I haven’t ridden my TWH gelding in about 2 months and I’m nervous. I have worked him lightly in the round pen, what else should I do before riding and any tips for overcoming my nervousness?
How green is your horse?
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he isn’t all that young but wasn’t ridden for a long time after only being green broke. He was sent to a trainer last summer which helped a ton but he is nowhere near finished.
Work him a little harder for a couple of days , maybe turn him out that morning then get on him in the hottest part of the day. if he’s good, don’t push your luck and end on a good note. Work longer the next day and gradually increase the time.
Hot day is your friend when breaking colts or restarting one that’s been off. Old cowboy wisdom that makes a ton of sense. They just are not as ambitious which solves one potential problem for you.
If you are at all doubtful, see if you cant get an experienced rider on him first couple of rides, set him up for success. If you aren’t confident, he won’t be either so no shame passing the reins to a more confident rider.
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If you’re nervous, you ask a more seasoned rider to put the first few rides on him.
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I agree with the above poster that if you are nervous, do NOT get on him. There is absolutely no shame in having a trainer put on the first couple rides for you, to make sure there are no surprises. Putting a nervous rider on a green horse can sometimes be a recipe for disaster.
But if you can find a way to overcome your nervousness and be confident instead, you can do a little “round penning” for the purpose of making sure he is listening to you. I don’t round pen to make them tired (or you’ll be there all day, and longer every day after that) but it can be a good tool to make sure the horse is paying attention to you. Then, I will check the steering and check the brakes from the ground. Standing next to the horse, I’ll ask them to give to the bit with a direct rein from both sides, and I will ask them to back up. If they are listening well, then I am ready to get on, knowing that the horse is listening to me, and the steering and brakes work.
If need be, I’ll get on in the round pen, because it’s a small area that I can control the horse better in, should things go south. But ultimately, if I have taken the time to properly prepare the horse with ground work, there shouldn’t be any surprises when I climb aboard.
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Have a ground person walk alongside you or have a seasoned horse and rider ride with you. And don’t overdo. A couple of laps at a walk is a great place to start. Also, lunge or hand walk your horse to check go, whoa, and turning.
I’ve ridden a lot of TWH’s, and they are typically people-oriented and quick to try and please. They need your confidence though.
Think about what makes you nervous about this horse or riding in general. Observe your horse in the pasture to see what his 'go-to’s are, how does he spook, how does he show his dominance, or is he passive. This tells me a lot in regards to what I can expect not just in the saddle but on the ground also.
You don’t have to just get on and go either. Maybe just mount and stand there for a few moments. Small victories accumulate over time!
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I’m currently working on a “green” after being neglected for 2+ years TWH. I’ve been doing a TON of ground work to get him back to thinking and focusing on the ground. Once you have the respect and confidence on the ground, then think about the saddle. Like others have said, start slowly. Start with mounting and dismounting without walking off… and move up from there. ALWAYS end on a good note and keep the sessions short until you’re confident that you can get on and off and he’s not going to kill you.
My current mount was a nut job when I got him. With lots of ground work and tons of patience, he’s an amazing horse. However, it took months before I could trust him enough to get on him.
You said he was sent to a trainer last year. Did you ride him after that? You didn’t say how long you’ve had him all that you’ve been working with him on in the round pen.
This. Walking Horses aren’t known for their endurance.
But, also, I second the recommendation to find a trainer you trust in your area. Green horses are tricky and NEED a confident rider to establish a solid foundation. If you have any doubts about your ability to be a calm, steadying influence on your horse, get someone else to ride him until you can be that person.
Walking horses ARE KNOWN for their endurance. If he’s nervy and hot she’s in for trouble.
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I’m not a huge fan of the concept of a ton of ground work, especially lunging or round penning, for a nervous rider and an out of shape horse because you’re devoting a lot of time to making a fitter green horse, which doesn’t much help a nervous out of shape rider.
Second getting a trainer to put some ride time in.
Consider hopping on a more suitable horse yourself during that time.
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Ground work should focus on getting the horse dialed in and listening to you, and desensitizing him to environmental stimuli that he should not be responding to. Then you want basic controls - stop, go, stand still, go left, go right, move the shoulders, move the hind quarters. Then the horse is relaxed and ready to hop on.
It’s not going round and round and round via lunging (hate it) or round penning. Agree with you on that point.
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If she knew that, she wouldn’t be anxious about getting on this green bean and considering checking the humidity level.
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IMO and experience ground work doesn’t bring a lot to the table. But it makes for good “training” videos to sell. Very little translates to what a rider will be asking of them. IMO it just confuses them by and large. Esp when done by a novice.
I have started/broke plenty of 2 year olds. No “ground work” per-say. other then being introduced to the tack and walked around my ring for a couple of days on a shank. Pretty much all of them are WTC, good breaks and doing figure 8s within 7-10 days after first getting in the saddle. Using the methods I have developed over the years.
I’m with others get a good rider to work with the horse. Around here I pay $25 per horse for a couple of horses. More if it is only one horse on a given day. There is travel time involved for the rider so I am not cheap about it.
A timid rider on a green horse is not good for either. I don’t give a rats behind what others have to say about it. Ace can be your friend and the horse’s. Good for the rider and good for the horse.
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@gumtree The point of doing groundwork is so that you don’t have to lean on drugs to get the horse quiet enough to ride. If you have to use drugs, the horse is not being trained. I would never pay anyone for “training” if they had to use drugs.
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“I don’t give a rats behind what others have to say about it.”
Even if the resident experts disagree
Are you advising the OP give her horse Ace so that she can ride it?
You do realize that sometimes Ace will have the OPPOSITE effect on certain horses…
While there are a handful of select situations where calming medications can be very useful, this is not one of them.
Ground work doesn’t necessarily have to do with training the horse to stop and steer, although it helps. Ground work teaches the horse to pay attention to the handler (which does correlate to them paying attention to the rider) and to look to the handler for guidance when something uncertain presents itself.
That’s the biggest reason I do ground work: To teach the horse to listen to me, no matter what else is going on in the world. That mentality “fixes” most issues, because those issues never become an issue in the first place. And it is very helpful for nervous-type horses. They are the type of horses that really need a leader to trust, so they aren’t nervous.
That’s great if you haven’t had any issues with the horses you’ve trained so far. Call me “older and wiser” but I don’t take any chances like that anymore. I do NOT get on until I’ve done my homework first on the ground.
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