Horse Riders/Trainers

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I don't think it's smart to get on a horse you don't feel you're likely to be able to handle (both the 'keeping in control' part and also the 'dealing with consequences if you were wrong about the first part' part

)

Mind you, 13 year old girls do that *all the time*, but I mean, for us adults <g>

The more middle-aged-er I get, the less openminded I am about "exciting" horses though. I used to enjoy a challenge. Now, the prospect of still being able to walk the next day is almost equally important

Pat

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

I was instructed as a kid to not get on how most people get on, and to dismount differently as well. We were taught to take up the reins with the left hand and adjust the rein length so there is a 'feel' of the horse's mouth. We were also taught to turn the horse's head to the right, first to prevent that oh-so-friendly nip on the backside, but also so if it tried to take off while mounting we could very easily keep it moving on a small circle.

AMEN!!! I cringe every time I see someone get on and THEN pick up the reins. Are they insane?!? Your description is how I was taught to mount and is the way I mount each and every time I mount.

As to getting on a strange horse, I lunge first just because I want some idea of what I am getting myself into. If the horse does not know HOW to lunge, his reaction also tells me a LOT about him. But I always expect and am prepared for an unfriendly response. Even with my own. Even with one that is "supposed" to be easy/gentle/spook-proof/push-button. I like being PLEASANTLY surprised.

If you are afraid of the animal, for goodness sake do not get on the animal because he KNOWS you are afraid the minute you touch him. There is a BIG difference between being careful/cautious and being afraid.

JMO


Rusty​

 

[welsummerchicks]

I was thinking about all the horses I've tried out over the years in buying horses for myself. If I felt anything strange, I would get off - right away - and I always had the seller ride the horse first - if I felt like there was something weird going on wathcing the seller, I wouldn't get on.

Mamma didn't raise no heroes. Well - at least, after I turned about 35 or 40 she sure didn't raise no heroes!

There's sort of a 'decelerating horse instanity meter' that people develop as they age.

 

[Celtic Hill]

Well, to put it bluntly, im 18 and think im invincible!

But, All seriousness. I get on and read the horse, I know where my abilities lay and i evaluate the horse and most of the time i know what i can push the horse to do or not do. If one horse tries to buck or rear when i fist get on i get right off because clearly it need more ground work or fittings checked. oh and lot so this...

 

[PintoPasoFino]

I too used to be the kid that would get on anything. Now that I am older, I am more cautious on what I get on, I have nothing to prove to anyone. Being a riding instructor, I have seen and ridden many kinds of horses. I rely on that gut feeling and the feeling of the horse under me to tell me when to push forward and when to get off.

My concern is though that the more picky I get about the horses I ride, I wonder if I could sit a good old fashioned bucking session anymore. How would I handle an emergency situation again?

I have young horses and saddle break one a year. I make sure my ground work is without as many holes as possible so I have confidence when I climb on the first several times, or anytimes after that as well. I have a friend who adopted an 8 year old never been ridden besides leading bareback horse and wants me to get on and see what he knows. No thanks, unless I have done all the ground training personally so I can feel confident, someone else can do it.

I am still confident enough to do the same things I did when I was younger, jumping bareback, etc.... I am just more wary of the horses I do that on!

 

[2DogsFarm]

Lots of good advice here already.

I wanted to add you need to have a sense of the horse's attitude from the ground, before you mount.
Nostrils flared? Snorting? Ears pinned? Muscles tensed?
May be a Rodeo coming.
These are gross exaggerations, but you should be aware of the horse's state of mind before your foot leaves the ground.

Mounting as welsummerchicks describes you gather the reins, place left hand near the pommel & there you can feel the tension in the horse's shoulder as you prepare to mount.

If the horse shies away or moves while you are mounting, pause, repeat until horse stands quietly for you to get on.

Once you are in the saddle take a second to reconsider the overall tension in the horse's body.
Waiting quietly for you to signal?
Tensed with raised head?
Better safe than sorry, dismount (also as wsc describes!) if you do not feel 100% ready to move off.

Of course, seeing someone else familiar with the horse ride first is preferable, but sometimes either not possible or the rider may be part of the cause of any misbehavior.
Heavy hands or a nagging leg are mixed signals & upsetting to horses who may react with what looks like bad behavior.

My present horse was used as a GP Jumper and rehomed to a H/J barn.
When I went to try him out the young trainer who rode him for me first kept a loop in the rein - fine for a Hunter.
But I ride dressage, and when I got on I took up some contact.
Horse was surprised - tossed his head and took a few short steps, but after a minute or two to figure out this new thing he was fine.
If he had continued to object in any unsafe way I would have gotten off and kept looking.

If you have anyone who can longe you on a horse (riding w/o strrups or reins) you can develop a solid seat that should help you feel more confident riding any horse.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Any physical exertion = nostrils flared. He has only ever backed his ears once while I was riding and that was because I was asking him to gallop. Max does not like to move at a rapid pace...When I hop on, he's relaxed and calm, even calmer when I'm getting off.

When I watch people hop up on a horse that's never been ridden, it scares the daylights out of me. I was just wondering if it was from years of practice, getting bucked off and realizing it doesn't hurt, or having an excellent benefits package that covers accidents?

Absolutely blows my mind.

welsummer, I think you are partially right in that I am very scared to injure my legs. I went through the pain of the surgeries once...I'm not supposed to ride at all but I'll be darned if that stops me from doing it. I'm more scared of my rooster dislocating my knee again than I am on getting myself injured with Max.

When I get on, I have ahold of the reins in the left hand which is situated on the opposing shoulder. I then have my right hand holding onto the other side of the saddle so that I'm not causing the saddle to slip off while I hop on.

I'm just lucky that Max doesn't mind if I kick him in the butt or use his rump to help slide off or get on. I suppose he knows just how clumsy I am.

Another odd question, if the horse is paying more attention to the bit (i.e. chomping) his way along, how do you get him to stop? The only way I've found is to see-saw the bit. After doing that twice, he's stopped chomping, but I want to make sure that I'm not hurting him. I'm riding with a snaffle-type bit. Looks like a curb, but is a snaffle. He moves mostly off of leg and rein signals but every so often we go through the "you want me to turn left? Ok we'll go right" mentality.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Well I obviously can't speak for all horse breakers, but one of ours showed up awfully bleary-eyed and I thought in the middle of the ride he might pull a flask out of his back pocket and shout, 'They say the hair of the dog that bit ya is the best thing for how I feel right now!' I am not sure that one would have felt any pain if he was bucked off.

THE OTHERS - I think they in general 'endeavor to stay in the plate'. Most of them (that last any time anyway) are awfully good at what they do.

Of course, with the warmblood youngsters at one barn, either the hot ones or the 'old type', the people breaking them were 14 year old girls who could barely post the trot. They just did the steps by rote and had very little trouble. A little longeing for a few weeks, and then someone leading the horse when they got on the first time, and then in a few days they were cruising around the ring.

Then there's Paul Williamson. He's not that unique, he's just an old fashioned breaker. Not so many of them left these days but they do the job.

http://www.hybrid-horseman.com/

I think a good many horses champ the bit as they are anticipating the next thing that will happen. Some of them are awfully smart and remember the routine and stand there and champ the bit as if to say, 'well I know what comes next'. For others it is more like, 'Oh I suppose the next thing I'll have to do is do some work'.

With dressage, we're always circling or turning or bending so the champing (well ideally) after a little riding, slows down to a very slow rhythm, and that's ok in dressage.

In other riding sports where all champing is verboten I think working one rein then the other('see sawing') is a common way to stop it.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

When I watch people hop up on a horse that's never been ridden, it scares the daylights out of me. I was just wondering if it was from years of practice, getting bucked off and realizing it doesn't hurt, or having an excellent benefits package that covers accidents?

I'll preface this by saying I ride QHs, which are way different than Thoroughbreds or Warmbloods. Generally by the time I actually swing a leg over, the youngster is long past any notion of bucking. I lunge, drive, drive under saddle. By our first ride he's done it all but the actual full weight on his back, so it's really just an extension of what we have already been doing. In fact, the most common reaction is to plant the 4 feet and refuse to take that first step, so we generally just sit there for awhile. I get on and off a few times. I often leave the walking off part for the next lesson. It's usually the 2nd or 3rd ride where they start getting "notions" so I immediately focus their attention on doing something interesting. Weaving in and out of poles or barrels is usually good for this. This gives them something to think about and they seem to quickly forget about the humping the back part. As long as I don't give them enough rein to drop their heads, it generally works out pretty good. Which is not to say I never get dumped--just that it doesn't usually happen in the first ride or three. Not if the ground work has been solid. But then, I don't believe in "horse breaking". I think of it more as schooling/building a partnership/learning to communicate with one another.

HTH


Rusty​

 

[welsummerchicks]

LOL.

Honestly I have never noticed warmbloods bucking a WHOLE lot ever..probably because they can do so many much more horrible things to us, LOL.

Of course if they DO buck as babies I hope there's nothing solid within a 30 foot radius (AT LEAST) because you are going to FLY, brother.

"Oh look! I didn't know birds flew at this altitude!"

Of course they vary. I had one that as a baby would turn his head around, look at me, and say, 'Please fasten your seatbelt', and give off a tiny little buck.

I think it would be nice if he had one of those collars like the dog 'Doug' in the movie 'UP'.

"I will not buck you off, because you are my master and I LOVE you".