Starting or restarting my own horse
I want to start my youngster under saddle; can you do this for me or help me do it?
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Starting under the saddle is one of the key moments of a horse's life. I have heard so many sad stories about horses that have been sent away and returned nervous, traumatised or dangerous. I believe it is too much to ask a young horse to accept the saddle and start riding out in 6 or 8 weeks. This is especially difficult for horses if they are sent to new environments and have to get used to new people. Ideally, starting should begin with training the foal and through the next 5 years of their life.
Time to change the way we think about starting
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I believe the equine world needs to move away from sending horses away to starting because starting should be a process that builds the relationship between horses and humans. Starting isn’t the process of finding a young fit jockey who will bounce if they fall off! If you need that sort of person on board, your horse isn’t ready to ride. I want horses to be prepared for starting by their owners so that they build the relationship and create trust, which is essential for future safety under saddle.
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Yes, you may want some help at certain points, and depending on age and physical health, you may want a capable, quiet rider for the first few rides, but you can do the work preparing for all this. This way, you build the understanding and knowledge that will last the lifetime of the relationship. Even if you do want to send your horse to a knowledgeable, calm trainer for the final steps of starting, then doing everything you can to prepare the horse for this transition yourself is vital to help your horse succeed. If they have been trained from the ground in all aspects of starting before the go to a trainer then they are less likely to get themselves into trouble, they will have a relationship with you when they come back and you can know you have done everything to help them succeed.
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You can do the work yourself to prepare your horse for starting. All you need is to set aside preconceived ideas about how long it should take and listen to the horse. Then, get a set of shaping plans to cover things such as long-reining, building trust and confidence, introducing tack, introducing the rider, and preparing to ride out. If your horse hasn’t had the best start in life, then it will require you to do the other plans that build a balanced, safe horse. Your safety is my biggest concern, and taking shortcuts or risks is unnecessary. Starting your horse yourself is the way to ensure they are treated as you want.
Starting your horse yourself is an investment in a relationship that will last a lifetime.
Stop focusing on starting so we can ride, instead foucs on preparing your horse to safely accept a rider.
The world is a dangerous place for horses and riders and your safety and their shouldn't rely on just a few weeks starting with someone else.
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Ben Hart
Hi Laura, I believe owners are the best people to start their own animals because it builds trust and relationships, and leads to long-term success and enjoyment. I have the resources to support people on that journey of starting their own horse which I can guide you to. so I don't take client horses in, BH.
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We’ve worked hard on groundwork over the years and the last few years specifically on our relationship. It’s been wonderful.
I sat on her and had my first ride on her. She barely batted an eyelid when I got on her, we even managed some non-lead walking. She backed up and disengaged her hindquarters too. She was a dream and we had the best first experience.
We’ll have more challenging days, and we still have so much to learn but thank you for encouraging me to do it myself.
Not sending her away to be backed was the best decision I ever made, and I’m so grateful to you for your guidance about that"
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Next steps
You can use this website to find the answers to your next steps with me, whether that be to resolve a behaviour issue, learn about behaviour in general or read more or find the shaping plan you need. If you want to check me out futher please visit the free resources page to see if I am the trainer for you.
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