How To Start A 2 Year Old Horse For Saddle Work (Part 1)
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- čas přidán 7. 04. 2023
- This is part 1 of a multipart series where I break down all my training with my 2 year old B.C. Wildie, Annie, to get her ok with having a saddle on. If you want to see the raw training videos, they are available on Patreon or CZcams memberships.
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Awesome video and demonstration, this has tons of great information Graeme.
If I may suggest, when you're putting the saddle on for the first couple of times is to make sure work both the left and right side of them. I understand the normal way to saddle a horse is from their left side, but there might be time you have to do it on their right.
Something else that's important to me, when starting a horse under saddle I suggest removing the stirrups for the first couple of sessions. I do this for two reasons...
First, young horses are naturally curious and they will flex to see/sniff the fenders and stirrups, and maybe even put them in their mouth. When that happens, they can easily get either their upper or lower front teeth caught, and if it's their lower they can then break or severely injure their jaw. Ask me how I know this, our 2yo did exactly this in a literal blink of an eye, thankfully I had worked with her a bunch and she was very calm, but she was on the edge of panic. The only way to get her out of this was to take the saddle off from her right side (why I work both sides with a saddle), which is not so easy with a western saddle. She was thankfully okay, and within a few minutes she was back under saddle.
Second, if a horse does decide to react and start bucking or jumping the loose stirrups will not bang into their sides causing them to react more with each movement.
After a couple of times/days, and you've witnessed their lack of reaction to the saddle I'd say it's safe to put them back on. For those reading and learning about this process please be aware, they're still young horses being started and they could react terribly the very next day or following week.
I also like the suggestion of using a barrel, but make sure the barrel has lid or is solid like one in this video. Reason for this, if there's a way for a horse to get themselves into trouble or injured they WILL. In this case, if a horse reacts and started jumping or bucking and they get one or more legs into a barrel you're going to have a serious problem for both yourself and your horse on your hands. This could possibly negate all the progress the two of you have been making.
When starting young or new horses you really have to look at your surroundings and ask yourself, is there anything that could injure me or the horse or even provide a negative learning experience. Even with all the preparation in the world, something can still happen, nothing to be fearful of just know anything can happen so always be ready without producing negative energy or influence.
Hopefully this helps someone down the road, thank you for reading.
Rick
Thanks Rick, these are all great suggestions. I don't think I ever would have imagined the idea a horse would get their jaw stuck, thanks for sharing that story!
I realize my training ideas and techniques will likely never show the situations you talk about and understand the limitations of being able to teach the really bad stuff to everybody. This is one of the reasons why I spend so much time with my horses so that I literally never have that happen here. I do understand it happens though, so these are great tips that everybody should pay attention to. I'm going to pin your comment for everybody to read.
@@StableHorseTraining thanks for taking the time to read and respond to my post. I typed that while I was eating a quick lunch and I did not do a very good job in the proof reading and sentence structure department. Sorry!
I learned about removing the stirrups from a local trainer friend that starts a lot of horses, this after I told him about what had happened to me. It was truly a learning experience, and for that I am grateful!
Completely agree with your comment about spending as much time possible with the horse. The help you provided me with the ground work was invaluable and very much appreciated, and I can say without a doubt it absolutely helped with starting her. The ground work and desensitization laid the foundation, and there was never a moment when she felt the need to react. Her actions demonstrated we had a trusting connection, and to repeat myself, this was due to the great information you provided on your channel and our private on-line lessons/discussions.
Currently I am working with a 28-30yo OTTB rescue that we've homed. She was on death's door step in Texas, at a last stop before Mexico, when she was rescued on Christmas Eve by a group from California. She spent 2 months in ICU and has recovered nicely, but now I need to work on her manors and ground handling. She improves everyday, and I believe that's due to the ground work we have done by asking her to think and problem solve, rather than just react. God knows how long she has needed to react leading up to this point.
Thanks again for all the great information.
@@rickm0208 Another thing people don't realize that can get stuck in a horse's mouth is a horseshoe used as a handle for a sliding bolt closure on a stall door. A friend of mine's horse fiddled with the horseshoe until he got it stuck on his bars. Then he reared in panic ripping his lower jaw almost completely off. A team of excellent vets save him and he was lucky to have a complete recovery. I shudder every time I see things like that now.
@@MaureenYost yikes, that must have been horrific! Thank you for sharing that experience, and it goes back to, if there’s a way for a horse to get hurt they will find it.
@@rickm0208 No kidding. We have a tendency to accidentally leave booby traps around for them.
Annie is doing so well
Annie did very well at that. She has a good solid mind on her.
Already 2 years old🎉 time flies.. She has done so well! It's amazing how quick she learns.. A very promising little filly👏
Gosh, she reminds me more and more of the filly I had years ago. She was super bonded to me due to having to hand feed her so she was calm like Annie and easy to train. She was so smart as a foal that she started running up onto the manure pile to do her business after watching me dump manure onto it when mucking out her stall. This is very relaxing to watch as well as informative. Thanks, Graeme.
Thank you :) I appreciate that very much
Hi Graeme! What a joy it must be for you to work with Annie. She is developing into a beautiful companion horse. I love how you work gently and with purpose, and not in a hurry!
It is a joy to work with her, she's wonderful
Little Annie passed with flying colors today 🎉❤ !!!
I did a similar thing today! my mare is 2 years old next week! I had a training girth around a saddle pad, it was one of the first sunny days in our country so nice and she was fine with it. But after i was done she was so fast , turnt around and went rolling on the ground with all the stuff on her still 😂
Anne is doing awesome.
This was a really excellent presentation! The points are clear and easy to follow. Annie was a such a great little student! It’s hard to believe she is new to saddling. She is so calm and trusting. 🥰🐎🥕🥕
Nice job my friend. Annie trusts you so much, I think she's going to be pretty easy to saddle break. You did excellent 👍 Graeme! Blessings always my friend 🙌 Jennifer
She did very well. Thank you for showing all that. 👍
Annie did wonderful 👍 great job
Go Annie great job
What a lovely peaceful thing for me to watch too. I needed that today 😏
Glad you enjoyed it :)
You do an amazing job
Thank you very much
So...was I the only one giggling when she moved during brushing?
Looking very good. She trusts you!
Beautiful horse & very calm thanks to you Graeme.
Thanks for the demonstration.
you're welcome
A year already?? Crazy.
Annie looks like she’s grown a bit. I am so glad you saved this little gem. I wonder if all wildies are like the ones you’ve cared for. And are all the stallions gelded? What parameters do you use to decide what Wildie you choose to take home?
I don't know of anybody that leaves them as stallions after adoption but I'm sure some people do. I don't have any parameters so far... maybe "breathing and walking" :) Both Annie and Mr. Wilde were the last of their bunch and were on the list to "go back". So that might be it.
@@StableHorseTraining well, then, either you are doing a fabulous job with the ones at the bottom of the barrel , so to speak, or all Wildies have great temperaments. I tend to believe the former.
@@kkdoc7864 Well, that's going on the idea that they are the bottom of the barrel. Most people just pick the "pretty" ones with "flashy" coloring etc. They could very well all be the same :) I have no idea. So far... they're the same for me throughout all 5 wildies that have been here.
@@StableHorseTraining I was using Thanatos “barrel” comment to mean they were passed over, but I can’t imagine why looking at them now after a year and more with you. Night and day with even their appearance. And another thing. To have a horse from the wild, who lost all their friends because of people, should be very distrustful of everyone and everything, yet practically within days, you got a draw. With Mr Wild, I remember having tears over that early encounter with you.
@@kkdoc7864 They're really amazing horses and I'm looking forward to see if my theory stands up to the next one :) We'll see!
Do you have a video on saddle fitting for a horse? What to look out for?
I don't unfortunately. I think there are so many out there that I don't know what I could add. Do you have any questions about saddle fit?
@@StableHorseTraining Nothing specific, just the very basic facts. I'm a beginner with horses and don't know what to watch out for. At the stable I recently went to check out they just pick any saddle and throw it on any horse, but I heard saddles should be adjusted or even specifically made for a horse and can cause a lot of health issues if poorly fitted. So I don't know now. Can saddles be harmful to horses if they don't fit properly? Should saddles be custom-made for a specific horse? And how do I recognize a poorly fitted saddle?
Those are good questions. Yes, poor fitting saddles hurt horses, just like a bad pair of shoes hurt our feet. A saddle that is "custom made" to fit a horse, usually doesn't fit as well after too long of exercising or lack of exercising for the horse, and in turn is almost never worth the cost of making one unless you truly have the money for it. A saddle should fit front to back, length, so it doesn't go past the rib cage for sure. Tree saddles have "bars" in them, those need to fit within there, most do. From there it's the shape of the bars that matter per horse. The amount of curve parallel to the length of the horse to fit the curve of their back and the angle on each side of the horse's back from the spine downwards. The bars will have their own angle too, some are fit for "wide" horses with a shallow angle and some are for "fence board" horses with a sharper angle. Those two are very important as the pommel can sit down directly on the withers which is painful for horses as it's their spine essentially.
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She is such a good horse ! How old does she has to be to ride her?
I would advocate for 4 years old at least
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