I have a 3 yr old mare that I have been training since she was 2 and trying to get her broke. I want to start trying to do some simple reining maneuvers but I feel like wet saddle blankets are needed with her. She is mareish and a pony so she has that attitude of a short horse. Lol. How much is too much since she is still young?
There was an episode on Inside Reining ( rfd-tv) that talked about the benefits of backing a horse when they are two - studies that showed that it was beneficial to their bones ect. See if you can find it on their website maybe ( Inside Reining). Wet Saddle Pads is really the only way to get a horse broke IMO. One exercise I did with a hot marish 3 yr old was a clover leaf pattern - I did it over and over until she showed relaxation. It isn’t hard on their tendons - Sometimes you have to ride them two times a day - but at least five consecutive days a week. Good Luck.
Thank you. She isn’t necessarily “hot” just lazy… and wants to stay in the pasture. Lol. I will definitely look that up. I was just afraid that I was working her too hard since she is still developing.
How far along is she in her training? Can she calmly walk, trot, and canter in control of herself on a loose rein? Can she back up? Have you worked on fixing her separation anxiety and destination addiction issues? Once those things are totally solid, I see no reason you couldn’t start some simple reining. I would exercise caution doing sliding stops on a 3 year old though. Play around with it once those basic fundamentals I mentioned are solid, but don’t drill her. You could cause some hock issues for her down the line.
She can calmly go through all gaits and backs up. Not the fastest though. Working on her destination addiction and seems to be working. I was more looking into doing some spins and side passing with a bigger stop. I’m not sure how to teach to do a sliding stop yet. She is furthest I have been in teaching a colt. I had to sell them before this point. She is road broke for the most part and only has trouble going through water/mud.
Consider finding a reining trainer in your area…even if they allow you to haul in for lessons or have the trainer give you a an evaluation on your horse.
There’s so much more to teaching a horse to stop than just stopping forward motion…beginning with getting the proper plates on her when she’s ready but I don’t put mine on unail my 3 year olds leave small tracks barefoot.
A good thing to do if your horse has kind of a herd mentality or doesn’t want to work is to tie her… my 2 year olds come in and get tied to axles or pulleys for an hour or so and then worked aND then tied again…any time your having your horse do something thats your idea and not hers, you’re teaching her. That’s why I like tying, it teaches patience and you don’t have to be riding the wheels off her. I agree with the horse needing a consistent 5 day a week program…I would however have your vet go over her to make sure knees are closed and her joints and body are ready to handle heavy training. Good luck! You’re on the right track with the mindset that young horses need lots of wet saddle pads.
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Big ditto to this.
I go ride with a reining trainer about once a month. It’s extremely helpful to take in-person lessons. Plus, they can hop on your horse and see how they are feeling or what they are doing, and can guide you further on how to help you horse.
I started going to him when I was looking for help with flying lead changes, and now he’s stuck with me, LOL.
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I know I would never compete or anything I just wanted a job for her to do and I don’t have cattle around so I thought the best thing was to pick a sport to work on and I really like reining. I think the disclpine would do her good. Lol. I don’t really have trails where im at either it’s just farm roads and a little arena that people practice roping at. I do like the suggestions of a trainer though. Thank you very much for the advice. She did see a vet and he oked her for hard work she is built like a thick horse but is a pony.
I will also definitely tie her longer and see if that works
