Horse Training Success

Hi everyone,

I'm looking at the mountain of emails requesting help with this and that and thought I'd grab a few and answer them here on the blog. The three below are all basic questions. We'll get in to some curlier ones later.

1. Do you have any tips for starting a colt 1 year old for pulling a buggy. What do you start with first, she is already halter broke and leads well.
A. One is generally too young for a pleasure horse, as opposed to a racehorse, to be doing anything other than getting used to being handled. Leave her until she's at least two, preferably 4 and fully grown before asking her to start working for her keep. That's great that she's halter broke and leading. You could get her used to the bit, but again, it's probably too early. Let her be at least two. You could get her used to seeing other horses pull a buggy, so it seems normal to her when her turn arrives and you could get her used to wearing a harness, without strapping her up to anything. Definitely let her get up close and personal and comfortable with the buggy so it's not a big scary monster. And maybe try leading her from the buggy too.

2. I am wanting to break in my miniature pony for my son. Does it work the same for miniatures as it does for large horses?
A. Very short answer to this one. Yes. A horse is a horse is a horse. The psychology behind training horses is the same no matter what the breed or the size.


3. When training a horse do you start with bonding (such as brushing and going on short little walks) or do you start with a bit and saddle as first thing???
A. I am throwing this question back as another one. When wanting to cultivate a long lasting friendship, is it better to be slow and patient or in their face to get to know the other person?

Hope these help. Feel free to post your comments too.