I figured I would do another post rather than responding the comments. There's sooo much that could be said about all this. Let's see how well I can articulate my thoughts. I should also remind everyone that my experience is strictly dressage, so some things might be different in the western world.
Nuzzling Muzzles had some good comments/concerns about starting her young horse herself and finding a reliable trainer. But, I want to discuss this comment: "everyone has to start training a horse at some point otherwise we wouldn't have horse training professionals."
Horse training professionals do not START out by training babies. At least, not the good ones. :-) Most trainers put in their mileage first with horses that have already been started and they work their way up. Mostly working as an apprentice or assistant to an upper level trainer/rider. Some are able to get in their mileage on their own horses and start training lower level riders/horses and slowly work their way up as they and their students do well. And, all good trainers work with trainers. The learning is constant, it never ends. Even for trainers.
Even though a horse might be pretty well along in training, everytime you ride it, or just handle it from the ground, you're teaching it something. Every time you ride it, you're training it. When I bought Jeeves, he had been schooled and competed through 2nd and had done some 3rd level shows. But, partly because of my limitations and partly because of some "lapses" in his training, I basically brought him back to training/1st level. For him, it was mostly to remind him about stretching and staying supple. He had a habit of getting stiff and heavy in the bridle. So, even though he's my "schoolmaster", I'm still training him every time I get on him. This knowledge will help me immensely if/when I get a younger horse. I know the aids to apply for a given movement, how to apply them correctly, etc. So, you are gaining experience training when you work with Lostine and Bombay. I'm not saying you shouldn't start Gabbrielle yourself, just whatever you do, proceed with caution and awareness. From what I've read on your blog, I think you have enough introspection and respect for the horses that you would realize when things are going wrong and seek out help. I think if you can find a trainer that will work with you that would be the ideal.
The trainer that the owner was going to send this horse to is someone that I know and respect as a trainer and instructor. She is one of the best: honest, reliable, positive, is not abusive to the animals, starts the babies out with good, solid basics, builds their confidence, etc. So, I knew that would be a good place for this horse to go for a year. If I were to ever buy a baby, I would only do so if I could afford to send it to this trainer or another one that I trust and respect for a year of training. However, having said that, I would be having lessons and participating in the training process as much as possible. Probably starting out with long lining and moving on to riding when the baby was ready to have my incompetent butt on it's back.
I've had 2 young horses--both fairly well started before I got them. But, even though they were both well started, they were still incredibly challenging. Babies will throw things at you and you need to be quick to be able to stop it, before it gets out of hand. If the horse misbehaves you need to have a secure seat to be able to stay with the horse and remain balanced so that you can still apply aids and send it forward without grabbing it's mouth. You need to know what aids to apply without thinking about it.
Jeeves is my confidence builder after a couple of accidents with those 2 youngsters. He's been very good at helping me get over my fears. With him, if something scares him and *I* get nervous, it's not a big deal. He's not going to bolt or do anything dangerous. While I'm up there on his back shaking and trying to remember to breathe and not clutch the reins, he'll just continue on, maybe giving whatever scared him a wide berth, until I recover and go back to riding him and telling him what to do. My moments of panic are pretty rare now and don't last as long. I have learned I can keep riding with my seat and not clutch the reins with a death grip.
With a baby, those moments of fear and hesitation would only make the baby more frightened. They learn confidence by having a confident rider to guide them through all the frightening things they're going to encounter. They learn things are not a big deal that way. On a baby, those moments of panic open a door that allow the horse to bolt or rear or who knows what. And, they learn those are acceptable ways of dealing with scarey things when being ridden. Like the horse I discussed in my last post--he learned that flying backwards was something he could do. The owner was never able to effectively stop that once he started it and it has now progressed to rearing. If he had had more training in the beginning with a professional, or even if the owner had worked more closely with a trainer at the beginning, he probably never would have learned that he could go backwards.
Horses are extremely forgiving creatures. Most mistakes can be fixed, if they don't go on too long. But, it's so much easier and safer if you can get a baby off to a good start with a solid foundation. Then, the rest of it's training goes much easier.
6 comments:
I completely agree with you. What you wrote about Jeeves is exactly true of Keil Bay. He was solid second level, schooling third, and his default mode is to notch down when faced with a discombobulated rider.
He will spook sometimes - but his spooks are so balanced and elegantly executed, I have never even lost a stirrup or my balance. His spooks are mostly either lateral movement or pirouettes, a bit sped up, but proof he can do the fancy footwork when he needs to. :)
Keil Bay had to come all the way down to where *I* was for the first two years. Now we are at the place where I can relax into his big gaits and not do that death grip thing.
With Cody, who we bought at what we thought was 3 going on 4 (already a stretch imo, but we fell in love with him) he turned out to actually be TWO going on THREE. We were lucky he is very laid back. He isn't spooky, but I have to remember that there are certain things he has simply never seen yet. Basic things - like soaking boots. Like you said - things can happen quickly, and in that quick moment, what we do teaches them something. It can be a good thing, or a bad thing. I don't trust my experience enough to make sure all the things would be good ones, with a baby.
And because I will never want to send a horse off for training, I'll have to get the next one already trained, at least in the basics. I think there's one more out there waiting for me, but Keil Bay is going well for now and we're really just getting to the prime riding time of our partnership, so I'm looking forward to it.
Interesting tidbit - Cindy is good friends with the woman who owned Keil Bay for 5 years, and who I bought him from, so she "knows" him already. I have got to get in touch with her and set something up.
Thanks for addressing my comment in a post. I think having a professional work with the owner in starting a young horse is ideal in any case. It's never made sense to me to send a horse off to a trainer, have the trainer educate the horse, but not educate the owner, because once the horse is back in the owner's hands, it will probably pick up some bad habits without that owner education.
NM -- I hope it helps. Sending the horse off for training works IF it's a good trainer AND the owner takes lessons with the horse during the training process and continues lessons (either with the same trainer or a different, compatible one) once the horse comes home. I've seen people who kept sending their horses off for 3 months of training every year or two but they never took lessons, so the poor horses never progressed, were constantly confused, and developed all sorts of bad habits. That's a waste of time and money!
When I first got my Dutch gelding at 3, I knew I wasn't good enough to train him. We were at a barn where I took lessons and rode my daughter's horse. My daughter was away at college so I gave the training of my boy over to the trainer I took lessons with, after a long while, I started to take lessons on him. Simple, walking a little trot. No cantering or jumps for over a year. We both progressed together and things turned out okay.
I recommend sending young horses to reputable trainers too, but I think it is so important for the owner/rider to also take lessons, so you can understand each other and learn together.
So many people want to save money, and I understand that, but then why get a horse who needs extensive training in the first place if you're not willing to pay for it. Pinching pennies won't do the horse favors, he will more than likely wind up in a bad situation.
Hi Ann.....enjoyed reading about your life here and love it that you're living YOUR dream.
Several of the blogs I follow are horse-related. Don't know how that happened exactly. I just enjoy them.
Come on back anytime and thank you for reading about my "Kitty Baby" and for your very kind comments.
I usually write humor but some of life's moments don't have that to offer. If you are interested in humor, check out "Toothaches and Technology." Being in software you probably don't struggle with the madness many of us do but, I think you'll enjoy it anyway.
All the best.
Robynn
Too much human ego combined with too little horse experience usually spells disaster for the horse. I confess I do not have much sympathies for the owners who refuse wise advise. Sigh. I'm sorry that happened. I will hold that good little horse in the Light.
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