Re-Training A Horse Who Has Not Been Ridden In Years?

[Anastasia]

Hi Guys!

I just purchased my very first horse, after years of riding lesson horses and leasing various horses. She is a 6 Y.O. American Warmblood Mare. I have decided to name her Anastasia, or Stasia for short. I have been looking for some time but I knew it was time when I met her. I absolutely fell in love with this sweet girl! She was broke as a Western Pleasure horse originally as a 3 Y.O. but owner decided she was too forward-moving and more suited for English riding. She is older and wanted a true trail, pleasure horse. She was attached to her and instead of selling her right away, kept her as a pasture puff (LOL) for three years and finally decided to sell her this past week to me (as a 6 Y.O.). She has not been ridden in at least those three years, maybe longer.

I am not sure what the best way to get her started under saddle again would be. I was thinking a lot of groundwork and maybe light lunging? She just moved in to her new home yesterday which is a BIG change (she went from a 25 acre farm in the middle of nowhere to our busy little 5 acre farm in the suburbs). There is traffic. There are other horses she does not know. We do things very differently and she is a little nervous. As I found out this morning, she does not like cross ties (prefers being tied to fence posts - guess that’s the Western girl in her). She also is VERY head-shy and at 16.2-16.3hh it can be difficult getting a halter on her. What would you suggest over the next couple weeks as we start to work with her? What should our first steps be?

I am a Hunter/Equitation rider and am hoping that’s where she will end up eventually too.

Here’s a picture (and a video).

Thanks in advance!

This is her!

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[Sparrowette]

Give her a little time to settle in. My mare went from country living to city life, and there was a bit of a culture shock for her. Then, after she realizes that all the new things in her new home won’t eat her, you might consider 30 days with a good trainer to take stock and see where she is on what she remembers in her existing education, and what she may need to catch up on.

[ladyj79]

If she was broke as a three year old, and is now six, it seems like she would have been ridden in the last three years.

That aside, I would start her the same as any unstarted horse.

If you don’t have experience doing this, I suggest you either send her out for at least 30 days to someone who specializes in starting horses, or if you want to be more involved, work alongside a similar trainer, at their facility, so you can have daily oversight and instruction.

From another post, it sounds like you have a trainer, so they are probably your best resource for training your new horse, as well as for giving advice on the best tack for your horse.

[SuzieQNutter]

You should treat her as an unbroken horse.

Every time you interact with her, you are training her. There is no just throwing over a biscuit of hay. That is still training her for good or bad.

Every time you train her she is a little bit better or a little bit worse.

If she is a little bit better each day then next Monday you start with a much better horse than you had this Monday and so on and so forth and you are doing the right thing.

If she is a little bit worse each day then next Monday you start with a much worse horse than you had this Monday and so on and so forth so you need to get help immediately as it doesn’t take long for things to go pear shaped.

The same if she is staying the same by the next Monday, you need help.

It is easier to train a horse than to retrain a horse. What you are doing at the moment is mainly training as she is a clean state. If you train her incorrectly it will be harder for the next person retrain her.

So decide if you know enough to train an unstarted horse. If you do great. If you don’t get help sooner rather than later. It will be cheaper and easier in the long run.

[Lord_Helpus]

For the head shy/ haltering problem --1st: teach her to lower her head to poll pressure. Once she does that, then take your right arm and put it over her head and between her ears. From there you can grab the top of the halter with your right hand as you guide the noseband over her nose with your left hand.

This little bridling trick is invaluable when the horse evades the bridle by raising his head. My 6 year old is still bridled this way because he is perfect when he has continuous poll pressure throughout the whole process.

[OverandOnward]

Just as the others have posted … and professional training advice I’ve rec’d … approach your training as if she were an unstarted horse.

She may re-learn more quickly, but give her the benefit of the doubt and use plenty of patience, just as you would with an unstarted 2 yo. Make safety primary. And don’t be surprised if there is NO steering and NO brakes, and she behaves as if she doesn’t have a glimmer what the bit and reins are for.

[BeeHoney]

I don’t want to sound discouraging, but it sounds to me like you have a serious project on your hands. A six year old horse that hasn’t been ridden since age 3 is essentially an unbroken horse (as others have mentioned). The owner stopped riding her because of a problem–“too forward” is a very general statement that IME could refer to anything from being nervous, difficult, or spooky under saddle to having a history of bolting. The seller declined to put her under saddle again before selling, which to me is another item of concern, because if the horse was already broken and was decent under saddle, giving her a quick refresher course would have added a lot not only to her value but to her prospects–a lot of unbroken six year old draft crosses might only be worth meat prices, whereas a rideable horse is much less likely to come to such a terrible end. Lastly, by your report the horse has a nervous personality and is worried about basic things like traffic and head shy about haltering, which suggest that she may have had very little exposure and handling.

I’m not saying all this to be discouraging, because you very well may end up with a nice horse on your hands. However, I think it would be wise to take a deep breath and assume that you need to start at the beginning and use professional help early. My recommendation would be to let the horse settle in for a week during which time you handle her regularly and feel out what she knows on the ground, and then involve a professional trainer to get her going under saddle. I don’t think you should wait longer because I think you deserve to know what you have on your hands sooner rather than later. I would be sure to request that the professional to treat the horse as if it has never been ridden before.

Project horses such as this one are a chancy business for any person. Sometimes they are diamonds in the rough, and sometimes they prove to be unsuitable. Many times training and experience can overcome things like nervousness or fearfulness, but sometimes those traits are very ingrained. Your mare may quickly blossom with the combination of attention from you and the pro, or issues that were not dealt with three years ago may crop back up. Sometimes it’s a combination of some blossoming and some issues! Best of luck to you and your new horse!

[2DogsFarm]

Agree with those who say you need to treat your mare as if she is a totally unbroken green horse.
If you don’t feel capable get a pro (whose work you are familiar with) involved, because - as has been said - everything you do - right or wrong - is Training.
You need to get a solid idea of where her current training starts & ends & feel ready to address issues yourself, or with help,

FWIW: I’ve BTDT with 4 horses, all came trained to do other than what I wanted them for & all ended up doing great at my chosen disciplines.
I was able to work with some myself (with 30+yrs of riding/horsecare experience) & for some I needed a pro’s help,
Latest project is a not-yet 3yo mini who I will drive.
Never had one that young & I am a relative newb to driving, so he is at a trainer’s now & I have several experienced driving friends to help us move forward.

Wishing the best to you & your mare & please post back on here with progress reports :yes:

[ParadoxFarm]

First off, congrats on your new horse. She is very cute. I do agree with all the above posters about enlisting the help of a good trainer for the first rides. Then you can evaluate easier. Could be those first rides are easy and low key and you’ll be able to take over quickly. But maybe she’ll need that time with the trainer, too. See how it goes.

That all being said, two of my three horses were “in a field” when I got them. My gelding, out in the field doing nothing for three years. My mare, out in a field for four. However, both of mine are older and have had a lot more riding previously than your girl. But what I did with both is just started VERY slowly. Ground and lunge work. Lunging over poles. I did jump one through the chute. Then put the dressage saddle on (more secure than my h/j saddle) and just walk trotted around to see what I had. It was a slow process with one. She was not a happy camper to be put back in work. But within a few months she was doing very well! The gelding, though out of shape, was never a bad ride.

Good luck!

[beau159]

@Anastasia

I just purchased my very first horse

She was broke as a Western Pleasure horse originally as a 3 Y.O. but owner decided she was too forward-moving and more suited for English riding.
She has not been ridden in at least those three years, maybe longer.

I am not sure what the best way to get her started under saddle again would be.
We do things very differently and she is a little nervous.
As I found out this morning, she does not like cross ties.
She also is VERY head-shy and at 16.2-16.3hh it can be difficult getting a halter on her.

What would you suggest over the next couple weeks as we start to work with her? What should our first steps be?

I would treat her as if she were an unbroke horse. Start completely from scratch. Do a lot of ground work and get a handle on her head-shyness. I would not attempt to ride her until you have her “holes” on the ground fixed. Of course, you can work on saddling and handling, but I would not mount up until she was ready.

Since you do not know where to start or what to do, I am making the assumption that you are not prepared nor qualified to deal with a horse like her. I would high advise you to enlist the help of an experienced trainer to guide you.

[adelmo95]

Congrats on the new horse she is cute!

I would echo what others have said and say treat her like she is unbroke. She would have had minimal riding if she was started at 3 and then left for 3 years so odds are that you are likely starting with a fairly blank slate which is not a bad thing.

If you haven’t started a horse before get help. It is a fun process to work with and develop a young horse but will go much smoother working with someone who has experience with this.

Once she has had some time to settle in you may find that she will relax when given more to think about. I have dealt with some that were nervous and just in general fidgety when just working on grooming but as I started introducing things like lunging and tack they relaxed and enjoyed coming in a lot more because it seemed like they almost needed a job.

Also starting/restarting a 6 year old isn’t really that late, the good news is that she should have minimal wear and tear on her.