A 3 year old just broken in horse-riding/training tips?

Question

My neighbour has offered me a chance to ride her gelding she has just gotten broken in. I was wondering if you have any tips
(only if you know what you are talking about please) for exercises etc that I can do? Also I was wondering what was your opinion on how much longer until he can be cantered with a rider? I know that his back mucles have to be built up, but I've been told many different things, some not the same as my own ideas.
Thank you :)
Details appreciated

Ive been riding for two years and can jump :)

Good point Kerrisonr. I ride english,, I can do the basic walk, trot, canter, leg yeilds,canter 10m circles, jump about 90cm. Just not sure what exercise to do with the horse( arabian,sweet nature :)) to tecah him to be responsive and that kind of thing.

Answer 1

The time it takes for a horse to develop and finish growing depends on their breeding. What breed is this horse? What discipline are you riding? What riding level are you riding at?? Give us a little more information and you'll get the best, most educated responses!!


--- Ok, with what you've told us about your riding abilities, you're still fairly novice. This isn't an insult, just how I gauge my students' riding levels!!


With that in mind, it doesn't mean you can't have a successful partnership with the horse. But since you're both still learning, you just have to be a little more cautious.

For example, an experienced rider (one who perhaps can ride at the Olympic level) or professional trainer will KNOW when the horse is feeling off balance or unsure about something-- they'll then be able to adjust their seat/position to accomodate the horse.

When you're still figuring out how to balance yourself or still mastering the basics, that becomes a little more difficult to do without throwing the horse off balance.

Now, if you can do these things and we've misinterpreted your abilities, then I'm sorry. Let's assume that's the case.

Does the horse know how to lunge at all 3 gaits safely? Running around on the fore-hand doesn't count-- does the hrose balance himself? If this is the case, you could start to introduce a rider while on the lunge line. This will definately help the horse learn to balance and develop muscle which is what a 3 year old needs!!

When the horse can do the lunge line at all 3 gaits balanced and carrying a rider, you can move him into basic flat work.

Since he is still green broke, you need to work on directions, start, stop, listening to the leg and the seat, and basic manners.

Do the first month or so of just walk, work. Remind him that when you pull (gently backwards towards your hip-- with a green horse, a slight open rein is also acceptable) on the rein, you expect him to move that direction, etc.

ANYTIME the horse does something you ask and they do it well-- or they even make an ATTEMPT to do it well, you NEED to give them constant praise of "good boy!" and pats and scratches.

This is especially important with green horses!! They are just like young children and need to be told repeatedly when they're doing something right so they remember it and do it that way next time.

So if you can get the horse to complete a GOOD figure-8 on the ground at the walk- after maybe 2 and a half weeks of riding 3 times a week, then that is GREAT. Move on to another activity -- but don't forget that activity. Make it part of his 'warm up' or 'cool down' OR even part of the new activity so he is confident about osmething he KNOWS.

Maybe now that he's got steering down, you should work on 'start and stop' a little more. If he's green, he should have a good idea, but this needs to be refined. Now he needs to learn that he can do mroe than one thing at a time. So do your figure eight and ask him to stop in the middle. Reward him. Then continue on. reward him when he moves off your nice gentle leg pressure (don't forget clucking or words are good for greenies, too!) Next time, ask him again at the same place.
Now the 3rd or 4th (etc) time you do this, he might start to think "Oh, we're getting to that spot... I'm going to stop!" and anticipate the movement. That's bad. Anticipation is a bad habit. If you feel him start to back off as he approaches that spot and you're not ASKING for it, then keep him moving forward at the walk... and ask in a differnet spot this time.

What your'e doing is teaching him start and stop. But you're ALSO - and more importantly- teaching him to listen to you, not to anticipate a movement.

Put him on a 20 m. circle, make sure he can do all these things going both directions at walk.

A good 20 m. circle is a 'safe' place where most horses can balance and be successful. So now is the time to introduce him to a little bit of trot.

So, again, start your day with the figure eight of steering, the figure 8 of start/stop, then maybe put him on a circle, do your start/stop activity...then ask him to move forward more. Not RUSH at the walk-- but ask him to trot! (this is usually practiced with a ground person the first few times or on the lunge with a rider) When he does trot, reward him, talk to him, lots of praise. Let him find a nice rythm which should take a one lap around the circle or so...then ask him to walk. PRAISE HIM. If he's good, then maybe give him a little rest, go back to soemthing that he knows (like the figure eight, etc) and then ask him to trot again. This time it should take a little less leg pressure or voice command to get the same responce. Again, one circle around, then walk. Cool him out.

Believe it or not, these activities are HARD for a new horse. Remember Kindergarten? You know how to walk, right, but that doesn't mean you're a super-star at soccer! This horse knows how to walk and carry someone, but he's still got to MASTER the rules of the game, like stearing, start/stop, etc.

Getting to the point where he can do all this can take anywhere from 3- 6 weeks or more depending on the horse, his training, your riding, how often you ride/train, etc. So give this some time.

When you are past this point, I would not introduce canter just yet. Let him build up MUCH more confidence before you ask him for that. Its hard for horses to balance at canter and he's still figuring things out. So let that be on the lunge only for a while.

When he can do ALL of the above activities in his sleep, practically, introduce something new. No jumping just yet, but every 5th ride or so, you can put a trot-pole on the ground. Lunge him over it. It will just remind him to pick up his feet. AND it makes him focus on what's going on!! If he's a super-star at it, doesn't even blink, then walk him over it. If he's great there, trot him over it-- but be careful because it is hard for him to balance all his 4 feet AND you so he may bolt, buck, or pop out from the pole if you are on him. Be careful.


Basic horse 'excersises' that you're asking for can be done on the lunge line until the horse is older and more experienced. Yes, give him some more time to build his back muscles on the lunge before you canter him in saddle. Its just safer that way.

Your 'exersises' for him are really about strengthening his mind at this point. You need to build his confidence by taking things VERY slow while you're on him.

Even if you think he's beyond these activities, I still do them with my 16 yr old gelding to get him to THINK. THey are GOOD activities for all horses as they engage the mind and body safely.

Go slow, work at this horse's pace, etc. Make sure he is thinking! make sure he is well balanced. And take you're time! He's only 3!! He's got years to become a super-star. Give him time to get the basics 100% before we work on the hard stuff.

Dont' forget to continue your own riding lessons. You need to perfect YOUR riding before you will be a good trainer for this boy. Professional trainers STILL take lessons. Olympic riders STILL take lessons. No one is too old or too good for lessons and it can only help you!!




PS: if you are a hunter/jumper rider, you are more likely to ride in a forward seat. This makes your weight heavy on the horse's front end and this could throw him off balance. When working with greenies, try to stay a little more 'back' with your upper body (shoulder) position and keep your back flat instead of arched or rounded - it is safer for you and better on their joints while they are still learning.
If you are a dressage rider, you will not have this problem.

Answer 2

He can be cantered as soon as he's experienced enough to know that he is supposed to listen to his rider.
Also, everytime before you start riding, do some exercises. This include: touching your right foot with your left finger and so on. Reaching forward to touch the horse's ear. Bending back and touching the horse's hindquarters with your head.
Wear proper riding boots and riding helmets. Or if you don't have you can just use bicycle helmets and leather boots with short heels. The shorter the heel, the better, but make sure you don't get a heelless shoe!
Start by walking and posting in the saddle while walking. Posting means standing up and going down. Have a good slow rythem like 1, 2, 1, 2. If you're really good try posting while trotting.
Keep your heels down and your back relaxed but straight. Your hands relaxed but firm.
That's all I can help with, hope it'll come in handy(by the way, I'm a horse riding lover, haha!)!
I wish I could jump, but recently the riding stables I go to are bursting with customers so I can't learn. Sigh... you're lucky.

Answer 3

I don't want to sound rude, but with two years riding experience and the skills you listed, you're still considered a novice rider. As such, I really don't think it's appropriate for you to be riding such a green broke horse. It's an invitation for danger. You can't know how a green, young horse will behave, and you may not be able to cope with its behavior. I really think you should stick to horses that are already trained. As you continue to grow and improve as a rider, you'll have the opportunity to work with some of these green horses later down the road when you'll actually be able to handle the responsibility. I've worked for several trainers starting young horses on the flat and over fences. You just don't know when one of them is going to spook and jump into the wall, and you need to be able to react swiftly and stay calm without becoming unseated or off-balance.

Answer 4

Anyone who doesn't know how to make their trained gelding walk forward has no business training a 3 year old stallion. You will likely get hurt and the horse will most likely be screwed up for the rest of its life. I really do hope that you are a troll and don't genuinely think that this is a possibility...

Answer 5

Just get him moving forward. A horse can lope with a rider on it's back as soon as you hop on (I break my colts at 3 yrs old). If you try to steer, correct, and collect him to much in the beginning he will just get claustrophobic and start to misbehave. Let him have his head, tip his nose to the direction you wish to go instead of really pulling. Get him doing some circles, a lot of lateral flexing, rollbacks, and on from there.

Answer 6

ok. my suggestions are with the canter you should mabye try and get someone to ride him while you lunge him at a canter. with the normal workouts you should train him with small jumps but trust me- dont rush him into things. if you do that then they will get stressed. you should just warm up then do trotting for a while. get him to trot over trot poles and later try jumps.when he gets used to cantering around in circles try changing dirction in the arena. when he gets used to that try cantering in figure eights. its good traing!!:)
i hope this helps heaps!
good luck with the gelding!