Now in autumn the seriousness of life begins for many young horses. When they come from the summer pasture to the home stable, in a way the "schooling" is on the calendar. Before the horses are broken in over the winter months, they must first learn the ABC for young horses.
Basics of horse education
If you have a young horse and now you want to train it for its Career as a riding horse you should already have experienced in dealing with horses and be a real leader. After all, you want your horse with calmness and consistency so educate, that you can go through thick and thin together for many years.
To the Basics of horse education heard that your horse is well-behaved in everyday handling. It should be able to be tethered and stand quietly while grooming. Of course it is important that the horse can be led safely and can later be lunged and broken in without problems.
Educate with a sense of proportion
The art at Horse education consists of Balance to find between sovereign consequence and between inappropriate hardness. You want to get your horse on your side and not bully him. Therefore you must also again and again Calmness and harmony in handling strive and therefore with good behavior also praise again and again. That is education with professional sense of proportion. Treating a horse too harshly or even unfairly can certainly cause trouble. Horses have elephant memory and do not really forget. Between you and your young horse should gradually be a partnership arise in the form of a hierarchically ordered togetherness.
Calmness, patience and consistency
The most important things in the training of a young horse, besides expertise, are calmness, patience and consistency. Treat your raw horse "like a raw egg". So be very careful and cautious. But: do not pack it in absorbent cotton and above all: Assert yourself!
At the Education and training your horse is rarely only smoothly. You will always be referred to Resistance or Lack of understanding bump. This is quite normal. Setbacks belong to "grow up to it. This is no different with horses than it is with people. And also that pace, in which your horse learns not always the same. Sometimes it understands its tasks promptly, sometimes it has to repeat a lesson several times. Often it actually needs a break, a day off, to think about the tasks and what you have learned.
Understandable tasks
All that you want to teach your horse, you must clearly understandable make and through countless repetitions manifest. If sometimes things don’t go fast enough for you, keep in mind: one good basic training can not be replaced by anything. The mistake, that are made in the basic education, are later on very difficult to eradicate and in the end they cost more time than if you now use one or the other voice command Task once again more often Repeat. That gives security.
Deep trust
Ideally, your young horse will have already learned to Foal age the multiplication tables of a well trained horse go through. Often, however, the offspring unfortunately lacks any nursery training. This is not unproblematic. Because of course easier to teach a foal to lead and tie or to lift its hoof and touch it while grooming, than an almost fully grown giant baby of 500 to 600 kilograms.
But: If your horse can’t do anything yet and you have to start from scratch, understand that as a Chance. you can just do "everything right" and your horse so get used to everything, that it free of fear and full of trust learns. Real and deep Trust, you will notice this again and again later, is the strongest bond between horse and rider.
Playful contact
Before you start to train tying up and grooming in the stable, playfully engage with your horse. Go to him on the pasture and touch and tickle it, so that it learns, touches as pleasant to feel. As a rule, horses love such cuddle units and accept touching all over the body. Also that Aufhalftern is usually no problem. You can first wipe the neck with the halter and then halter up in a correct way. You have to be so skilled at this that it barely noticeably dips into its halter and you can then slip it over it briskly, but not frantically. The halter may not too tight be strapped, but must be strapped in such a way sit tight, that it does not slip off the head at the first pull on the rope.
Lead young horses correctly
Leading you can already learn in the context of many exciting tasks from the Ground work prepare. Many of the lessons work also without halter and rope only by means of Body language. If you succeed in getting your horse to see you as a "Leader animal" accepted, it follows you willingly – even without rope. How to learn a real "Leadership personality you will find out in one of our upcoming articles. Promise!
When leading, your young horse should neither charge ahead of you nor trot behind you. You should lead at shoulder height. Go energetically forward in steady pace. The rope hangs with it easily through. Make sure that it does not dangle on the ground – not even the end of the rope. A taut rope encourages rebelliousness. According to the motto "Pressure creates counterpressure" young horses in particular react to constant pulling on the tight rope with a slightly petulant attitude and brake instead of being pulled along. in the worst case they even pull against you. Of course you also have to teach the following during the lead training Stop practice. Stand still and parry on the rope, if the horse wants to go on. Give additional Speech command. "Ho" or "Stand" are common and much better than "Brr". Whatever you say, say it loud and clear and above all always use the same command!
Stand still when tying up
To make it easier for your young horse to Tying calmly stands, you can be to him the first times Favorite food in a mobile crèche at the grooming place. This distracts and makes standing a tempting affair. Also one Hay net is a welcome distraction and helps against boredom. However, this must hang high enough so that your horse does not fall when he starts pawing restlessly! Of course, your horse should learn to accept tethered standing. However, some horses do panic at first when they are restrained and feel the pressure of the halter on their neck when they try to break away. To avoid a rollover of the horse when tearing loose, tie a straw ribbon between halter and rope. This predetermined breaking point tears when it really comes to a panic attack. If you know that your horse panic when tying up gets, pull simply the rope through the tether eyelet and keep the end of the rope in hand. The more trust your horse gets to you and the new situations, the sooner he will accept being tied up.
Gentle grooming
cuddling while grooming is great for many horses. However, make sure that your horse does not become overconfident and correct consistently even minor naughtinesses such as.B. Nibbles.
Also with daily care the basic principle applies: Young horses need well trained and even minor insolence should be punished consistently. Horses that step from one leg to the other while brushing, nervously pawing or hyperactively fidgeting around, will consistently corrects. If they stop with the naughtiness praised. Often the young horse will accept grooming as an opportunity to become "active" yourself. Finally the coat crawl in the herd to the quite typical social contacts. But: since you are not a horse, you must not accept even small nibbles. Too quickly it turns into veritable biting, especially if you groom in places where your horse may be ticklish. A stern no, a clear pushing away of the horse’s head, possibly a gentle rebuke in the side – all this makes it clear to your horse: Not like that!!
grooming Your horse with calm and gentle Movements. A light pressure you can exercise on the brushes, but just at bony places you have to be very carefully brushing. What exactly you have to consider when grooming, you will learn in one of our future articles.
Lunging as preparation for riding
To your horse at lungeing girth, saddle and snaffle and above all to get accustomed to a first aids, is suitable the lungeing the youngster. However, this should only be done in moderation happen. For many reasons: For example, it is difficult for young, still unbalanced horses difficult to run in a tight circle. Because they are not yet "set", they try their salvation in the forward in order not to get completely out of balance. But this works Ligaments and joints. Of course it is right that you lunge your horse in fresh forward, but do not let it race and do not lunge for longer than 20 to 25 minutes. On the lunge you practice all three basic gaits. You let your horse on command trotting and cantering and train that too parade. The horses learn the equipment in motion and you also have to pay attention to your commands to pay attention. What you have to pay attention to when lunging, especially young horses, will be covered in one of our upcoming articles.
In many activities with the horse it is best ALWAYS to wear gloves so that you can protect your hands from injury.
First class equipment helps
Whether you are grooming, tying and leading, or lunging, you should use top-quality equipment for everything. You should ALWAYS wear gloves when leading and lunging. They protect your hands from bad injuries.
The soft padded nylon halter Supreme with a high feel-good factor is at the same time very robust – so ideally suited for young horses.
Use a stable halter for leading and tying up, but one that is comfortable for your horse. It should not cut, not chafe, and not tear apart at the first opposition. The bridle, lungeing girth and saddle must also fit your horse well, be buckled correctly and sit comfortably. Your horse should not find it uncomfortable or even painful to put on and wear the equipment. The lunge line should be at least eight meters long, so that you can circle your horse in a large enough circle around you lungeing can. The Buckling must be robust and durable, but smooth-running.
The training of young horses is a real challenge. But in the end there is nothing better than to train your inexperienced youngster to become a trustworthy veteran with whom you will have a lot of fun in daily handling, in hand and under saddle. The old saying "Always go slowly with young horses" should be the headline of your training.
The KIEFFER team wishes you good luck with this.
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