Breaking in a horse

[Yambasticks]

I remember as a little girl my grandfather and uncle insisting and keeping a vigilant eye on the little ones. Stay completely away from a horse that was being broken, and not sure how true it is, but my uncle and grandfather never allowed anyone whom the horse didn't like to even try breaking a horse.

is it true? I also noted they either did ten minutes a day, the second day usually after three days it was 15 minutes, then the next week 20 and then by the end of the week they worked on breaking the horse for an hour sometimes two.

and they also only allowed cousins that were skilled in bare back riding to help break in a horse. were these all right reasons. or could it just have been a family rule?

I don't know, my family love horses, very few have them now, but horses couldn't be in better hand when it comes to them. So I'm just curious because I was a little girl at the time when I noted all of this.

[krazy4birds]

Never was around horses much..... they are very gorgeous specimens of the animal kingdom but I have always been afraid of them??? I have no idea why..... One time when I was about 13 my dad talked me into "just sitting" on one..... that lasted 3 seconds....first and last attempt!!!! lol

[Yambasticks]

what I did not understand was why my grandarents kept au away from horses they were breaking in, and yet wer very picky about who did the breaking in, and used onl one girl skilled in bareback riding and yes with a particular style and routine.

but I also know, due to my experience with bambi you get on and dont have a clue as to what to are doing your in for the ride of your life because the horse knows you dn't have contro.

[special]

I remember as a little girl my grandfather and uncle insisting and keeping a vigilant eye on the little ones. Stay completely away from a horse that was being broken, and not sure how true it is, but my uncle and grandfather never allowed anyone whom the horse didn't like to even try breaking a horse.

is it true? I also noted they either did ten minutes a day, the second day usually after three days it was 15 minutes, then the next week 20 and then by the end of the week they worked on breaking the horse for an hour sometimes two.

and they also only allowed cousins that were skilled in bare back riding to help break in a horse. were these all right reasons. or could it just have been a family rule?

I don't know, my family love horses, very few have them now, but horses couldn't be in better hand when it comes to them. So I'm just curious because I was a little girl at the time when I noted all of this.

I don't know much about horses but all this makes perfect sense to me. I know horses are sensitive intelligent animals and the wrong trainer or method can ruin a horse's temperament, just like any other domestic animal.

[Yambasticks]

In a way it does, and then when you are a small child you wonder. At no time wer little ones aroundthe horse period, Inside out of mind or gone somewhere. Suzy was the barebak rider, I understood perfectly why she was used. After a point a horse becomes nmanagable and his spirit is out and can't be tamed but Suzy could grab a main, and talk camly to the horse while it ran like the wind, buut if it happened it usually took two to three days before the breaking ptovrvur voulf vonyinur. I sure with granpa was alive to tll me but h would say, Hell girl your my granaughtr and you should know things like this. I am all ears to hear other stories. Granda taught many of us to be racers but not all.
Linda

[Yambasticks]

I forgot, when Suzy became the rider of a horse that could not be broken she usually worked with the horse anywhere from 3 to 7 days almost nonstop, and once the horse was used to Suzy, it allowed others to saddle it but was picky and sensitive on how fast things were moved only Suzy could calm this horse and maintained a forever bond with her, but some eventually got used to not using Suzy as a crutch.
Odd, but perhaps it is due to the fact my grandfather was a professional horse racer, and he loved his horses, had hs secrets all love and all indian legend, and he used them, trouble is I've been away for so long that I need to get a tast of horses and a ranch again and to see what and why families do what they do.

[Wiztherewoz]

I remember as a little girl my grandfather and uncle insisting and keeping a vigilant eye on the little ones. Stay completely away from a horse that was being broken, and not sure how true it is, but my uncle and grandfather never allowed anyone whom the horse didn't like to even try breaking a horse.

is it true? I also noted they either did ten minutes a day, the second day usually after three days it was 15 minutes, then the next week 20 and then by the end of the week they worked on breaking the horse for an hour sometimes two.

and they also only allowed cousins that were skilled in bare back riding to help break in a horse. were these all right reasons. or could it just have been a family rule?

I don't know, my family love horses, very few have them now, but horses couldn't be in better hand when it comes to them. So I'm just curious because I was a little girl at the time when I noted all of this.

During the breaking in process, a horse should never be expected to do more than it is physically or mentally ready for. A gradual progression of workload is imperitive, and a gradual progression of outside distractions is best too. No horse should be expected to have a bridle slapped on its head for the first time and instantly understand the signals on a long line. In the first stages, there should definitely be a build-up of training periods. Ten minutes of calm, quiet and slow walking is definitely adequate for the first session.

They should start out being lunged at a walk, equal time in each direction. Build up their muscles, their confidence, their stamina. Up the training times gradually. When they get the hang of the walk they can move on to walking and trotting. Only when they're completely perfect on the walk and the trot (and the whoa, of course) should they move on to the canter. When they have these down to perfection on the lunge, they are ready to move on to the long lines. When they have mastered each pace on the long lines, only then are they ready to be backed.

The reason they need a confident and competent handler in these early stages is pretty straightforward. If the handler doesn't know what they're doing, how can they successfully guide the horse into doing everything right? Horses are sensitive, and they need to be carried every step of the way until they have confidence in their own abilities. For them to be genuinely relaxed and well behaved horses in the future, and to be safely ridden by other people, they need to be taught everything correctly and confidently and without any fear/bad experiences/bad handling/running before they can walk.

Then, when the horses are experts themselves, they are ready to be handled by the less experienced horse handlers. They will do the job of showing the handler how it should be done, so that the handler can gain the experience to pass on to youngsters in the future.

Inexperienced horse + inexperienced handler = bad mix. This is why your family will have been choosy who went near their horses when they were still green. Not to mention horses can be unpredictable and dangerous to bystanders who aren't experienced enough to know when to get out of the way, back off, or even show less intimidating body language around a nervous or startled horse.

I hope that helped answer your question.

[Yambasticks]

thanks heather, it really did. Suzy was the most experienced bareback rider, and once it was the trust phase no one except for her rode that horse ever during field days, all day field days. I remember a black horse particular, not the name, and even once the saddle was ready one spook, and Suzy stepped in, there was no riding that horse that day, and out of respect for it, she didn't either. But Suz could ride like the wind, and every horse I know my grandfather had was broke in by her and they all loved Suz, does remind me of an experience another cousin had, quite unrelated to her, but it was an incredibly 'teachable, not so nice experience for him, I'll have to tell it another time.