So I bought my first horse, his name is Jai. He is a 5 year old Arab 14.3 hands. As I don't have a saddle I am trying to teach him to ride bareback. I rode him in a saddle before I bought him and he was fine, a little sensitive and spooky perhaps.
When I decided to mount him bare back, he took off bucking. After falling off I decided to go back to basics. I started with getting him to stand still while I leaned my weight over his back. Slowly increasing the amount of time. After 3 or so times of him being good I would take him for a walk. After doing this process 5 or so times increasing the length and movement amount as well as throwing my leg over he improved.
Finally at the end I managed to sit on him standing still for about 15 seconds then I dismounted and let him go for the morning. Am I doing right? How should I proceed from here so I can eventually get him to walk on without the risk of bucking?
Slow steps Silphy - that is good. Some horses are extremely sensitive in the back and bareback can be a little confronting for them. Also again, do lots of groundwork lessons on flexion and teaching him to yiels. When he has all that going well, then you are ready to ride but they really do need to learn all this from the ground first. If you would like a really good reference book for this kind of training one is available called "Through the eyes of the horse" by Carlos Tabernaberri and is available from his website under Whispering Acres - it is a really good reference book - easy to read and understand and has photos that will help you achieve your goals. Good luck, Jan
I've been doing a bit of dually ground work, but I want to do some long lineing, just need to save up for a roller/surcingle. Have the halter and long lines already. :) Will look into that book, thanks for the tips.
I think you will find the book very helpful in attaining the best possible relationship with your horse and to be honest I would invest in the book before a roller, when you can afford it. Cheers Jan
Is it the book Through the Eyes of the Horse - Finding Common Ground?
That one is listed on the apple ebook store, will that do? Or do I need the Common Ground, Common Goals from the website?
The one I have is common ground common goals. I don't know the other book but it may be worth checking out if it is one of his.
It's like an e book of his original book but with integrated video and stuff :) ill check it out and let you know how it is :)
Look forward to your feedback Silphy. Cheers Jan
Hey Sylphie;
Its a lot of fun eh? I started riding when I was ten and never used a saddle until I was in my mid twenties. Maybe I'm just simple, but I had a difficult time adjusting to use of a saddle...lol. Its very different and interesting to have someone doing the "opposite"...: )
Its the way I start all my horses, and most have had absolutely nothing done with them but lead.
I learned this from a gentle old trainer from somewhere in the southern states and have used it ever since.
I cross tie them, and very gently and slowly using a small towel or blanket, go over the entirety of their bodies, repeatedly until I get no nervous reaction whatsoever. Takes about 5 minutes. I do this every day until I can do it at a farily brisk but smooth pace with no reaction at all.
Then proceed to do the same with a large saddle blanket.
Then you can proceed to a saddle, just put it on kind of halfway, and take it off immediately. Then do that again, and in about 2 or 3 minutes you will be taking that on and off with relative quietness.
However, (ya I know) we are not using a saddle.
So, get a mounting stool, never mind the height of the horse, get a mounting stool that puts your diaphragm a little lower than wither height. This, so you can just lean over the horse and then, get off quickly, but smoothly. Keep doing this and over a period of 3 or 4 days start hanging more and more of your weight on him until you have all of your weight on him.
Then slowly bring yourself around to sitting on him, very quietly, and just sit there, do nothing. After a couple of sessions, start moving around, shifting your weight, making hand movements and so on. All along this process, by the way remember to give lots of praise and kind words.
Then, once you feel that he/she is calm and accepting, just walk him on out off the cross ties.
I usually take about 2 to 3 weeks for the whole process. I know its longer than most people take, but I don't care, it has never failed and I have never had a horse buck around, not that I have started anyway. Mind you, I do take weeks some times if needed, as they are all different, and I never force or use aids.
Your horse is already trained so you of course won't be so laboriously doing this, but I did want to mention the whole process with a green horse just in case any one out there was interested.
Oh, and by the way, as Jan said, and as usual, she's right, keep up the ground work and so on. If your horse is already fairly well trained you should not even need the surcingle.
If its never been used on them, you will need patience in acclimating them to that. So, as Jan recommends, the book would be the most intelligent purchase prior to the surcingle. You will probably find that you won't need or even want it.....sorry if I appear to be preaching here....: (
Cheers, and the best of luck.
Paul
I use a very similar method to Paul - we don't all have round pens and spare people around to help us with things(I have someone else do the sitting on the horse as I'm too heavy!) but all as you described Paul, except I don't use cross ties. An old horseman trick from someone who worked big working horses too is a 'girthing rope' - just a simple soft rope tied round the girthing area (release/tighten/release/tighten etc. so they get to learn the feel of something just gently squeezing. I also prefer minimal riding gear - when I do ride a little I use a saddle pad that I have had stirrups/leathers sewn on to with a soft handle on the front for 'backup'! I find saddles really weird (western saddle is more comfortable) - I feel like I'm perched up there whereas with the saddle pad I feel connected to the horse. It was a great revelation to discover I was "allowed" to do this!!
Well Silphy, you have great advice from Paul and a very good follow up from Vicci so good luck and you sound like you are on the right track and will give it your best go. I hope you enjoy Carlos way of doing things also.
Paul, many thanks for your kind words - I am very humbled and appreciative that such a knowledgeable person as yourself would concur with my thoughts. Hope the Dutch Warmblood is progressing well.
Cheers
Jan
Hey guys, thanks for all the comments. Here is an update of where I am at. I read Carlos ebook and learned a lot. I have been doing ground work with him every day and did some of the process pmpleau mentioned. On Saturday I got my bother to come with me, he held Jai for me while we went through some of the weighting on and off processes and then I got on, my brother let me around and Jai behaved perfectly. After a bit he took the lead rope off and Jai continued to follow him around, no problems at all. I dismounted and all was good.
However today I tried to do this without my brother, I got on and Jai was fine and even got him to move off at a slow walk (keep in mind i was riding in a rope halter with endurance reins attached kinda like Carlos does) Jai didn't really want to listen to me and kept wanting to go over to his feed bucket (which was 4 meters from the paddock fence so he couldn't get it but see it) after about 10-15 minutes he decided he'd had enough and bucked me off really hard...I ended up on my butt again, I got up and took hold of the halter and asked him to back up and he did. I walked him over to the mounting block and got back on, walked around for a little bit more with no real problem then dismounted and left it at that. Where do I go from here, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong to make him buck =(
I know I should disengage the hind quarters when he goes to buck, but sometimes I forget in these situations >.<
Back to the groundwork Silphy for a while longer for now - this should be done for days if not weeks to ensure it is all fully understood and so your horse really understands all the flexion and yielding - so very important for riding. Can you move the feed bin out of sight for the time being and if not keep him working doing lots of different movements to keep him focussed on you and his work and nothing else. If he is concentrating he should not even take notice of his feed bin for the time you are working him. Also if you are a little apprehensive because of his bucking he will know that - do you have a more experienced person who can get on him a few times to disengage the hindquarters. Also is he bucking - all four feet off the ground or pigrooting - just the back feet leaving the ground? Also you may want to think about giving him shorter riding time to start with - just get on and do a few exercises keeping him motivated and before he can lose interest or you just wander around without any purpose finish and get off so you finish on your terms not his. You did the right thing by getting him to accept you on his back again and finished without incident - always finish where you want to start the next day. I hope this helps and look forward to hearing more about how you are going. Cheers Jan
He does so well with the vertical and lateral flexion, does quite well with cirles both ways on the rope, I think I might need to work more with yielding front and rear as he doesn't fully understand what I want from him with that.
I think I will leave the feed bin in the car next time lol. My goal was to ride him around a fraction longer then I did the previous time, but as I went he started to get more excited too, wanted to trot etc
It might also be he is getting sore, he is skinny, sensitive and has a boney back. I want to take it slow as I don't want to make his behaviour worse, but how can you tell when he's ready on the ground that he is not going to buck when I am on him? Or is it really just a case of wait and see?
Well as far as the groundwork goes it is a case of him willingly responding to your requests without any extra cues and not until all ground lessons are done in this way is he ready to ride. The fact that he is sensitive probably has a lot to do with his bucking but also you have to be really alert to any little things he does so you can short circuit bad behaviour before it starts and I know it's not as easy as it sounds but this is where the groundwork comes in as you learn so much about his reactions while not on his back and staying safe. It is really about slow and steady and taking as much time as you need to feel that all is right for you to proceed to the next level. When you do ride him please be very aware of how he is responding to you so you can preempt his tendency to buck. Hope this helps a bit more Silphy. Perhaps Paul has some more valuable input also. Cheers Jan
Thank you so much for your help Jan, I'd be lost without everyones comments and input =) Will keep posting on our progress.
One other thing Silphy - you say he is skinny so not sure how much weight he is carrying but if he is a fair bit underweight it may be best to not ride him until he gets some condition on him and is able to get some muscle along his back. Please feel free to post anytime and I will do what I can to offer advice and I do hope some of it helps. Good luck and best wishes, Jan
He isn't emaciated or anything like that, the guy I bought him from wasn't feeding him so he lost a bit of weight, like his ribs sticking through a little and boney in places. I didn't ride him like this, I've had him on good hard feed (maxisoy for weight gain) and extra hay and you almost can't see his ribs anymore, that is where he is at now.
Hi - just a thought to add.
It is interesting that he was better behaved when he had your brothe leading him and then followed him when the lead rope was off. This is not uncommon in unconfident horses; they start off following the person on the ground and you, on his back, essentially are temporarily just a passenger. The transition then needs to come from moving away from following/listening to the person on the ground to listeninig to the person in the saddle and the horse trusting that the person in the saddle will 'take care of things'. I agree with everything Jan says, lots of groundwork, minimal riding if he is still bony. I strongly recommend more longlining work too to build up his muscle - putting weight on doesn't mean he has put muscle on.