“Ten Potential Problems When Riding a Young Horse Outside for the First Time”
About Jonna
– If you would like to know more about Jonna then listen to his previous chats
First Chat – 042 – Jonathan McLean
Second Chat – 144 – Jonathan McLean 2 – “Ten Tips for Initial Foal Handling”
Third Chat – 172 – Jonathan McLean 3 – “Ten Steps for Further Foal Handling”
Listeners’ Choice- 211 – Listeners’ Choice Chat (042)
Fourth Chat – 292 – Jonathan McLean 4 – “Ten Tips on The Weaning Transition, Safe, Horse Friendly Ways to Interact with Young Horses”
Fifth Chat – 318 – Jonna McLean 5 – “Ten Training Tips From Weaning to Yearling”
Sixth Chat – 348 – Jonna McLean 6 – “Ten Steps To Starting The Young Horse Under Saddle”
Seventh Chat – 378 – Jonna McLean 7 – “Ten Points to Remember When Training Your Horse”
Listeners’ Choice- 394 – Listeners’ Choice Chat (172)
Eighth Chat – 543 – Jonna McLean 8 – “Ten Essential When Breaking In/ Starting Young Horses”
Ninth Chat – 556 – Jonna McLean 9 – “Ten Tips on Proofing the Riding Aids (From the Round Yard to Open Spaces in Walk, Trot and Canter)”
Tenth Chat – 568 – Jonna McLean 10 – “Ten Things to Remember About Proofing the Aids”
About This Episode
“Ten Potential Problems When Riding a Young Horse Outside for the First Time”
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“Ten Potential Problems When Riding a Young Horse Outside for the First Time”
1) Shying
– The temporary or permanent loos of line
– A mild version of a “cat splat” or one stride deviation of you intended line.
– If left, turn right back to your line, release turn aid once achieved, the either apply leg aid for forward, or allow him to look at frightful cause. Keep his eyes (with a straight body) on the direction. Once his ears tell you they are no longer focused on the cause, apply go aid.
– For greater degrees of line i.e. 90⁰ or more, return him back to the line the way he can. (If you shyed left, turn back using the right rein).
– Greater than 90⁰ he will probably begin to accelerate and bolt away. For this apply stop button first, once stopped turn back via the opposite rein from where he came.
2) Bolting
– Most horse will bolt along the route from which they have come from. Therefore try and choose, if possible, a line which is reasonably straight with good traction.
– Don’t just apply reign pulling pressure, but aim to raise the poll, with rein pressure, but reward with releasing the rein pressure as he begins to slow. Plan B here is turn tightly using one rein, if the traction allows you to do so.
– Cure: training your turns so there is no delay between the rein cue and the front legs adducting or abducting.
3) Bucking
– All legs leave the ground and the poll is lower than the wither
– Bucking or pig rooting the rider out of the saddle immediately rewards the horse through loss of rein pressure. (and ultimately the loss of the rider equals no pressure at all!!!)
– Causes can either be in order of likelihood, not going forward, or bolting with some exuberance eg over a jump
– Cure: having a very light consistent stop button, that if necessary, a raised rein prevents his head getting too low and dragging the rider forward and down
Pig Rooting
– When the horses hindquarters rise vertically, fore legs stay on the ground.
– Most common causes: they are able to do this to either remove the leg or the rein aid, or both! Solution: remove the delay to the rein and or the leg cue (most likely leg delay cue)
4) Jibbing (Not moving at all from forward cue)
– Causes: multiple leg signal with no response i.e. nagging legs!
– Lazy horses are born with this potential, if we can’t train well enough, it will be thus!
– Cure: If an increase in leg/whip or spur doesn’t work, dismount. Return to a place that’s more familiar and make sure the time frame between the leg aid to go forward response is non-existent. If you’re not sure seek professional advice)
– Forward is the most dangerous button to lose. Once practiced, it can result in pig rooting, rearing, bucking and also spinning. Worst case scenario, jibbing, spinning then bolting and bucking all linked together!
– Cure: retrain the forward aid so it is obedient. Don’t over face your horse. Beyond his capabilities. Don’t nag with your leg.
5) Rearing
– When the horses front legs leave the ground an rise vertically and or, spinning on the hindquarters as well. This is probably the response that riders fear the most.
– Cause: he’s not going forward to the aid, or being pulled too hard in the mouth and a horse not knowing the answer to that. Note: If your horse has an ongoing propensity to do this, you should seek professional advice.
– Cure: Ensure the delay from your leg aid to the forward response has been removed and it’s able to withstand reasonable obstacle training tasks/ Train rein back from rein cue, on the ground first, then under saddle (so he knows the answer to both rein pressures).
6) Jogging
– Cause: stop response is heavy therefore delayed. If he wants to be at the front, practice self-carriage at the front, then beside the second horse etc. (The more flight, the worse it gets). Try to remove the cause i.e being behind, going fast and galloping
7) Reefing the reins
– Your horse has high arousal stat and is aiming to run at his speed. Do what is necessary to reduce the rental state and if reefing persists insure that for every rein pressure you apply, you get a reaction from the legs then release the pressure (which is the opposite to what he wants to achieve)
– He would probably also practice this at Halt and also walk which is the most appropriate times to address this if the arousal state is reasonably low. For example: if he does this at halt and snatches the rein, when you have trained rein back from rein use only, then you are ready to apply the rein aid for every snatch he delivers via the rein. (Ensure you only make him reverse one step)
– Within five of these repetitions it will reduce substantially. This horse will also apply rein pressure into the downward transition as well, be attentive to this.
8) Inattentive
– Does he look? Does he change his speed? Does he change his line?
– Does all the above?
– Don’t allow the visual cues to have an immediate effect on the legs wherever possible. Use the reins in such a way he doesn’t learn to snatch them left or right to look at things
9) Delay to the Aids
– Allowing your horse to be delayed to an aid could be your undoing!
10) Outside Influences
– Sometimes the horse may have not seen (chooks, ocean etc)
REMEMBER/OVERALL MESSAGE
Don’t over face your horse with tasks/condition that will allow him to practice these resistances.
Err on the side of caution when training as things that could possibly go may happen
Remember pressure motivates reaction, but what trains him to do the right thing, is the release at the instant you get the correct response.
Remember all errors, (he will), so set aside time to repeat them, when appropriate.
Set the tasks up to be easy, and base them on all on repetition, and the consistency
Stay relaxed and don’t let the horse trick you into doing two different signals at once.
Time Stamp
03:00 – 1) Shying
06:17 – 2) Bolting
10:57 – 3) Bucking
12:19 – Pig Rooting
15:14 – 4) Jibbing
18:10 – 5) Rearing
21:06 – 6) Jogging
11:42 – 7) Reefing the reins
25:27 – 8) Inattentive
27:40 – 9) Delay to the Aids
31:27 – 10) Outside Influences
33:12 – Remember/Overall Message
36:30 – Contact details see below
Jonna’s Contact Details
Phone: 0417 116 471 or +61 417 116 471
Email: jonamclean@gmail.com Website: traintowin.com.au
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/jonna.mclean Train To Win Facebook Page
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