Re: Saddle Training Snafoo?

["superpat" <superpat@gateway.net>]

Dear Susan,
I commend you for your willingness to jump in with both feet to try to break
your horse yourself. But I am very concerned that you would allow your 10
year old to get into the saddle of a horse with this little work on him. It
is courting with disaster. Please reconsider for the sake of your child and
your horse. Bad mixture.
When I broke my first horse (three years old), I was also inexperienced. I
did many things I would not do today, but the thing that I think was right
was that for the first several times, all we did was mount. Period. I think
it is John Lyons in one of his tapes who gets on and gets off and announces
that the horse has had his first ride. I think that if someone is holding
the lead rope, the horse is not yet ready to be mounted. He should feel
comfortable standing there with you. If he tries to move off, he is not
ready to be mounted. I think that your just putting weight on him would be
similar to putting your weight in the stirrup again and again until the
horse is comfortable with that. But, I would caution that you want to take
it slow. Take all the time it takes, as Pat Parelli says, so that you don't
have to take the time. I know that the clinicians show how they can get on
and ride an unbroke horse in less than two hours. I don't think that is what
you want. Give the horse a chance to become comfortable with all of this new
stuff. Just to sit on his back and have him stand still and be accepting is
enough for his first ride. Maybe two or three times a day just get on, sit
there and then get off. After several days, maybe sit there for a longer
period of time. One mistake that I made when my horse would not move off,
was to squeeze her sides. I ended up sitting in the sand of the arena that
time. I think that John Lyons and Pat Parelli suggest that you just turn
their head using one rein and the horse will move off of it's own volition.
You will get there but just give yourself and your horse a chance to get
there comfortably. Take it slow. Don't expect too much and you will not be
disappointed and you will get there faster in the long run.
Good luck
Pat
----- Original Message -----
From: Jerry & Susan Milam <milamj@agtelco.com>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Cc: Amanda <raynor@npwt.net>
Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2000 9:37 PM
Subject: RC: Saddle Training Snafoo?


> All  right.. This isn't a purely "endurance" related question....but I
> NEED HELP:( Please.. I am trying for the first time to green break a
> youngster. I have no experience prior to this. I've studied videotapes
> of Parelli and Lyons, watched Buck Branaman greenbreak a youngster who
> hadn't been handled at all, and read lots.
>
> I've got a 3.5yr old who I'm starting to get under saddle. He's been
> handled a lot and is exceptional at yields on the ground. I've been on
> him 3 times now in the past few weeks, but today we hit a slight
> roadblock and I don't know what to do next. He has a well fitted saddle
> on with halter and reins w/lead rope attached.
>
> I start out by having my husband hold Dandy by a lead rope and we ask
> him to "stand" there. I have a mounting box I use cause I have terrible
> knees. Then I place the box next to him and step upon it slowly. I stay
> there stroking his topline and withers until I see his head relax and he
> gives me his ears. Then I pull the saddle toward me to give him a feel
> of what it will be like to see how he reacts to the feel. Then I lean
> across the saddle with my feet still on the mounting box and observe to
> see if the green lights are still on. With green lights still on, I put
> my foot in the stirrup and put my weight in it and stand there and step
> down. Green lights still. Then I do the whole mount. He spins a little
> but nothing uncontrollable.
>
> He settles down and Jerry just holds the lead rope loosely after he
> stands then I give him a little squeeze and he moves off into a nice
> slow walk. We work on turning right and left and yielding off my leg,
> stopping and backing up. He did all these well except stopping quickly
> and backing up. He did all that consistently for 20 minutes. I know not
> to give youngsters too much in one session, so I have Jerry make him
> stand and I pull free of both stirrups and swing my right leg around and
> dismount. The othe times I've done this he stood well, this time he
> decides to start spinning as my leg comes across...I'm sure I didn't
> touch his rump on the way down.
>
> Anyway, my 10 yo is waiting to get on and see what he's like. Dandy
> refuses to stand next to the mounting box. We go round and round with
> him for 30 miuntes or so with no avail. Sarah gets her foot in the
> stirrup and a soon as she pulls on the saddle a little to pull up he
> starts the ole spin rountine.
>
> Well now our short lesson is approaching an hour. John Lyon's says you
> shouldn't end a lesson on a negative note.... You should always get the
> horse to end with a "yes" answer. Well, then I decide to try mounting
> again with no difference in the scenario...so after 5 more minutes, I
> decide to do the Lyon's technique of round pen reasoning..he wants to
> keep moving off while I'm trying to mount...I'll just help him and drive
> him around the pen. I make him change directions 3 or 4 times and stop
> him. We try the mounting box again....no deal. This went on for another
> 20 minutes with no appreciable change in allowing me back on his back. I
> had to quit because I had other obligations this evening.
>
> I probably should have stopped when he wouldn't let Sarah on, but I felt
> he would have had his way if I had just stopped. He gave us all green
> lights until I dismounted, then all we could get was red lights. Maybe I
> did nick him w/my foot on the way down? I don't what else could have
> done it. Either that or he was just overloaded after my 20-30 minutes on
> him and couldn't deal with it any more.
>
> Any and all reasonable critique and suggestions will be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> I hope I haven't ruined this sweet horse. HELP! Please.
>
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Susan and the Dandy horse
>
>
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