Four mistakes to avoid with young horses
Working with youngsters is a big responsibility as the early experiences can set the stage for the horse's wellbeing later in life. This is why we have to take care to avoid some common pitfalls.
Relaxation is key when starting young horses. Always remember that horses can't learn well in a state of hyper arousal.
Training young horses is a special privilege and a big responsibility. The initial contact the horse has with the demands of training and riding sets the stage up for the rest of his life. A bad experience during the starting process can have a long lasting impact, so it's imperative that we try to avoid them as much as we can (obviously, accidents happen and not everything is in our control). The process of starting a horse should be as relaxed and horse-friendly as possible, withnot only thier welfare, but their well being put first. Here are four very common mistakes you should try to avoid when working with youngsters.
Training in a state of hyper arousal. How fast the horse learns and how well he does in the initial starting process has a lot to do with the activity of his nervous system. In a training session, we want to strive for the right combination of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity. Too much parasympathetic and the horse isn't stimulated to think and try things out. Too much sympathetic and the horse is too wired up to stop and think. The former usually isn't that much of an issue but the latter is a very common scenario. Youngsters have a lot of energy and they can sometimes be a handful to handle. If the surplus of energy isn't properly directed, it can turn into the horse running around on the lunge, becoming more and more worried about losing balance and falling, which obviously makes them run even more. When they are in a state of hyper arousal, their learning ability is diminished, which will make it very hard for them to obey the handler. It's not that they are naughty, it's just that their brain is focused on survival, not puzzle-solving. So make sure to go slow, and keep the young horse relaxed. If they have too much energy, or are nerovus and jumpy, don't insist on teaching them something new. Your first goal is to calm them down and get their nervous system into a state where it can start to learn.
Long sessions on the lunge. Moving in circles is hard work for any horse, let alone a youngster who is just figuring out how to use his body. While it might be tempting to spend half an hour lunging the horse (because he doesn't seem to run out of energy), keep the lunge sessions to 15-20 minutes, with frequent breaks in between. It's important to make the task of lunging as easy as possible. If we make it too difficult, the horse will not have enough coordination and strength to keep a good posture and he will start to develop compensation patterns. This will usually involve leaning on one front leg, stiffening the spine and throwing his haunches out. In effect, he will become crooked. And no one wants that. So, keep the circle large, the session short and breaks frequent. Your goal is to develop good posture, not tire the horse out.
Developing a habit of crookedness on the lunge is something we should aim to avoid.
An abrupt shift to ridden work. Often riders will start their horse on the lunge and spend a couple of months developing coordination and strength and then transition to ridden work. This is all well and good, but the problem is that the shift from lunging to riding is often too abrupt. Going from 20 minute lunging sessions four times a week to half an hour of riding three times a week is a big change. Sure, the horse might have the stamina to be ridden for half an hour several times a week, but he most likely does not have the strength to carry a rider in a good posture. Keep the riding sessions short, starting by adding 5 minutes at the end of the lunging session. Stay on only as long as the horse can carry you in a correct posture. As soon as it becomes difficult, dismount. Then gradually increase the time you spend in the saddle, but always keep the posture as a measuring stick.
Young horses need time for their skeletons to develop.
Too much too soon. I feel like at this point everyone should know that no horse is physically mature before the age of five. This has been a big topic on social media for a while now and there is really no excuse to start horses too early. That said, I'm not saying you shouldn't do anything with your horse until he is five. Quite the opposite – there is so much you can do with a horse before you start to ride him! You can teach him basic manners, teach him groundwork exercises to strengthen his core muscles, you can take him on walks and show him how awesome the forest can be, you can even teach him tricks. Building a solid foundation will pay dividends when the time comes to ask him to carry a rider, as he will be stronger and more confident. By giving the horse time to mature, you are investing in his future.