breaking a gelding?

Question

I have a 3 year old gelding thats needs breaking. We don't know where to start!

The people that we got him from say he's broke, but thats something I would have to see to believe.

The other day my step mom just layed across his back for a few seconds and he broke out with bucks. He was like nope! Not gonna happen! He went crazy!

We don't know what to do. We've never broke a horse before, our trainer says she doesn't break the babies. We can't pay somebody to come out and work with him, we have other horses to take care of too. Selling looks like our only option so far and we would hate to have to give him up.

Please! Somebody help me.

I spend at least 1 hour with him everyday on the weekends (that's the only time I get to see him. my dads, stepmom, and trainer work with him during the week)

He has gained some trust in us. He lets us pet him and love on him.

When we lung him we dont actually have him on the lunge line, we just have him in the round pen. We hold the rope in our left hand and move our left arm towards him to get him to go in a clockwise circle. To get him to turn we switch the rope to our right hand and do the same thing to get him to move in a counter-clockwise cirle. When we ask him to whoa, his response is that he faces you and shows that he wants to be with you in the middle of the circle. When he doesn't show that response we get him going again.

This is our technique(sp?) of lunging and he has show some inprovement because his first response to lunging was I'm gonna run you over or he would turn his rump to you and start bucking.

He does not show this anymore.

^ I meant DAD.

He is quarterhorse/tenessee walker.

Thanks for all ya'lls adivce. It's a big help! Sometimes the hardest thing are the right thing so I've got a pretty good idea of how to approach this. I have chosen a best answer, but I have to wait 4 hours :[[

Answer 1

I have been training horses for 19 years. I always have at least 1 or 2 that have had no training at my ranch for training all the time. You have went in the right direction by putting him in the round pen. Put the lung line on him and teach him the gates first of all. You have to control your horse from the ground before you can control him from sitting on top of him. If you google marv walker he has several DVD's that he will send you for free that could help. He is dry and hard to watch but the information is good. Don't give up on your horse, at that age he is young and most likely don't know what you want. I have never in my 19 + years of training horses found one that I could not be on and ridding in 10 days. so it will be up to you. check out my web site and if I can help more just ask.. www.campdiamondw.org

Answer 2

Very simple answer. Find a trainer who has experience training very young horses. It is very important that his early training be done right because this is the stage when he will learn all kinds of bad habits that can make him a difficult, if not dangerous horse to ride.

Three years old (depending on the breed) is very young for a horse. Most are not considered mature until 4 so this is a good time to start getting him read to be riden. It is going to take a lot of time. If he's already accepting of tack and can be lunged, now is the time for him to learn manners and what the signals a rider will be giving him. Do not try backing him yet! He is clearly not ready and if he is bucking of someone lays on his back, he's clearly showing that he's frightened by it. Figure on it taking about a year to get him fully trained to accept a rider.

If you cannot afford to have a trainer work with him, than the best thing to do is to sell him to someone who can. Otherwise you are going to end up with an unmanagable horse that you won't be able to ride anyway.

Answer 3

As I always say, it starts from the ground up.

Gain his trust and confidence on the ground. Let him know you are in charge, but you are also someone he can rely on and trust. Always remember to keep the barrier between you and him, making sure he knows who is boss. This doesn't mean scare the crap out of him... just let him know.

This may take a few weeks, or maybe even a few months.

Once that is settled, start lunging him. First just at the walk.. then gradually move up to the trot and canter. Try him in a curcingle, then side reins and so on. Then lunge him with a saddle, and add a bit. Take things slowly.

Eventually start putting a little pressure on his back to get him used to it. Then, have someone lean over him. After he has no problem with this, you could have someone sit on him while you hold him. Then you can walk.. and move on. Eventually add reins and steer while the person is guiding you. After he learns what the bit means, ride him on your own.

Remember, patience is everything.

If you really feel you cannot handle it, or you are too beginner, I would reccomend selling the horse. If you are up to the challenge, good luck!

It's always exciting! Just be prepared for bucks and misbehavior now and then...

Answer 4

Well, colt breaking is not an easy job and a lot of times very dangerous even for the best of 'em. Ask around your area to see if there are any colt breakers. If you do not have any nor the money, I would just say sell.

Training colts is more than just getting on and getting them to move. Teaching them to follow another horse, as many will probably tell you, is the INCORRECT thing to do. Even if you do decide to break the horse, you will more than likely find out that you didn't know what you were doing and sell him anyway. Believe me, I know from experience, my first colt was nothing to brag about AND I had a mentor that had his own lifetime of colt breaking knowledge to share with me, my dad. Unfortunately, he was over the road more than at home and I didn't get the right tips until I had already made a mistake. So... let the people who do this for a living handle it.

I know that is not what you really wanted to hear but, maybe you can find a person who does this. They are out there and you can get 30 days pretty reasonable in most areas.

Answer 5

I don't know what area of the country you are in, but most tack and feed stores carry a number of books and videos from well-known trainers about starting colts. If your gelding is halter broke and has ground manners, you are off to a good start. If you have a round pen, start him there. Free lunge him to work the fresh off of him before you do anything else. Then start with a towel, rag, or small blanket and sack him out by rubbing him down, then laying it over his back, eventually waving it around so he is desensitized to that kind of movement. Then put a saddle on, take it off,etc. Don't cinch it right away, just let him feel the weight. gradually cinch it a little tighter, then lunge him with the saddle on. In the meantime, put a smooth snaffle bit on a headstall with no reins, adjust it so that the bit sits a little low in his mouth, and put it on for 15-20 minutes at time while he is in his stall. Watch him so he doesn't get hung up, then remove it. The reason you want it low is so that he will learn to carry it, not just have it tightened into place. Don't bit him up or use draw reins until later, that is a more advanced excercise. Really, though, find a good Craig Cameron book or video and watch and read. You will learn so much and it will save you months of undoing bad training. Good luck!

Answer 6

when breaking a young horse start on the ground and work up. horses need a companion to be with that they can trust whether it is another horse or you. breaking a horse will take a lot of time and dedication. using a brush or curry comb rub all over the horse to teach it that you are a friend and that you are not going to hurt him. then bring out the saddle and let him get to sniff it and see what it is. hold the saddle pad over his back and slowly let it down on him. this will probably spook him to start with but be persistent and when he lets you leave it on his back praise him and take it off. the next day do this again and again the day after that. when the saddle pad does not bother him you can add the saddle. walk him with the saddle and lit him get used to the sound and feel of the saddle and saddle pad. trying to lay on his back is a good thing. this will teach him to except the weight on his back and preppier him for when you actually ride him. remember this may all be new for him and you need to take it slowly at first. good luck and have fun

Answer 7

There are different degrees of broke. To some people, broke means you can get a saddle on and maybe not get killed in the process and to others it means that anyone can ride this horse in just about any situation and the only way to get hurt is to fall off. Your trainer should be able to tell you someone who can finish breaking him for you. I am sure that she has someone she sends horses to be broke to. Until you find someone who can gentle him, then you can work on him from the ground. Just handling him can make a big difference in getting him to be more trusting. . Good Luck!

Answer 8

first of all laying on its back will spook it!! no offense but nice job! for a couple of weeks let it get used to you by feeling its legs, back, face, chest, stomach, and rump. after like 3 or 4 weeks put a saddle pad on it and see how comfortable it is with it. hopefully you know what lunging means, if not it means you clip the horses halter to a rather long lead rope and have it run, jog, walk, gallop around you, switch direction of the run so the horse doesnt get bored, every day see how comfortable it is with you by adding little by little ammounts of pressure by laying on its back, give that some time, after the horse gets used to the lunging after a month or a month and a half try putting a saddle on it, then lunge it with the saddle on it, do that for about a month and a half or two, then get it used to the bridle, let the horse observe it then place the bit*metal bar at the bottom of bridle* into its mouth (on top) of its tongue, that will take about a month or two of getting used to, in the meantime this whole process it happening make sure to brush him atleast 5 times a week to get used to you, after the horse is used to everything, if this doesnt work you may want to consider a different trainer, hope this helps.

Answer 9

I think gaining his trust would be a good place to start.

I know you said you have other horses to take care of, but you guys have to have some free time, right? Why not take a bit of that, and just spend it with the gelding. It doesn't have to be anything real big, just talk to him, stay near him and the like. It might take awhile, but..*mental shrug

Answer 10

I think gaining his trust would be a good place to start.

I know you said you have other horses to take care of, but you guys have to have some free time, right? Why not take a bit of that, and just spend it with the gelding. It doesn't have to be anything real big, just talk to him, stay near him and the like. It might take awhile, but..*mental shrug*