. Discipline is important at any early age, and much can be done by longing. The purpose of longing is to exercise the animal, and is frequently used on mature horses when there is no time for riding. Longing makes the colt flexible and obedient to the voice of the trainer. It teaches him to stop and turn quietly on command. He learns to circle equally well to the right or left on a walk, trot, and slow canter. You will need a long line, leather, canvas, or rope with a snap on one end. The line should be twenty feet long. It can be made or bought, complete with swivel and cavesson. You will also need a driving whip.

Longing is awkward for the beginner and takes much practice. Some animals will work right out, others will have to be worked from a short distance from the halter, gradually letting out the line as the animal understands what is wanted of him. Some animals will work well from one side and have difficulty from the other. This means that the owner must have a mountain of patience. Don't wrap the line around your hand. Let it play out as you need it. The whip is held in the free hand and rotated behind the animal to urge it forward. Place yourself nearer the animal's hip so he will understand he is to go forward. Stop the animal frequently and tell him to come. Start and stop him, using the words "walk" or "trot" as you wish him to change gaits. Most horses learn longing quickly, and the most difficult part is to get the animal to move away from the trainer. Don't allow the animal to play on the longe. If he kicks up his heels, jerk him down sharply to let him know he is working. Sometimes it is wise to longe a horse before climbing on his back. By this time all the play and buck will be out of him and he will be ready to settle down to work.

If the colt is strong enough to begin saddle training as a yearling, the animal will be ready by two years of age for riding at reasonable periods. An animal trained for private use at such a young age will have better legs than the youngster who races on the track as a long two-year-old. Place a small, light saddle on the colt's back and tighten the cinch lightly. The colt should be led around until he becomes accustomed to carrying the saddle on his back. Mounting the colt will depend on his sturdiness and maturity as a yearling. Lean across the colt's back and bounce slightly so the colt will become used to added weight. If the rider does not weigh more than fifty or sixty pounds it will not hurt the legs or the back. It is not the back you must worry about, but the legs. Because of the hard running and the pounding effect on the front legs thoroughbreds raced at two years often break down.

A pleasure horse would not be expected to run in this manner, so that reasonable riding with a little easy cantering would not hurt the young legs. After the experience of the saddle the colt should not object to carrying a child.

When the time is decided upon for riding, no more than ten minutes of riding should be allowed. However, the colt may be ridden three or four times a day for these short periods. After the colt is eighteen months old, twenty minutes is not too long. As the colt becomes accustomed to the weight, then the time limit may gradually be increased. It is better to have two people start the colt under saddle, one in the saddle and one on the ground. The rider should thoroughly understand aids, body cues, and reining. Working together, the person on the ground will pull the colt forward as the rider at the same instant shifts his weight and releases the reins. Every body cue and aid should be exaggerated until the colt learns to move forward.

As the colt becomes accustomed to being ridden the cues will come more naturally and smoothly. Nothing more than starting and stopping should be done the first week of saddle training. Allow the colt to walk about twenty feet, stop, and start again, until the cues are learned. As the colt begins to move on cue, the ground trainer should start to step back, along the lead rope, to give the colt a chance to move by his own volition. When the colt is moving out by cue alone then the second trainer should mount a horse and ride alongside. This will give assurance to the colt and also give him a chance to watch what he must do. Colts also learn by watching other horses. The colt will learn to match his stride with that of the more experienced horse. Then is the time to start neck reining.

Because the colt's mouth is tender, use a hackamore until he is at least three years old. Hold a rein in each hand. In turning to the right, for example, lay the left rein across the neck of the colt and at the same time pull to the right with the other rein. Lean slightly to the right with the body and press with the knee on the right side. You repeat the same, only on the opposite side, for turning left. It takes quite a while for the colt to respond to the reining, so give a lot of time to this part of the training and be patient. Be sure the cuing is right and exaggerated so the colt will "get the feel" of what he is to do. When the colt is walking freely, stopping, and starting, and has a fair rein, then he is ready to trot.
The cue for the trot must be firmer than for the walk. Each gait results from a harder forward motion of the body. By posting the trot, the colt can be taught collection and rhythm. To post correctly, keep time with the front legs. When the right leg lifts, rise in the saddle. When the left leg lifts, sit down. When the post is done correctly, the rider will feel the rhythmic moving of the horse's front legs. Posting is only correct in English riding but it is an excellent way to teach the young horse rhythm in the trot to make it easier to sit the western trot.

By the time the colt is two years old he should be easily managed by an amateur rider providing the rider is instructed to handle the colt the way he has been trained. A rank amateur, pulling and tugging on the reins, can ruin the best-trained colt in a short time.

When the colt is put into the canter, he should lead out with his inside leg. For example, if the colt is going in a circle to the left, he should lead out with the left front leg. The leads have been explained in a previous chapter. Always keep the colt at an even, easy canter. A colt can be made "speed crazy" if he is run at a dead gallop all the time. Frequently retrain your horse, stopping and starting and reining as you did in the beginning. It acts as a refresher course and keeps the animal alert.

Don't go from the trot into a canter. Bring the colt to a walk and then cue for the canter. If this is not done, the colt will always take a few trotting steps before breaking into the canter. To experienced horsemen it gives the impression that the horse has not been well trained. Should you enter a Western Pleasure class at the horse show, you will be marked down for this. Even though you want your horse just for pleasure, never allow yourself or your animal to become sloppy in riding habits.

There will be times when you want to travel a distance with your horse, either for shows or for trail riding. This means that your animal should be well acquainted with a trailer. It is better to train the foal with the mare. The fact that the mare goes into the trailer readily will cause the foal to accept it. If the foal is used to nibbling or eating in the trailer, there is usually no problem. Don't lead the foal in and then right out. The foal will begin to think this is what is expected and will not stay in long enough to close the ramp. Leave the colt for at least twenty minutes with the ramp closed, then before removing the animal reward him with grain. Take the colt for short rides so he will learn to balance.

Practice stopping and starting, a few sudden stops, as might occur unexpectedly on the road, so the animal will learn to adjust and accustom himself to different trailering conditions. There are many ways of loading if an animal balks at the prospect. Loading a foal or young colt can be done by two men with locked hands behind the rump. The animal is boosted into the trailer. Here again the chest rope may be used. Sometimes a rump rope, fastened to one side of the trailer and the other end drawn across above the hocks, will gently urge the animal forward. Many times an animal may have to be walked in, a foot at a time. Someone holds the animal by a halter rope and the helper lifts first one foot and then another until the horse walks into the trailer a few inches at a time. Most horses, after overcoming their fear, enjoy riding and will walk right into the trailer by themselves when it is time to go.

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