Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[Maven.]

Wow. It's been a really long time since I've posted on this thread so here's a mini update. I may be getting my first horse for Christmas and I'm quite excited and worried as I tried to find bareback riders and liberty riders to teach sadly the people I found and contacted either didn't want me as a student, was way overpriced, or already had to many students to take me on. I live in an area to where horses aren't seen very often nor are lessons and it's mainly western riding. My dad has horse experience but in western and not what I am wanting to do. Basically, I'll have to do this on my own and teach myself which is worrying. My dad said that is how he learned that his dad just put him on a pony and said figure it out. I'm not 100% sure on all of this though considering I have little to no experience.

Here is the mare she is 8 years old, 15.1 hh, Missouri fox trotter, and palomino. She is afraid of water and hates dogs but I like the owner she doesn't care what price she sells the horse for just as long she is going to a good home and she can lease the horse for a once a week ride (Which I have no issue with)

[Huggles]

@Alfred// congratulations! I hope you’re able to get her thats so exciting! As far as lessons go, I feel ya. I love bareback and would love to learn more liberty and R+ but we just dont have that around here. You’re lucky to find english sometimes.

Now, I will say going trainerless without experience or a good amount of experience can be a bad idea. It would be wise to get a few lessons for a couple months just to get some help, but honestly I wouldnt worry too much about dropping a trainer and the idea. I stopped riding with a trainer 2-3 years ago and i love it. You can figure things out at your own pace, you can worry more about how your horse is feeling than how you look etc. I know people hate internet trainers but theres lot of blogs and youtube videos that teach the basics of liberty and you can sort of figure it out on your own. The only tough part about not having a trainer or someone experienced to help you is you will hit bumps and think youve messed it all up when its just a little glitch. And also knowing when to stop and end your sessions.

Maybe you can take leasons for a few weeks or a couple months and just get the feel of your hopefully new horse then when you feel confident enough on your own you can take it into your own hands? Hope any of this helped and good luck!

[Deku_is_best_boi]

I have started to train my horse amigo, with a trainer of course, and with lounging he seems to have gotten a little bit aggressive and won’t trot/canter when asked, sometimes he won’t walk. He also tends to try and run into me, rear, and kick at me, especially in a round pen. Any tips to fix this problem? (I was also told he was a left brain introvert)

He is (95% of the time) an angel in saddle, he has a natural flying lead change, and is just a great horse to ride overall. When it comes to shows, it doesn’t turn out well. The last show I went to with him, I was almost thrown off and I didn’t try and show him the rest of the night to this day. He hasn’t show in three years, but I excpected a little better of him. I have had him only for a half a year to a year, I got him in like April during spring break(for me). I was thinking I could take him to show and only do ground work till I think he is ready to be ridden, then to be showed. Thought or tips on how to fix this problem with him?

Daisy on the other hand, we believe she my have been abused before we got her. She is very skittish and won’t let anyone ride her. With ground work, I can’t use the carrot stick, I have to use the lead because she is very sensitive. She tends to pull the lead, and she gets in your personal space, but she has gotten ALOT better since we first started with her. She has only been ridden a few times and did quite well with my little brother. She has tried to throw me off and has thrown my dad. Any tips on how to get her to be able to be ridden by almost anyone?

I am only 14 and have been only working with them about a month. I am working with Amigo with the trainer and what I’ve learned from that lesson I apply to daisy. I just need help with what to do, like good excersises, etc. I would also like some suggestions on what to do to start jumping both my horses. Currently I can jump about 2ft and I have jumped amigo about that high before, but not daisy as she cannot be ridden just yet.

[Huggles]

I have started to train my horse amigo, with a trainer of course, and with lounging he seems to have gotten a little bit aggressive and won’t trot/canter when asked, sometimes he won’t walk. He also tends to try and run into me, rear, and kick at me, especially in a round pen. Any tips to fix this problem? (I was also told he was a left brain introvert)

He is (95% of the time) an angel in saddle, he has a natural flying lead change, and is just a great horse to ride overall. When it comes to shows, it doesn’t turn out well. The last show I went to with him, I was almost thrown off and I didn’t try and show him the rest of the night to this day. He hasn’t show in three years, but I excpected a little better of him. I have had him only for a half a year to a year, I got him in like April during spring break(for me). I was thinking I could take him to show and only do ground work till I think he is ready to be ridden, then to be showed. Thought or tips on how to fix this problem with him?

Daisy on the other hand, we believe she my have been abused before we got her. She is very skittish and won’t let anyone ride her. With ground work, I can’t use the carrot stick, I have to use the lead because she is very sensitive. She tends to pull the lead, and she gets in your personal space, but she has gotten ALOT better since we first started with her. She has only been ridden a few times and did quite well with my little brother. She has tried to throw me off and has thrown my dad. Any tips on how to get her to be able to be ridden by almost anyone?

I am only 14 and have been only working with them about a month. I am working with Amigo with the trainer and what I’ve learned from that lesson I apply to daisy. I just need help with what to do, like good excersises, etc. I would also like some suggestions on what to do to start jumping both my horses. Currently I can jump about 2ft and I have jumped amigo about that high before, but not daisy as she cannot be ridden just yet.

For the first one, I am not a trainer and I would definitely consult your current trainer about this. For a while my horse was doing this when lunging. She got too stressed out about moving and got very grumpy. I wish I could have handled it a different way but when horses get aggressive you need to give back the same energy, you cant have animal 10x your size pushing you around.
In the roundpen, get a whip of some kind like a dressage whip and hold your horses head relatively close to the halter. Keep your hand up close to your head to block him if he lunges at you. Keep him flexed inwards and ask him to move his hind around you. If he tries to bite, bop his nose or jerk the halter to tell him thats no. Tap him with the whip if he kicks at you. If you keep him flexed towards you, he shouldnt be able to rear, buck or bolt too easily but if he does dont stop asking him to move his hind, give back more energy until he moves. This is what I did with my horse until she realized her behavior was wrong and wasnt the right answer and wasnt worth the effort. Its a lot of work for a horse to be doing tight turns like that and sooner or later he will learn to cooperate. Once doing that for a while he should get the gyst that biting and kicking is a big no and you can try to lunge him, and if he acts up, bring him in and do that exercise til he straightens up.

The second horse, really work on trust exercises. Desensitizing and everything. Then you can start working on other things, but to work with horses they need to not associate your tools with fear. Once shes more comfortable with moving away from pressure not out of fear, when she pulls on the lead, ask her to move her feet. She should learn pretty quick its easier to stay on a loose lead.And when she gets too close, teach her to either back up or ask her to move around you. The for the riding part, everytime she bucks or throws a tantrum, make her work. Trot around, do lots of turns, back up etc. For horses that like to try to throw people off, you have to make that hard for them to do. A few wet saddle pads later should straighten her up in my experience. And end things on a good note.

No guaruntee of course that these will work for you but it has on every horse ive delt with.

And jumping, theres different workout plans that you can find and follow and adjust to your horses needs. I dont have much experience with jumping, I just jump when I have to on trails over logs and such.

[Maven.]

@Alfred// congratulations! I hope you’re able to get her thats so exciting! As far as lessons go, I feel ya. I love bareback and would love to learn more liberty and R+ but we just dont have that around here. You’re lucky to find english sometimes.

Now, I will say going trainerless without experience or a good amount of experience can be a bad idea. It would be wise to get a few lessons for a couple months just to get some help, but honestly I wouldnt worry too much about dropping a trainer and the idea. I stopped riding with a trainer 2-3 years ago and i love it. You can figure things out at your own pace, you can worry more about how your horse is feeling than how you look etc. I know people hate internet trainers but theres lot of blogs and youtube videos that teach the basics of liberty and you can sort of figure it out on your own. The only tough part about not having a trainer or someone experienced to help you is you will hit bumps and think youve messed it all up when its just a little glitch. And also knowing when to stop and end your sessions.

Maybe you can take leasons for a few weeks or a couple months and just get the feel of your hopefully new horse then when you feel confident enough on your own you can take it into your own hands? Hope any of this helped and good luck!

@Huggles Thank you so much for the advice I might look into a lesson for a few months so that I'm not going completely blindsided and I have already watched a few liberty training videos and how-tos as well as some blogs once again thank you for the advice I truly appreciate it

[bantry bay]

i’ve been riding for a few years now, and have managed to convince my parents to purchase a horse for me. we have the boarding barn, and the costs planned out. the one thing i’m stuck on though, is what breed should i get? i ride english, and jump often. anybody known any good jumping breeds that aren’t the very common ones, such as warmbloods?



Retired thoroughbreds (i dont even know if i spelled that right) are great for jumping


as lovely as ottb's are i wouldn't recommend them unless you can go out and ride at least 4-5 days a week, they get pretty crazy if they aren't. speaking from experience - my barn has 3, and i've ridden 2 of them.
personally i would suggest warmbloods, sport horses, quarter horses, thoroughbreds, etc, etc. perhaps a large pony if you want to lease before you buy, i love my lil dude very much and despite his attitude i've jumped him 3'. just my thoughts though!


I have started to train my horse amigo, with a trainer of course, and with lounging he seems to have gotten a little bit aggressive and won’t trot/canter when asked, sometimes he won’t walk. He also tends to try and run into me, rear, and kick at me, especially in a round pen. Any tips to fix this problem? (I was also told he was a left brain introvert)

He is (95% of the time) an angel in saddle, he has a natural flying lead change, and is just a great horse to ride overall. When it comes to shows, it doesn’t turn out well. The last show I went to with him, I was almost thrown off and I didn’t try and show him the rest of the night to this day. He hasn’t show in three years, but I excpected a little better of him. I have had him only for a half a year to a year, I got him in like April during spring break(for me). I was thinking I could take him to show and only do ground work till I think he is ready to be ridden, then to be showed. Thought or tips on how to fix this problem with him?

Daisy on the other hand, we believe she my have been abused before we got her. She is very skittish and won’t let anyone ride her. With ground work, I can’t use the carrot stick, I have to use the lead because she is very sensitive. She tends to pull the lead, and she gets in your personal space, but she has gotten ALOT better since we first started with her. She has only been ridden a few times and did quite well with my little brother. She has tried to throw me off and has thrown my dad. Any tips on how to get her to be able to be ridden by almost anyone?

I am only 14 and have been only working with them about a month. I am working with Amigo with the trainer and what I’ve learned from that lesson I apply to daisy. I just need help with what to do, like good excersises, etc. I would also like some suggestions on what to do to start jumping both my horses. Currently I can jump about 2ft and I have jumped amigo about that high before, but not daisy as she cannot be ridden just yet.


not sure how to help you with daisy, perhaps try trust building activities? as for amigo, make sure pain related problems are ruled out - we had a little mare who, though sweet and talented, had feet problems we couldn't fix and would constantly buck and refuse jumps. same with our ottb who has arthritis.

--

atm i'm hopping from horse to horse as bailey recovers from eye surgery (two tumors removed (( ). honestly i am not sure what to do with myself! i don't get many opportunities to ride, since, well, i don't have a horse haha. for all of you who have been in the same spot - how to ward off the boredom? what is the best way to get used to all of the different horses? in the past week i've gone from a bolting 16hh ottb, to a stir crazy 13hh jumper mare recovered from laminitis, to a 14hh pony with severe anxiety that causes her to go super fast and 'dirty stop.' not so much dealing with their problems but just adjusting from horse to horse has been kind of a problem, its' so weird to go through again haha ^^

[Deku_is_best_boi]

I have started to train my horse amigo, with a trainer of course, and with lounging he seems to have gotten a little bit aggressive and won’t trot/canter when asked, sometimes he won’t walk. He also tends to try and run into me, rear, and kick at me, especially in a round pen. Any tips to fix this problem? (I was also told he was a left brain introvert)

He is (95% of the time) an angel in saddle, he has a natural flying lead change, and is just a great horse to ride overall. When it comes to shows, it doesn’t turn out well. The last show I went to with him, I was almost thrown off and I didn’t try and show him the rest of the night to this day. He hasn’t show in three years, but I excpected a little better of him. I have had him only for a half a year to a year, I got him in like April during spring break(for me). I was thinking I could take him to show and only do ground work till I think he is ready to be ridden, then to be showed. Thought or tips on how to fix this problem with him?

Daisy on the other hand, we believe she my have been abused before we got her. She is very skittish and won’t let anyone ride her. With ground work, I can’t use the carrot stick, I have to use the lead because she is very sensitive. She tends to pull the lead, and she gets in your personal space, but she has gotten ALOT better since we first started with her. She has only been ridden a few times and did quite well with my little brother. She has tried to throw me off and has thrown my dad. Any tips on how to get her to be able to be ridden by almost anyone?

I am only 14 and have been only working with them about a month. I am working with Amigo with the trainer and what I’ve learned from that lesson I apply to daisy. I just need help with what to do, like good excersises, etc. I would also like some suggestions on what to do to start jumping both my horses. Currently I can jump about 2ft and I have jumped amigo about that high before, but not daisy as she cannot be ridden just yet.

For the first one, I am not a trainer and I would definitely consult your current trainer about this. For a while my horse was doing this when lunging. She got too stressed out about moving and got very grumpy. I wish I could have handled it a different way but when horses get aggressive you need to give back the same energy, you cant have animal 10x your size pushing you around.
In the roundpen, get a whip of some kind like a dressage whip and hold your horses head relatively close to the halter. Keep your hand up close to your head to block him if he lunges at you. Keep him flexed inwards and ask him to move his hind around you. If he tries to bite, bop his nose or jerk the halter to tell him thats no. Tap him with the whip if he kicks at you. If you keep him flexed towards you, he shouldnt be able to rear, buck or bolt too easily but if he does dont stop asking him to move his hind, give back more energy until he moves. This is what I did with my horse until she realized her behavior was wrong and wasnt the right answer and wasnt worth the effort. Its a lot of work for a horse to be doing tight turns like that and sooner or later he will learn to cooperate. Once doing that for a while he should get the gyst that biting and kicking is a big no and you can try to lunge him, and if he acts up, bring him in and do that exercise til he straightens up.

The second horse, really work on trust exercises. Desensitizing and everything. Then you can start working on other things, but to work with horses they need to not associate your tools with fear. Once shes more comfortable with moving away from pressure not out of fear, when she pulls on the lead, ask her to move her feet. She should learn pretty quick its easier to stay on a loose lead.And when she gets too close, teach her to either back up or ask her to move around you. The for the riding part, everytime she bucks or throws a tantrum, make her work. Trot around, do lots of turns, back up etc. For horses that like to try to throw people off, you have to make that hard for them to do. A few wet saddle pads later should straighten her up in my experience. And end things on a good note.

No guaruntee of course that these will work for you but it has on every horse ive delt with.

And jumping, theres different workout plans that you can find and follow and adjust to your horses needs. I dont have much experience with jumping, I just jump when I have to on trails over logs and such.

Thank you i will definitely use this to help!

[Deku_is_best_boi]

i’ve been riding for a few years now, and have managed to convince my parents to purchase a horse for me. we have the boarding barn, and the costs planned out. the one thing i’m stuck on though, is what breed should i get? i ride english, and jump often. anybody known any good jumping breeds that aren’t the very common ones, such as warmbloods?



Retired thoroughbreds (i dont even know if i spelled that right) are great for jumping


as lovely as ottb's are i wouldn't recommend them unless you can go out and ride at least 4-5 days a week, they get pretty crazy if they aren't. speaking from experience - my barn has 3, and i've ridden 2 of them.
personally i would suggest warmbloods, sport horses, quarter horses, thoroughbreds, etc, etc. perhaps a large pony if you want to lease before you buy, i love my lil dude very much and despite his attitude i've jumped him 3'. just my thoughts though!


I have started to train my horse amigo, with a trainer of course, and with lounging he seems to have gotten a little bit aggressive and won’t trot/canter when asked, sometimes he won’t walk. He also tends to try and run into me, rear, and kick at me, especially in a round pen. Any tips to fix this problem? (I was also told he was a left brain introvert)

He is (95% of the time) an angel in saddle, he has a natural flying lead change, and is just a great horse to ride overall. When it comes to shows, it doesn’t turn out well. The last show I went to with him, I was almost thrown off and I didn’t try and show him the rest of the night to this day. He hasn’t show in three years, but I excpected a little better of him. I have had him only for a half a year to a year, I got him in like April during spring break(for me). I was thinking I could take him to show and only do ground work till I think he is ready to be ridden, then to be showed. Thought or tips on how to fix this problem with him?

Daisy on the other hand, we believe she my have been abused before we got her. She is very skittish and won’t let anyone ride her. With ground work, I can’t use the carrot stick, I have to use the lead because she is very sensitive. She tends to pull the lead, and she gets in your personal space, but she has gotten ALOT better since we first started with her. She has only been ridden a few times and did quite well with my little brother. She has tried to throw me off and has thrown my dad. Any tips on how to get her to be able to be ridden by almost anyone?

I am only 14 and have been only working with them about a month. I am working with Amigo with the trainer and what I’ve learned from that lesson I apply to daisy. I just need help with what to do, like good excersises, etc. I would also like some suggestions on what to do to start jumping both my horses. Currently I can jump about 2ft and I have jumped amigo about that high before, but not daisy as she cannot be ridden just yet.


not sure how to help you with daisy, perhaps try trust building activities? as for amigo, make sure pain related problems are ruled out - we had a little mare who, though sweet and talented, had feet problems we couldn't fix and would constantly buck and refuse jumps. same with our ottb who has arthritis.

--

atm i'm hopping from horse to horse as bailey recovers from eye surgery (two tumors removed (( ). honestly i am not sure what to do with myself! i don't get many opportunities to ride, since, well, i don't have a horse haha. for all of you who have been in the same spot - how to ward off the boredom? what is the best way to get used to all of the different horses? in the past week i've gone from a bolting 16hh ottb, to a stir crazy 13hh jumper mare recovered from laminitis, to a 14hh pony with severe anxiety that causes her to go super fast and 'dirty stop.' not so much dealing with their problems but just adjusting from horse to horse has been kind of a problem, its' so weird to go through again haha ^^

We have looked at him and havent seen anything that could be pain related, i was told he was a left side introvert which makes him kinda pushy and aggressive.

As for switching, after a while you just get used to it. I have ridden many different sized horses/ponies. I have ridden a 28 year old pony (who now is probably 29) and was jumping two foot. I have ridden different sized quarter horses(2 now 3 year old, 3 now 4 year old, 4 now 5 year old, and a sway back 24 year old (now retired)), i have ridden a small haflinger (daisy), amigo, and two different sized icelandic horses. I have also ridden a very chunky-ish kinda short quarter horse, as well as miniture ponies (ones you can ride dont worry). I have ridden mostly stubborn horses, so i have to kick and use the crop alot. I would (personally) just keep riding different sized horses/ponies till you get used to it.

[Hyensa]

My 15 Y/O gelding Elvis and I have done 10.4 miles in the past 3 days with a break on the 2nd day.
Am having tons of fun getting back in to riding. They've just been sitting in pasture for the past year and a half.
He was used to pack elk, deer, bear and etc through long hunting trips in his early years.

[Maven.]

@Hyensa

Wow, he is absolutely beautiful I can't believe he's only 15 years old he looks younger.