Do not use side reins if you have not been taught how to use then properly.
Do not walk a horse in side reins, it can cause a lateral walk.
If you want to walk her without a rider you can long rein her anywhere. Again it is better to be taught.
What has the horse been doing? E.g. turned out, stalled, some combination?
I have a 25 year old retiree (for at least 3+years) that I would not hesitate to just hop on and walk and trot a bit. I would be much less willing to round pen her - if the horse is rideable, and there are riding facilities…the round pen would not my first choice, especially for an older, out of work horse.
What is the ultimate goal here? If trail riding - I would ride the horse. Not round pen. That’s just a lazy way to exercise a horse – trying to get 30 minutes of work into 15 minutes instead. There really aren’t any short cuts – especially for older horses.
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Got to love TT, but he’s really freakin’ vague when you ask him how his techniques might translate to your horse. I was impressed by his demo at Indoor Brabant, very unimpressed when talking directly with him. I think he’s capitalizing on the NH market in Europe, there’s many good and cheaper and effective NH trainer/riders in the U.S.
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Do NOT concur in your analysis as it’s based upon the idea you use the round pen to “exercise” the horse. Yes, it can be used for that but it’s not a wise use in most circumstances. What’s it’s good for is being able to work with a horse in a small, confined space with no corners and you can teach specific skills or just work on “trust building” within that space.
Leg up a horse? Yeah, you can do that to but you’re taking risks you DON’T have to take.
It’s just another form of ground work. And intelligent groundwork is never time wasted.
G.
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I find long lining very useful for keeping my driving pony going when it’s too cold/dark/icy to drag out the carriage–I can use the whole arena, keep an eye on rhythm, make sure he’s marching along.
If you get someone to show you the ropes (see what I did there?), it can be a useful tool that lets you work on transitions between and within gaits, changes of direction, and so on without being restricted to repetitive circles.
That being said, walking in hand or under saddle is also a good way to bring a horse back.
and for getting the rider fitter!
Yes, I know how to use a round pen.
In this case, the rider is asking about using the round pen to “condition” the horse and build muscle for the horse because it has been out of work.
Most horses that have been turned out and are in decent shape should be capable of carrying a rider for light walk/trot work. I don’t see working in a round pen prior to that point to be beneficial for conditioning - but potentially more likely to cause strain or injury than being ridden.
Now, if the OP doesn’t trust the horse because it has been out of work - that’s another story. There could be reasons to use a round pen, but I wouldn’t use one to condition a senior horse and no other reason.
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I think it’s great that you will keep involved with horses since they make you so happy. I imagine the owner knows you have limited time and you miss your horse. She might be giving you an older horse to work with because of your limited time.
I would get to know this horse in the round pen, but limit the time in there to ten minutes, tops. Use it as a warm up. Just walk, at first. When you get bored, (and you will) try doing things like backing and side passing. Just a little to see how rusty the horse is. Get her handy and used to your riding style. Then, get out and walk her around the farm for another ten to twenty minutes. 30 minutes of walking should be a nice, easy day for her. Of course, this is only if the owner says it’s okay to take her outside of the round pen. If she has a bigger arena you can use, that would be much better.
After that, your next rides can add a little trotting in the middle, but follow the no more than ten minutes in the round pen rule and she won’t be overstressed or bored out of her mind. Make sure to warm her up and cool her down at the walk. If you can ride more than once per week, and the owner is riding a little, the horse might be able to do more in the future.
Overuse injuries can happen anywhere and have nothing to do with equipment or the size of the ring. These types of injuries have everything to do with the knowledge and experience of the person handling the horse. You need to understand physical conditioning and be able to correctly assess the physical (and mental) condition of the horse as it progresses. Kind of like the ads I am seeing all over Facebook for trainers who are holding grid jumping sessions. You need to build up to the big stuff and avoid excessive repetition. One pass through the grid can be like jumping an entire course.
To properly condition any horse, especially an older pasture puff, is at least as much actually usually more of a time commitment as maintaining a horse that is already fit. As a parent I would NOT let my child get involved in this scenario…I would part lease out the horse you already own. There are many more sensible solutions for you your horse old mare and her owner than the scenario you described.
If she is out on pasture full time I don’t see why you need to lunge or do round pen work. If she is good minded then just get on and do some 30-40 minute walks under saddle and build from there as she gets fit.
