Training schedule…
Ok last night I got my 100 lessons mark. And I now want to put together a training schedule for my mini horses and my paint mare. Here is what I am thinking. I would like to get some feedback if this is a good idea or not. I am thinking of working with my horses 6 days a week and giving them one day off of training.
For the mini
1) Join up
2) Long line
3) Tack up
4) Cart Work (she is trained to drive)
5) Free time
For my mare
1) Join up
2) Long Line
3) Tack up
4) Mounted work (Walk, trot, canter, stand still and stop)
5) Free time
Is this a good training schedule or should I change it in any way.
ALSO on another note I have a quick question about my paint mare. I am having trouble with my mare on the left lead. She is very sluggish, she stumbles a lot and becomes very tense, I have to fight her on the bit ever time. On the left lead she has a very very rough gate (on cercal and in straight lines). HOWEVER on the right lead she is 100% perfect, the gate is smooth, she picks up her feet. She is great to ride on the right lead. She is bad on the left lead in the round pen, long lines and when I am ridding her.
Oh Cristenarosehorses,
I am really going to ask you if it is possible to have the mare checked by the vet.
Here's my reason, the horse could have a problem with her spine.
This is one of the problems I have seen with horses who have been single line lunged for a long period of time.
Had she been?
How old is she?
And does she pick her feet up on the left side, really pick up while she is walking or running or does she drag or even miss a beat, as if she is going to fall?
I rode a horse a few times that had this lazy side and when I would go into a trot it felt as though his hind right leg was going to give out from under us. He had been trained on a single line, with a regular training halter and because of his age the damage was done. I don't know what became of him.(He was at a barn I use to use)
When she goes into a lead change you probably know the majority of their weight is on that side, that may be why she does so well on the one side but not the other.
If you're fighting she may be in pain because she is out of alignment, your vet can verify this and explain what needs to be done, poor little thing.
I can't answer you about your schedule, everyone has their own. I do it differently than that but that doesn't make mine better.
You take care,
Ronda
I agree with Ronda that if the horse is that unsure on one side it could be a joint problem, but I would be looking at her shoulder as feel as how the saddle fits. If the saddle is too far forward it can pinch the withers and cause problems as well.
You can do a few little tests your self before you call the vet. Have someone hold the mare with her standing square. Take two fingers and run them down her spine with one finger on each side. Us a good amount of pressure doing this. IF she flinches and moves her back away from your fingers as you are doing this, it is a good indication that she has a trapped nerve, which can be corrected by chiropractic manipulation. If you get no response from her then go to her front legs and lift the right one first and pull it towards you as if you where stretching her. Then do the same thing on the left. Again if she pulls away she is hang pain in that area. With the legs I would test it a couple of time. The more may not be use to being handled that way and is responding to something new rather than pain.
You might also try riding her bareback, if you feel comfortable doing that, and see if she still stumbles. All horse have one strong side and one weak side. They will perform better on one lead and not the other. In that case it is just a matter of slowly building up the muscle response and evening out their gate.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Thank you Both so much. My mare is 4 years old. Started under saddle when she was 2 years old. I have my farrier coming next week and I will ask him to take a look at her. My mare comes to me after being sent to 2 differnt trainers. I dont know what all they did to her as for being lounged. I do know that back in september she got very very ill on me (she got a blockage in her collen, SO i had to keep her moving by lounging her) That is the only time I ever lounged her.
I have also ridden her in a western saddle and australian saddle. I have not put her in my english saddle yet to see how she does under that saddle. I will try to get video next week of me ridding her both directions.
Again thank you both.
Hi Cristenarosehorses,
.
Further to Ronda and Dennis's comments, my horse Ranger was having trouble with picking up his left lead (which is also his least preferred lead) and this problem was corrected by an Equine Chiropractor. So a Vet check on the spine is a pretty good idea.
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I think your Training Program looks pretty good. You could also watch Monty Roberts's videos on Follow Up Days 1 to 4 for ideas too. Depending on how many join-ups you have done with these horses, you could probably start your sessions with join-up for the first 4 days like Monty Roberts does with his new horses. You could also vary the schedule with some Dually Halter work and introducing scary objects like the plastic bags and walking over a tarp etc.
.
Hope it goes well for you :-)
.
Kind regards,
.
Gen
I have a question hope someone got some feed back for me. My 4 year old gelding having difficulty with side reins I think he needs more time with just the long lines so have taken them off. He is only going on the dually as he has not been mouthed yet (does not have a bit in his mouth) as he needs his teeth done first it it normal to find side reins difficult. By the way they are only very loose, not tight at all, and he is reluctant to go forward, walking ok, but very reluctant to trot or canter.
Viv
Are you using the side reins on the dually only? If so side reins are usually used off of a bit, like a snaffle bit to teach headset and flexibility. Don't know if that can be achieved using the dually halter Also your side reins cannot be loose and flopping around. The pressure exerted by the reins is what helps the horse with his head set and flexion. Also are you using the side reins with the long lines? As far as your horse trotting or cantering he may not understand what gait you are asking for. You should push him up to a slow trot by making him walk fast to the point that he figures that a trot is easier on him. Be aware that some horses can walk as fast as some horse trot. Personally I would not ask him to canter until he understands gait transitions from slow walk to fast or extended walk to a slow trot to an extended trot. Remember your boy is only 4 years old so give him the time to learn, don't rush him to active a canter.
Cheers
I just wanted to concur with Dennis.
I'm not sure side reins with a Dually halter is a good combination. Are you fastening them in the correction rings or the buckle to the nose band. The latter would be the preferred choice.
I think fastening in the correction rings would have the same effect as schooling him every time he tries to find support and balance in the side reins, so he would be reluctant to move forward for that reason to begin with.
Hi Viv,
If you go to the videos on long lining 101 in our lessons you will see Monty doing this properly.
Stop the video and you will be surprised where the lines are attatched.
Also, you will see how loose he is doing this and with each step you will see and learn something new.
He also tells us in part 5 how old the horse is he is working with.
Have a good night,
Ronda