Okay, so you just bought a young horse and he is too young to get under saddle and your thinking, "What can I do until he's ready to ride?" Well, fret no more. There are a lot of great things to teach him, so when you are ready to step up in the saddle, he'll walk off without a hitch. He will already know how to move off pressure, stop, turn, and move forward with energy.
Get your round pen ready, and let's get this new horse off to a great start. Make your round pen with at least 13 to 14 panels of 10' lengths. Set the panels with the horizontal bars on the inside. If your horse bumps into the panel, he won't hang a hip on the vertical bars. Get a cotton lunge line. Some people use a roping rope, and that's fine; I like to use the soft cotton rope first. You may want to use a long stiff whip if you need to keep him off of you. Do not use it as a weapon.
If you can walk up and catch your young horse and lead him into the pen with control, that's great. If not, then start where you can. If your horse is in a large field, move him into a smaller space.
So, you go into the pen, and your horse walks away. The closer you get, the faster he'll walk or run away. Don't try and hide the halter from him; you don't want to start your relationship out tricking your horse. When your horse turns to walk away, your horse is showing you disrespect, and this is the time to smooch him off. This will put you in a control position. He might be thinking he is leaving you, but you will be moving him off; there is a big difference. At this time, you are no longer trying to catch him. You are now teaching him that you will be making the decision as to when he moves and where. When he stops moving, walk towards his front, and at the first sign he is going to turn and walk off, lift the halter and smooch him off. Just pick up the halter and lay it back against your leg. You don't want to scare him off, just move him off. When he stops again, repeat this. It won't be long before he will stop and look towards you. At this time, stand still and see if he will look to you. If he doesn't, then move towards him and smooch him off again. Pretty soon, he will allow you to get closer and closer. Only walk towards him when he stops and looks at you. When he does, take a step back and to the side. He should start following you with his eyes and head. When you can walk up to him without him turning away, pet him and walk away BEFORE he turns away from you. Do not catch or halter him at this time. You are now preparing him to be caught and to stand still when you walk to him
When you start walking towards him, if at ANY time he starts to turn away, you stop and take a step back. If he stops and looks to you, then walk up, pet him, and walk away. He may stand there or start to follow you; that's great. Pet him and walk away. Then, walk back and catch him. But, if he steps away, smooch him off. Remember, this may take some time. So, if you know you can't walk out and catch him, then decide this is what you will be doing, and be prepared to do this exercise. Don't rush this. You don't want him running from you. This makes you dread even going out to mess with him. He needs be thinking that you are making the decision for his movements and when he is allowed to stand still. When he stops and turns away, that's when you move him out again. You want him to stop and turn towards you without his head up, body rigid and on guard. This is done by using this simple exercise. When you can walk up and touch him, walk away, and move him off. When he stops, turns, looks at you, and stands still without turning away, halter him. Remember, you are teaching him to allow you to walk up and catch him, so at this point, catching him is secondary in the lesson. Pretty soon, he will stop walking away and be looking to you more often, and he should be looking a lot softer. Don't put the halter on him until he is soft all over and looking as you come to him. He will soon start to follow you after you pet him. Then, you can go out, and he will come to you.
Another situation is when you have him haltered on the lead rope and his feet are stuck in the dirt. No movement in his legs means no movement in his mind. Always remember you are not training the body, you are training the mind of your horse. If you don't train the mind, then you will be fighting the body, and their bodies are too big and powerful to fight. Train your horse's mind, and you will have the horse. When people use gimmicks to get the horse's body to do or stay in a certain position, they are fighting the horse's body, when they should be training the mind.
Okay, so he is on the halter, and his feet are not moving. You need to get his mind thinking movement. So, do what you did when he was walking away. Hold the lead rope about half way down and smooch him off. Don't get into a tug of war with him; you will lose. If you feel him pull back, then put slack in the rope immediately. You don't want him running backwards away from you; he will win. Take a step towards his hip, and smooch again. All you want is willing movement in his feet. When he takes a step with any foot in your direction, stop asking, and walk up and pet him. He needs to know that foot movement in your direction was the correct response to your cue. Then, step out and ask with a smooch for movement, again. Repeat this until he becomes more willing to move off with you. If he jerks loose and runs off, start your lesson over. Be more assertive in your asking for him to move off. Remember to be crystal clear in your cue; the sooner you can react to his movements, the quicker he will learn that moving off will only cause him to move more than he wanted. If you are vague in your cue because you don't want to be "too demanding" on him, you are actually cheating him by not teaching clearly enough for him to understand.
When he wants to stop, and you smooch him off and keep him moving, he will begin to see you as the leader of his pack. Horses are pack animals, and as such, will look for a leader to follow. They are not like humans who have a problem being led. They look forward to having a safe, in-control leader. You MUST be that for him.
Okay, this month's article is on teaching you how to catch your horse. If you can catch your horse and lead him with softness and control to the round pen, let's get started. I know this article may seem too simplistic, but you would be amazed at how many people can not go out and catch their "trained" horse. After all, I am starting at the beginning, and if you can't catch your horse, you cannot begin anything. Also, you should not start with your goal. Start with your goal in mind, but start with the steps that it will take you to reach your goal. Go to the pen with catching him being your goal, and then do the steps it takes to make that happen softly and with control.
Lead your horse into the round pen, close the gate, take off the halter, and hang it on the fence. Taking the halter off will allow your horse freedom, and you'll teach his mind, not physically restrain his body. Hold the cotton lunge rope coiled in your hand, and go to the middle of the pen. Ask him to move out by kissing to him in whichever direction he chooses this first time. Just get his feet moving. If he is flying around as if he is scared to death, then he probably is. Keep this in mind, and give him a few minutes to settle. If he is still running, but not in a wild out of control manner, use your rope, and ask him to change directions by stepping across the pen far enough in front of him so he can see you. If he acts as if he is going to run you over, step back, and push him past. Let him go around one full time, step out a little further in front, and ask for the direction change, again. He should go around and see you standing there and turn back before he gets to you. At that time, move back to the center of the pen. Let him move around a few times and relax, and then ask him to change back, doing the same thing. At this time, it doesn't matter if he turns to the inside or outside; he will probably have his head toward the outside, without paying much attention to you. Once he is changing directions without getting wild and out of control, start a distinct direction plan. I will give you the direction plan and how to make it happen in the next issue. Do this just until you see him looking towards you and watching you; he should calm down and relax. At this point, you can practice walking up and petting him and moving him off, again. Make sure he is more relaxed when finished than when you began. Remember, you are building a relationship with your horse, not just trying to get through this part of the training.
My main goal with these articles is to help you and your horse have a partnership that will last a lifetime, not just getting through it. It will be well worth it. Always stay consistently correct. Have fun, relax, and happy training.
