breaking a horse

[Denise Elmer]

I have two questions for anyone that can help me.
First one-how old does the horse have to be to beging breaking them for riding? I have been told two and one lady I spoke with said she would never break a horse before they were three.
Second question-Is it possible to do it yourself? I am afraid that if someone else breaks her, they may break her spirit as well. She is a wonderful horse with us, but can be a bit feisty. Thank you for any help you can give. Please don't think that I am crazy to want to break this horse myself. All my life I have wanted a horse. Now, i have the opportunity to handle one on my own and I'd like to try to do this with help from others but not by taking my horse away to a stable for months at a time.

 

[Mossy]

I am setting myself up to be shot down here but personally I think the breaking, as a discrete event in a horse's life is not the the way to do it. I feel that education should be a long term continuous process, based on trust and respect between horse and rider, and for that the rider, by definition, has to be heavily involved in the process. Expert help is essential, for safety as well as to assist and guide, but the help has to come to you, or both you and the horse go to it but gentley continue the education in between visits. My friend's Dartmoor pony was wild off the moor six months ago but is now accepting a soft saddle pad and bit no problem at the age of just 3. She will not be ridden until she is 3 1/2, and then very lightly but her education wil continue in the meantime.
However in order to suceed you need self critical confidence, endless patience,lots of time, a level of horse sense, a sense of humour - especially at yourself, and, last but not least, a very large tube of superglue as a kit complete with a rubber backside, for bouncing on when the glue fails.
She sounds lovely, and just the sort of horse that would easily be "broken" by somebody heavy handed rather than educated to co-operate.
Sorry to get on my soap box but I am undoing the damage that has been caused to a sensitive young horse,who was "broken and turned away" and then met up with an insensitive "expert instructor", and it is taking me months.
GOOD LUCK and keep us posted

 

[Maci]

Breaking In

I've never broken in a horse before, but I say, it's your horse, and if you know how to break it in, then go for it!
Good Luck!
Maci

 

[Silvia]

I would not start riding a horse before he is three (rather later). Like Mossy said the education of a horse is a continuing process and there are lots of things horses can be taught before you ride them (lunging etc.) If you can do every part of it yourself really depends on how experienced you are. If you need help you could ask a friend or instructor whom you trust to work with your horse while you are there so you can make sure she doesn't have any bad experiences. Good luck with your lovely horse.
Silvia

 

[Wally]

Try not to use the term "breaking", go instead, for training.
If one breaks a horse's spirit in the process of training him to carry a rider, one has failed big time.

Training a horse for the first time can cause all sorts of problems. Try to get expert help to work with you if you decide to train her yourself. Read plenty of psycology books, this will help you understand the horse's pont of view. Don't read normal behaviour as bad behaviour, you have to understand why a horse behaves in a certain way so that you can treat it appropriately.

As for the right age a lot depends upon the breed. Fast maturing highly bred animals can be trained sooner than slower growing hairy horses. Icelandic horses training does not start until they are 5.

 

[Allie]

I think, as Wally said, that the age at which you start riding should depend on the horse. I have a 5 year old mare who was first ridden a few months before she was two. She was ridden bareback in a full cheek snaffle, very gently, and then was ridden off and on (probably 5-6 times a month) until I bought her at age 4. From that time on she has been ridden about 5 times a week, and she has turned out to be a wonderful horse. My friend and I helped to start another horse at our ranch, and we started riding him when he was 1 1/2. He is a tall TB type gelding, and he is now 2 1/2 and doind fine, no problems at all from being started that early. I would say that ideally you would wait to start a horse until age 3, but you can do it sooner. It also depends on how they are kept. Both these horses are part of a 30 horse herd that roams about 150 acres, so even though they were started early, the still have plenty of time to just be horses. If you were to start a stalled horse at age 2, they would probably be less receptive to the training and less willing.

Allie

 

[LC]

Hi Denise! I don't know of too many people who actually "break" horses anymore. That is roping the horse then wrapping it around a snubbing post, slapping a saddle to its back while it frantically tries to escape, then grabbing an ear and twisting it while mounting and taking off at a full buck. That kind of work did break some horses spirits and as a youngster growing up, I did not respect people who "broke" horses. I think it is very possible in New York to find a good TRAINER to educate your horse and maybe seperate the fiestiness from a potential problem. Every good trainer realizes that each horse has its own personality and the goal is not to turn out robots, but to develop the potential of that particular animal. It is well worth the money and effort to hire someone to at least start her for you and allow you to be part of the process. At the end you will have added to your knowledge base and have a foundation to maybe start another horse. As a trainer, I have just worked with so many young horses with some serious problems that were seeded at the very beginning of their training by inexperience. A trainer has worked with a variety of horses and has a variety of methods to use and that's important. If you do decide to go on your own, study horse psychology and lots of different trainers ideas. GOOD LUCK and happy trails!

 

[dbarton]

Mossy, I totally agree with you! I, too, am working with a three-year-old that wasn't trained properly or slowly. It has been a year now and I have his trust and cofidence now and we have come a long way together with lots of patience and understanding. Please, everyone, find a great trainer. Your horse depends on good ground work from the beginning of his life and if he doesn't get it, you have a horse that is scared of everything. I am so glad that I was the person that bought this horse, because I would hate to think of the kind of punishment he might have received because of the way he acted. It was terrible. He, at times was so frigtened of people, he would hit the back wall of the stall if someone tried to enter it. I couldn't tie him or anything. He was supposed to have had all his ground work and had been ridden for 90 days. Thank God, I had my love of animals to help me and although I became very frustrated at times, I sure he did, also. But everything is turning out wonderful! All I'm saying is KNOW YOUR TRAINER!!!!

 

[liz--y]

I started my own pony we introduced her to tack at 3 then we long reined and lunged her to get her balanced etc without a rider we didnt introduce a rider till she was nearly 4. and we are gradully bringing her on in her own time.

As for age it does depend on the horse but there bone structre isnt really to care a rider till 3 yrs before this it may cause damage later on in life. let your horse grow up a bit

I think you should only start your own horse if you have plenty of experince and you are very paicent and have plenty of time and also that you have someone round that you can help if you come across something that you arnt sure what your ment to do about it.

good luck
Liz

 

[jezlendy]

Breaking

Just a note to let you know you can find a basic guide to breaking and training by going to http://www.mkequestrian.co.uk click on the livery and training link, at the bottom of the page you will find a link for a guide to a 6 week breaking and training course. This will give you an idea of the type of things you should be doing with a young horse, the 6 weeks is only a guide, its the course the author uses for training owners horses when they have to reach a certain point in the training by a certain time. But it might be useful starting point for you.