Horse Basic Training From the
Beginning
by Nancy Butler
Okay so you just bought a young horse and he is too young to get under
saddle and your thinking, "what can I do until he’s ready to
ride"? Well fret no more, there is a lot of great things to teach him
so when you are ready to step up in the saddle he’ll walk off without
a hitch. He will already know how to move off pressure, stop, turn and move
forward with energy.
Get your round pen ready and let’s get this new horse off to a great
start. Make your round pen with at least 13 to 14 panels 10’ lengths.
Set the panels with the horizontal bars on the inside. If your horse bumps
into the panel he won’t hang a hip on the vertical bars. Get a cotton
lunge line, some people use a roping rope and that’s fine I like to
use the soft cotton rope first. You may want to use a long stiff whip if
you need to keep him off of you. Do not use it as a weapon.
If you can walk up and catch your young horse and lead him into
the pen with control that’s great. If not, then start where you can.
If your horse is in a large field move him into a smaller space.
So you go into the pen and your horse walks away, the closer you
get the faster he’ll walk or run away. Don’t try and hide the
halter from him you don’t want to start your relationship out tricking
your horse and you certainly don’t want to sneak up on him. When your
horse turns to walk away then your horse is showing you disrespect and this
is the time to smooch him off, this will put you in a control position he
might be thinking he is leaving you, but you will be moving him off, big
difference. At this time you are no longer trying to catch him, you are
now teaching him that you will be making the decision as to when he moves
and where. When he stops moving walk towards his front, at the first sign
he is going to turn and walk off lift the halter and smooch him off. Just
pick up the halter and lay it back against your leg. You don’t want
to scare him off, just move him off. When he stops again repeat this. It
won’t be long before he will stop and look toward you. At this time
stand still and see if he will look to you. If he doesn’t then move
towards him and smooch him off again. Pretty soon he will allow you to get
closer and closer. Only walk towards him when he stops and looks at you.
When he does take a step back and to the side, he should start following
you with his eyes and head. When you can walk up to him without him turning
away then pet him and walk away BEFORE he turns away from you. Do not catch
or halter him at this time. You are now preparing him to be caught and to
stand still when you walk to him.
When you start walking towards him if at ANY time he starts to turn
away, you stop and take a step back, if he stops and looks to you then walk
up, pet him and walk away. He may stand there or start to follow you, that’s
great. Pet him and walk away. Then walk back and catch him. But if he steps
away, smooch him off. Remember this may take some time. So if you know you
can’t walk out and catch him then decide this is what you will be
doing and be prepared to do this exercise. Don’t rush this. You don’t
want him running from you, this makes you dread even going out to mess with
him. He needs be thinking that you are making the decision for his movements
and when he is allowed to stand still. When he stops and turns away that’s
when you move him out again. You want him to stop and turn towards you without
his head up, body ridged and on guard. This is done by using this simple
exercise. When you can walk up and touch him then walk away and move him
off and when he stops and turns and looks at you and stands still without
turning away then halter him. Remember you are teaching him to allow you
to walk up and catch him, so at this point catching him is secondary in
the lesson. Pretty soon he will stop walking away and be looking to you
more often and he should be looking a lot softer. Don’t put the halter
on him until he is soft all over and looking at you. He will soon start
to follow you after you pet him and you can go out and he will come to you.
Another situation might be, you have him haltered and his feet
are stuck in the dirt. No movement in his legs means no movement in his
mind. Always remember you are not training the body you are training
the mind of your horse. If you don’t train the mind then you
will be fighting the body and their bodies are too big and powerful to fight.
Train your horse’s mind and you will have the horse. When people use
gimmicks to get the horses body to do or stay in a certain position they
are fighting the horse’s body when they should be training the mind.
Okay so he is on the halter and his feet are not moving. You need
to get his mind thinking movement. So do what you did when he was walking
away. Hold the lead rope about half way down and smooch him off. Don’t
get into a tug of war with him, you will lose. If you feel him pull back
then put slack in the rope immediately you don’t want him running
backwards away from you, he again will win. Take a step towards his hip
and smooch again all you want is willing movement in his feet. When he takes
a step with any foot in your direction stop asking and walk up and
pet him. He needs to know that foot movement in your direction was the correct
response to your cue. Then step out and ask with a smooch for movement again.
Repeat this until he becomes more willing to move off with you. If he jerks
loose and runs off then start your lesson over. And be more assertive in
your asking for him to move off. Remember to be crystal clear in your cue,
the sooner you can react to his movements the quicker he will learn that
moving off will only cause him to move more than he wanted. If you are vague
in your cue because you don’t want to be "to demanding on him" you
are actually cheating him by not teaching clearly enough for him to understand.
When he wants to stop and you smooch him off and keep him moving
he will begin to see you as the leader of his pack. Horses are pack animals
and as such will look for a leader to follow. They are not like humans who
have a problem being lead. They look forward to having a safe in-control
leader. You MUST be that for him. Okay now this month’s article is
on teaching you how to catch your horse. If you can catch your horse and
lead him with softness and control to the round pen then let’s get
started. I know this article may seem too simplistic but you would be amazed
at how many people can not go out and catch their "trained" horse.
After all I am starting at the beginning and if you can’t catch your
horse you can not begin anything. Also you should not start with your goal.
Start with your goal in mind but start with the steps that it will take
you to reach your goal. So go to the pen with catching him being your goal
then do the steps it takes to make that happen softly and with control.
Lead your horse into the round pen close the gate and take off
the halter and hang it on the fence. Taking the halter off will allow your
horse freedom and you’ll teach his mind not physical restrain his
body. Hold the cotton lounge rope coiled in your hand and go to the middle
of the pen. Ask him to move out by kissing to him in whichever direction
he chooses this first time. Just get his feet moving. If he is flying around
as if he is scared to death then he probable is. Keep this in mind and give
him a few minutes to settle, if he is still running but not in a wild out
of control manner use your rope and ask him to change directions by stepping
across the pen far enough in front of him so he can see. If he acts as if
he is going to run you over then step back and push him past, let him go
around one full time and step out a little further in front and ask for
the direction change again. He should go around and see you standing there
and turn back before he gets to you. At that time, move back to the center
of the pen. Let him move around a few times and relax then ask him to change
back doing the same thing. At this time it doesn’t matter if he turns
to the inside or outside, he will probable have his head toward the outside
without paying much attention to you. Once he is changing directions without
getting wild and out of control then start a distinct direction plan. I
will give you the direction plan and how to make it happen in the next issue.
Do this just until you see him looking towards you and watching you, he
should calm down and relax. At this point you can practice walking up and
petting him and moving him off again. Make sure he is more relaxed when
finished then when you began. Remember you are building a relationship with
your horse not just trying to get through this part of the training.
My main goal with these articles is to help you and your horse
have a partnership that will last a lifetime, not just getting
through it. It will be well worth it. Always stay consistently
correct. Have fun, relax and happy training.
Have questions or need help? E-mail me at: nancy@lilb-ranch.com. Please take a minute and visit my web site, it will help me introduce myself to you and your horse. http://www.lilb-ranch.com