Monty Roberts Equus Online University | Monty's Horse Training Post: Starting an older horse

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Horse Behavior and Training

Starting an older horse

By:

Katie B

Date:

2012-Jan-25 at 01:47AM

I've recently taken on a rescue horse (oldenburg mustang cross) that is 8 years old and has never been ridden. She leads with a halter ok, but has spent the majority of her life in the pasture with many other untrained horses. She's very gentle, easy to catch, and already follows me around the pasture, so I think we'll be able to make progress. I know the principles should be the same, but I'm wondering if anyone has tips for starting an older horse that is not used to working at all. Any suggestions are welcome!

stephen 2012-Jan-25 at 03:20AM

Do the same thing Monty Roberts does on starting a colt. Just realize the horse is bigger and probably stronger.
I have started a ten year old horse so it is not impossible. Just remember if your skill level is not good enough don't do it. Stay safe and have fun.

Dennis 2012-Jan-25 at 07:54AM

Katie
I would do a lot more ground work with her before putting a saddle on her
Long lining will help her transition to being a good riding horse. when you put the saddle on for the first time make sure that the stirrups are secured high on the saddle so she can't catch a foot in the stirrup if she starts to buck.
When we start a young horse we give them a lot of ground work with just the saddle on. Like maybe a month of round pen work with the saddle. When they are at the hitching rail we will lay over the saddle or put a foot in the stirrup but not mount. All this work desensitizes the youngster to having live weight on their back. Since you are dealing with an older horse it should go much quicker. I have seen people take a horse that has never been handled and with in an hour they have the saddle on and are teaching it the reining signals, but I much prefer to take lots of time. We give them a first ride of about 15 minutes and then don't saddle them again for 2 or 3 days. They have graduated from being a real green horse to a horse that is ready to be a saddle horse. First rides will be very easy if you do the work, if you rush it the first ride may not be so hot. Either way wear a helmet and a protector vest just in case you horse decides to put you on the ground and walk all over you.

Cheers

phantommustang1 Walsenburg, Colorado, USA 2012-Jan-29 at 03:37PM

Dennis, You go about it nearly the same way I always have, except for the long lining, which I never did, probably because I didnt know about it. I just turned them loose with the saddle, stirrups tied up, and let them do whatever they wanted to do , if they wanted to buck, that is usually when they did, then they would decide that wasnt getting them anywhere and would come back to see what I had in mind next. This could go on for days, just depended on the horse, when they were confortable with the saddle, then came reining from the ground until they had that down, then they would get a rider, which they were ready for by that time. It never seemed to matter how old the horse was, just dome took more time than others. PATIENCE!

Katie B 2012-Feb-18 at 12:31AM

Thanks for the tips. Tesla, the horse I was referring to is doing well so far. We're taking it slowly, but she's doing great under the halter and just got my Dually halter in today, so I'll be introducing that to her this weekend. Thanks!