Please help with some advice on my new horse>>???thks?

Question

Hi i posted a question but was rushed so trying again. I have not ridden for 20 yrs purchased a 6 yo Gelding. Have had him for 3 months. Have had a lessons. I want this horse for pleasure and need some basic advice. He basically could not follow a straight line when i purchased him, so we have been working in a round arena. She has taught me, to make him walk where you want and keep him on the proposed track. Keep your calf muscles, both legs, close to his body at all times, if you want him to veer to the right slightly, tighten the right rein and put more pressure on him with your left calf muscle, this seems to be working ok. Am I doing the right thing, am only at the stage of bringing him back to a slow comfortable trot and keeping him at that for a period of time in an arena so where do i go to from here. I guess we are both back to basics so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I don't know who SHE is, but SHE is starting you off correctly and safely...I would suggest that you stick to what SHE asks you to do and don't listen to someone here giving you contradictory advise. If you have someone on site that can give you lessons or advise, I would respect her and listen to it, rather than from someone has has never seen you ride, has no concept of your skill level nor apparently, theirs either. I know that what I just said was harsh, but just listen to who you have been listening to, she will help you proceed at your skill level and your speed and just be patient and don't expect things to happen overnight, not with you, nor with your horse.

Answer 2

My professor says that the key to any basic training is having control over the movement in the shoulders. Thats your steering wheel!
Working on bending and giving to the bit is the most important step in going back to basics. With out that your horse will just be heavy and unresponsive which makes the ride less enjoyable for both you and the horse.
Every time you ride, as you warm up work on circles. Start by asking for your horse to give to the bit. If hes resistant at first be patient. Its all about give and take, dont just hold his head there...that just dosent work. (trust me i've done it, not fun). Even if he only relaxes slightly reward him by giving him his head back. Then a few seconds later ask again.
Continue that process till he does it more willingly on both sides. Also work on counter bending, and don't over do the bend either. All you really want to be able to see is the edge of the head stall or the corner of your horses eye. Nothing more for counter bending. Once hes comfortable giving to the bit, widen the circles and such. It may seem simple and monotonous work, but it helps in the long run.
As the others have said, work on transitions. walk, trot, canter, whoa. Try different forms of stopping.

*Pull stop -> pulling back on the reins asking for the stop.
*Verbal stop -> saying whoa and he should stop.
*Leg release stop -> completely remove your leg pressure and he should stop.

Now he may not respond instantly to the second two, once youve given those commands MAKE HIM STOP then back him up a few steps. Do that everytime untill he basically does it all on his own. Its all reward based training.
I could go on with ideas, but just give me an e-mail if you want some other training tips. Maybe you can follow the steps were working on in class and it might just work out well for you. Work on what you feel is right and don't over do it. Take what you can and quit while your ahead. Let me know if you want any other ideas. Im full of them....well my instructor is, but I can surly transfer the information to you. ^_^ Have a great day and good luck!

Answer 3

After you get him where you want him at a walk, be sure that he is where you want him with all of his basics such as neck reining, backing up, side passing, etc. If you are where you would like to be with all of that, step up to a slow trot and make sure all of the skills that you have accomplished at a walk are met at a trot, and so on up into faster gates. Even though you want a slow pleasure horse, he needs to be able to respond to you at different paces and you need to know what to expect if he were to jump into a faster gate do to being spooked or whatever the case. But, remember to only do things that the two of you are comfortable with and dont limit him to an arena, that can cause him to get bored and stop listening to you.

Answer 4

It is important to turn the horse correctly. You are right, you don't haul the horse to the right with the right rein (in English riding or classical riding) but you turn them off the "outside" hand and leg. It is like pushing a shopping cart, or riding a bicycle. If you pulled in the direction you wanted to go in, you would fall off the bike, and the cart would turn too quickly.

You must support the horse with your outside hand and indicate direction with the inside hand. You use your outside leg to bend the horse around your inside leg - in the direction you are going to turn. If you don't do this, your horse will corner, while looking in the opposite direction, "fall out" through his shoulder and loose his back end - like a banana. Or, if you pull too much, he will "motorbike" and fall onto his forehand.

Once you and the horse have got it, it will be the slightest pressure and shift of weight. it takes practice but it will come. This is the first step to getting your horse "on the bit" and working in an outline, using himself correctly (for Classical and English).

Keep at it, you will get there :-)

Answer 5

Sounds like you are doing a good job. Work on serpentines and figure eights. Use small cones if you can find them, put them into some sort of large pattern and work around them, say small circle around them, back around them, etc. Work on transitions, pick a spot with a cone, and use this point to say walk to trot...alow no extra steps after you ask for the transition.

This type of work, plus lateral work and turn on the haunches and forehand will help immeasurably.

Good luck and have fun.

Answer 6

You are doing backwards of typical cues (usually inside rein and outside leg, or outside rein and outsid leg) but if it works for you, go ahead and keep doing it.

What you can work on now: transitions. Get him to whoa, walk trot and canter (from one to the next, or walk to canter, etc) nicely without falling on his face. You want him to move over off your leg- either turning his hind end or front end, depending on your cue. The basics are: moving off your leg, easy gaits with good transitions.
You never said what discipline you do- you want different things for western or english pleasure.

If you are just looking for a horse to ride- just do whatever you want to do with the cues you want to use- or work well for you and your horse. No matter what trainer you talk to, they are always going to have different suggestions for something- they all probably work, but on different horses- no one trainer is always right for your horse.

To make the ride fun for you and your gelding, add obstacles or go out on trails- walk or trot (if you do not want to run it) a barrel pattern, go over ground poles, around cones, etc.

Answer 7

Keep taking lessons.

Taking advice for 'training' your greenie from this forum is dangerous. Get some face time with a live trainer.

Answer 8

Ride bare back. 20 years, time to get your seat back. Feel him when you ride, leggs like spaghetti. Keeping your legs constantly on him is a signal for more forward motion.

Answer 9

Take your time and work slowly

Answer 10

all u can really do is make shore he knows who is boss and make shore u dont spoil him two much but have some fun with him and let him know that he can trust u