Training and care tips for my yearling gelding?

Question

I've got a 21 month old appendix QH gelding, who is the calmest horse I've ever seen. The other day I tossed a full-body blanket on him without anyone holding him, and he paid no attention to it at all. Just stood there while I fitted it to him. I believe he will be a hunter, but want to try him out in other styles too. Probably going to be a dressage horse as well, possibly some contesting. I believe I could probably get on him without a problem, but I have to have him ready for it as far as training. I don't have a round pen, and if I use driving lines then I will have to borrow them. I have a curcingle and cavesson, but they haven't done be any good so I won't be using them. I am asking for tips in getting him to longe in the pasture; he doesn't get the idea of running in a circle and not standing next to me. Also, what tack? I think I will probably start with a tom thumb, and a regular western bridle and saddle. If english, I will probably use a regular o-ring.

Do these sound right? I've got a hackamore, but it doesn't fit his TB head. (he is definitely more TB than QH). Tips for training in groundwork and riding would be much appreciated. I've been riding most of my life, but I've never trained a yearling by myself. The only other thing was how often do I need to clean his sheath? I've only ever had mares -should have gotten a gelding sooner :) - and I don't know a lot about keeping him clean and healthy. thanks to everyone and God bless!

Thanks so far! Just wanted to clarify that I don't plan on real riding for a while, I definitely understand the problems with growth, and how it could ruin my yearling. I just want to start making progress. I am just young enough to be in 4H still, so I am taking him as a project, but may or may not take him in a class. I don't have money to spend on a trainer, but I have a friend in California, and she and her family train TB's. I will have help from my old trainer when I started riding, and should have all the help I need. Thanks so much!

Answer 1

cleaning sheath- whenever it gets dirty or crummy looking (same as between a mare's teats). Some geldings, that is never, others need it every month.

Good things to do with a baby- definately get him to lunge- esp if you want to do dressage. Learning balance in circles is important early (makes it a LOT easier for you later). To lunge:
start with him about half a lead rope to a lead rope length away from you. Carry the whip parallel to him, with the butt by his head, and the whip by his butt. Wiggle the whip and ask him to walk on. It is ok for you to go in a straight line at this point- as long as he stays out. Eventually work into a circle. If his head starts coming in- give him a tap with the butt on the head/shoulder (only as hard as you need to get him to listen). Say good boy when he moves out. Work on walking and stopping at this length, always staying at his shoulder (if he backs up or spins- you go with him). Once he does the mini circles well, eventually let him out longer and longer until you are at the length of a lunge line. I would not start trotting him until you are at about 10meters or more out. Cantering is debatable- most people I know (myself included) will not canter a horse on the lunge line until they are 2 1/2- otherwise it is way too hard with their balance issues.

As for the surcingle, you could attach side reins to them- and attach them to his halter loosely- then he can get used to pressure on his head (from both sides) Once he is comfortable at lunging and with the side reins, you can attach them to his bit.

If you want to show dressage or hunter, I would start him on a bit, not a hackamore. If you get a loose ring snaffle with a joint (or two) in the middle, it is an extremely forgiving bit, and we start all of our babies in them. You can also show some western classes in a reg. english snaffle bit as well.


As for ground driving (which we do on and off at about 1 1/2 yrs for a couple months before we ride) all you need is a bridle, surcingle, a whip, and two lunge lines. Pass the lunge lines through the two top rings of the surcingle on each side, and attach to the bit. Voila! cheap driving reins.

Any other questions, just message

Answer 2

I strongly recommend you get a trainer to help you train your yearling. I can not stress this enough. I've been riding for 12 years and I just bought an off the track thoroughbred mare and for the past 8 months I've been retraining her with the help of my trainer. Honestly, if it wasn't for my trainer I would have considered myself a failure and would have given up and my thoroughbred has a QH attitude and disposition!

What I learned in my 12 years of riding and showing wasn't enough to train a horse that was already broke. Imagine the difficulty you are going to have on your hands since your horse isn't even broke yet. Everything I knew before, doesn't apply to youngsters. It's a whole new ball game. It is so hard. No matter how long you've been riding, training a horse should never be done without a trainer to help you for your first experience, especially since you want the training to be done right the first time for a show horse. Once you make a mistake, or train a false frame or train a bad behavior on accident, it is your horse that has to pay and be retrained correctly, if it can be corrected at all. Please do what is best for your horse and your own sanity. You'll be so happy you got a trainer to help and so will your horse.

If you decide to forego sound advice, please, please, please do not use any gadgets on your baby, i.e. draw reins and/or martingales. No reputable, experienced natural horseman/woman would use them on a baby.

Good luck!~Jenn

Answer 3

Why are you starting your horse so early? He's just a baby !! He isn't old enough yet to have any weight on his back or be forced to run in small circles in a round pen or anywhere else. Let him grow up !!! If you want to do some ground work with him, that's good, but it should be limited to teaching him to stand for grooming, clipping and the like. Teaching your horse to load and unload from a trailer is also a good skill at this age. As for sheath cleaning, you can buy a product that is made specifically for this in most tack and feed stores- it's called Excalibur, like King Arthur's sword. Follow the directions for use that are on the label- usually, it is used once a month on horses that are competing or are being bred, and once annually on horses that don't get a lot of exposure to dirt. Use WARM water, NOT a cold hose for rinsing, and you may want to consider giving your horse a tranquilizer the first time you attempt to clean him. Your horse needs to be at LEAST 3 before you even THINK about starting him under saddle or even longing him- one of the reasons we keep seeing tragedies like the one that happened to Barbaro is because horses are not allowed to become physically mature before they are asked to work. Your horse's bones are still soft and growing at his age, and they can't take the stress of hard work- I know he may look strong, but he isn't. When you finally do start him under saddle, a Tom Thumb is a mighty strong bit for a green baby that doesn't know anything. You are better off starting with a simple ring or egg-butt snaffle. You will need to learn how to longe a horse properly if you want to start your horse yourself- and yes, you will need your surcingle and cavasson, and I would plan on borrowing the long lines, as you indicated you would do, otherwise you may have a hard time teaching your horse to steer and respond to rein signals. Hope this helps you. Good luck !!

Answer 4

as for a the bit i would start with a snaffle regardless of how you plan to ride, the snaffle gives clear and direct pressure, its simple. once he has the snaffle down then indroduce a curb. think about it, a snaffle works on the tounge, bars and lips. a curb
works the bars, tounge, chin and poll. with a youngster simple is good, you don't want to throw too much at them at once, i prefer the snaffle at first then move on into a curb. by that point they understand the bar and tunge pressure and can now focus on learning the poll and chin. personally i start my horses in a bosal then move on to the snaffle. the bosal works much the same as a halter on the ground. i do this while i line drive in a snaffle. that way when we join up neither experiance is too new and i see very few if any blow ups over it. the bosal gives you the advantage of wotking on leg cues without worrying about bit acceptance, and the line driving helps with bit exceptance without the worry of leg aids. so at join up we are working on using the two cues together, instead of learning all three lessons at once. i am currently training my 2 1/2 year old mare this way and it has worked wonders. no fights, no blow outs. but to each his own, and as long as you and the horse are safe and happy any trainging method that follows that rule should work out just fine

Answer 5

I would start in a snaffle bit. One with large bars, that will be easier on his mouth. The smaller the bars (some have twisted wire or such) of the mouth piece the harder it is in their mouth. I would not just get on either, you need to spend time working him from the ground. Even the best horse when started can have it's moment. I am a big believer of having your ground work done before you get on. It saves me getting hurt and the horse getting confused. It is about building trust and getting lots of exposure done. Your surcingle is a GOOD thing, specially with a young one. Put it on everyday, it is an excellent way to get your young guy familiar with girth pressure and having something on his back. Better he roll around and throw his fit with your surcingle then your saddle!

You don't need a round pen per say. Do you have any corral? Square? If you have access to a good size square corral, just take some wood and secure them across the corners, so there is not corner. Round penning is a good thing, but if your not sure what your doing then get help from someone who does. Because it is real easy to push a young one and have them try to go over the top of a corral or panel. Lounge lines are good to work them with too. Also you don't need driving lines. I actually use my lounge lines.

Just remember that young horses (well any horse ) can have it's day. I been ground working my gelding in full harness for days and doing great. Then one day, he got upset, I got him back to working and calm down. I stopped him and had a friend hold his lines. I walked over to the side of him with a pvc pipe for him to look at. I was standing a good 10 feet a way and he went up in the air and came down on me! I watched his hind hoof hit my chest. It put me on the ground - the next thing I remember is looking up to see my friend between me and the horse. She then rushed me to the hospital. I thought for sure I was dead! I survived by the sheer grace of God! I was totally surprised because he had been pulling these pipes around for most of his life. This was nothing new to him. He just had enough that day and I was not paying attention to his warning signs. So really it was MY fault, I fail to recognize what situation I was in. What I should of done when he threw his fit was work him right back in the corral and free lounge him until he was tired and wet and ended on the note, if you don't want to work doing this, then lets do this. Instead I had the feeling I knew him oh so well.

HE is not a mean horse, he is a good horse. Just one of those days. So if your not sure what your doing get help. I been working and training horses for years and even the experience people make a mistake. In fact that week I got kicked is the same week that 4 other experienced 20 plus years EACH trainers, were kicked or rolled on. One was letting her baby gelding out in the field and he spun and kicked her in the kidney and she had to be air flighted to hospital. Took months to get over it.

I am only mentioning all of this because it is so easy to fall into that I know my horse and oh he is so cute. They love on you and you love on them. But reality is they are animals that have mind of their own. So be safe in what ever you choose to do with your young guy. I know I have started tons of them and love it! It is very rewarding!

Best wishes on working with your guy, I hope you both have lots of fun.

Answer 6

As for cleaning his sheath, just squirt some mineral oil inside his sheath area, prior to working him. That will help loosen all the smegma (wax), so he doesn't develop a bean, (smegma rolled into a hard ball, very painful). If he'll allow at first, just peel or rub the flakes of wax of. some horses will just stand for it, others are not quite so complacent. don't worry , if he doesn't allow you to do anything further. The mineral oil will help dissolve the smegma, and as he heats up in working out, it will generally self-clean. I do this with my geldings and stallion. But I still have the vet help DEEP clean the stallion in spring. Don't use allot of harsh soaps or advertised washes, as they actually will dry him out, and can cause other problems.

Someone else may be able to give you better tips on tack. But be careful with a hackamore, as you can do allot more damage than good, if not safely and properly trained in one. I raise and break all of my own, so please don't be in a hurry to mount him. It's great that he is calm and doesn't over react to blankets and things of this sort. But, horses legs, especially their knees are growing until they are two years old. The cartilage in their knee caps are not solid, or fully developed at his age, and can be damaged easily if forced to do allot of tight circle repetitions.

When lungeing, give a long line and use a lunge whip or any long flexible whip or wand, only as a tool for direction. Stand between the horses shoulder and hip at all times. Walking back from him will only draw him into you. Work with one eye of the horse as you flip your whip up to direct him to move forward. Should he try to turn into you, or climb in to your pocket, detour the behaviour by moving in towards his shoulder, and flagging him off at the eye, to correct his position. If he just stands there, then tap his back legs or hind quarters to motivate. NO hitting. Click to him simultaneously. Use consistant language when you ask for walk, trot or canter. Don't rush into the canter. A good respectful, understood walk, is a must, before moving forward to the next level.

Respect begets respect, so have patience if he gets confused. Know the difference if he refuses because he just doesn't feel like doing what you ask, or if he is simpley confused. Never allow him to refuse a request out of boredom, etc., but just redirect and give clear cues, if he gets confused. Over asking or showing frustraion can just develope bad habits, like rearing. Teaching him to stay off of you is key. Just relax and take it slow. He sounds like a willing partner, so I'm sure he will grasp the concept with consistent repetition.

Good luck!