Breaking In Horses
Breaking In & Starting Under Saddle – for All Breeds of Horses
John and Angie start horses for all disciplines, whether it be for trail riding, reining, western pleasure, cutting or dressage. A good foundation is everything and John and Angie take pride in getting solid basics both on the ground and under saddle on all of the horses they start, no matter the discipline you choose for your horse.
When it comes to breaking in horses, it is important in every step of the starting process that the horse learns to accept everything they are taught, not just to tolerate it. Every horse that comes in for starting under saddle/breaking in is different and therefore the time needed for each horse varies. It is important in the first few days the horse learns to trust the human on the ground and this is where the commination begins.
In the first session the horse starts to learn how to respond appropriately to pressure. When pressure is applied there is always an open door that the horse has to find and if it is presented to him clearly he will start to look for the release of pressure. The horse needs to be taught how to respond to pressure, not react or ignore pressure. Some horses have a tendency to react and others to be dull and lean on pressure and it is important to teach this for each individual horse.
Desensitisation creates trust and confidence and teaching him to yield and move his feet creates respect and leadership. Different horses will need more of one and less of the other, depending on the horse.
It is important the horse accepts the girthing and saddling process and it is done without force. The horse has to be comfortable being saddled and to stand without being tied up. If the horse feels he needs to move his feet he is not ready to be saddle and more preparation needs to be done first. The horse is mouthed when they are ready and long lined in both the round yard and arena before being ridden in a bridle. The horse needs to then learn how to accept and balance the rider.
We take all types of horses in for breaking, training and re training. There are horses that we break in that will stay on longer, like the Reining horses, we also get Warmbloods that come to be started. Whatever the breed, all the ground work and preparation before riding is the same. The first few rides are similar between a western horse and an English horse, they just have to learn to be confident being ridden, learn to balance a rider and get confident at walk, trot and canter in a straight line and steering.
Once we get in to the second and third week things change a little between Western and English disciplines. We will ride with a different feel in our hands. With the Warmbloods we want them to take the contact more and we want them to move more forward. With a Reiner, we want them to sit off the contact a little. Though body control and leg aids are similar whatever the discipline. We teach them to move off the leg as soon as possible. In dressage and jumping they talk about getting the horse, in front of the leg. We like to teach this one leg at a time. If you use two legs too soon on a young horse they can brace and lean on you. Each day we work on isolating the shoulders, rib cage and hips whether it’s a Warmblood or a Quarter Horse. We want the horses to maintaining the same rhythm going forward and staying accepting of the leg. All horses have to travel willingly forward, accept the leg and stay nicely in the contact. We also want all the young horses as early as possible to lift their backs and stay supple through the body. It sounds like a lot, but if you can keep giving lots of small releases all the time there is always an open door for them.
Every young horse progresses at their own pace; breeding, physical strength, conformation, mental maturity, trainability, temperament and attitude, all play a big part in how they break in and go on as a young horse.
In the Breaking In/ Starting Process your horse will learn:
Ground Skills:
• Be easy to catch
• Solid tie safely
• Confident with obstacles
• Leads on a lose rein
• Yields from pressure
• Respects personal space
• Backs up and comes forward
• Walks, Trots and Canters on the lunge and Faces Up
• Goes into small spaces
• Float Loads calmly and comes off safely
Ridden:
• Stands quietly for saddling
• Give laterally
• Stop and Back up willingly
• Walk, Trot and Canter with softness in the bridle/contact and body control off leg aids
• Confident outside the arena
When it comes to breaking in horses, We generally will take the horses for a minimum of 6 weeks. The horse will be ready to go home when both John and the owner are happy that they are confident on the ground and riding their horse. Remember, every horse is different, therefore they all progress at a different rate in the starting process. Some horses need more time on the ground and others are ridden in the first week. John will communicate with you during the starting process as to where your horse is at and how they are progressing. Some clients also choose to leave their horse longer than 6 weeks so John can put a more solid foundation on them. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to email or phone John or Angie to discuss your needs.