Yearling In Hand tips?

[Bloopie]

I have absolutely no idea where to post this.

I have a yearling (1yr 5 months) and I want to enter him in some in hand classes later this summer/fall.

He’s a half arabian so probably sport horse in hand through AHA as we’ll probably do dressage. He’s registered, etc. We’ve been working on trotting in hand and after he’s been “queued up” and focused he has a smart halt in step with his handler (me or whoever).

I’ve been trying to expose him to whatever I can, even had him out by my SUV and opened the tail gate for him to gawk at. He’s not very spooky but he’s never been off the farm and I don’t have a trailer or have a friend who has a trailer so he’s stuck for the moment. He IS very looky. I’m worried about him being able to relax in a strange environment. It doesn’t help he has a bit of friesian in him and has the high set neck so when he wants to look he can LOOK. There are maybe 2-3 places left at the property that he hasn’t seen.

I’m planning to begin working with him on standing in an open stance for maybe 5 minutes (we’ll start small) and to continue practicing trotting in hand.

What other suggestions does anyone have to help my dude be his best? I’ve been scouring the internet for videos of what to expect in a yearling class. Anyone show in hand at AHA? TIA!!!

[Highflyer1]

I’m not familiar with AHA rules but definitely check the rulebook to see whether he will need to jog on the triangle or just up and back in a straight line, and whether he needs to wear a bridle or halter, whether you need a helmet etc. If you have friends/other horses on the farm you can do a pretend show class with a “judge” to help him get used to being in the ring with other horses and wait around.

Definitely keep your expectations low for the first couple of times out. If he stands while the judge is actually looking at him and walks and jogs at the appropriate times you are way ahead of the game. If you keep hold of him all the whole time and he mostly keeps all four feet on the ground you are doing pretty well. Baby horse in hand classes can be wild!

[Bloopie]

Thanks! I’ve been through the handbook (AHA often punts to USEF) and I think he does have to do the triangle. Fortunately yearlings are not allowed to be bitted so we don’t have to worry about that for now

I’m definitely worried about him losing his cool at a strange place - he’s pretty well behaved at home. I’d love to take him on a short excursion to an offsite arena and just practice trotting in hand for a few minutes. That’s a good idea about having someone pretend to be a judge and I’ll ask around.

[clanter]

@Bloopie

I’ve been trying to expose him to whatever I can,

my daughter took her yearling on her distance training runs on the trails in downtown Ft Worth, I believe his favorite part was the stops at the bar

Expect an interesting year as you expose the young horse to little new things

[skydy]

With no trailer, how will you get him to the venue?

[Bloopie]

He’s being boarded at a show barn and will travel with them.

[skydy]

So they are teaching him to load? That’s good. Hopefully they’ll take him for a ride a few times before you show him. If they go to a day show, can you hitch a ride and just lead him around on the grounds for a bit, or do you think it would be too much for him to be at a show as of yet?

[Bloopie]

Yup! We’re practicing loading in the trailer here and there and the hope is he can tag along somewhere first and just observe. Not sure if the observation will happen, however, as we’re coming up on show dates (August). I don’t think it will be totally overwhelming for him to be in a new place but I have no idea how far his focus will deteriorate in a new place with his baby brain lol.

[skydy]

Having some of his barn buddies along should help a little. Baby brains are a definite issue, but work on keeping his ground manners installed and exposing him to as much as you can.

Having people moving around, in and outside the ring at home is good idea as @Highflyer1 advised. Also agree with having low expectations your first time out.

Have you ever handled a youngster that goes in the air? If not, ask a trainer that’s familiar with young stock to show you.

[EventerAJ]

It really helps if you can take them on a few short field trips before a competition. I took 2 yearlings to FEH championships in Texas last year (to qualify & compete in champs). I did a solid month of prep with them-- I ponied them every day, worked on basic handling/manners during grooming, and 3x a week practiced trotting the triangle and standing up. Ponying gave them a lot of confidence and helped develop a great walk and active trot. A few weeks out, I loaded them both in the trailer (they marched on like pros!) and drove 5min down the road to a neighbor’s busy boarding farm. I led each one around there (while the other had to wait alone in the trailer, surprisingly they did without issue). We practiced jogging triangle in the scary indoor arena. I didn’t expect perfect, but the great thing about yearlings is if they are a little bit insecure, they will really look to you for confidence and actually take guidance very well. (Cocky yearlings are naughty, slightly timid ones are polite). Two little field trips made my guys comfortable with hauling, unloading and doing a “job” away from home with distractions. It gave me assurance that they wouldn’t lose their minds and embarrass me in public or endanger themselves or others.

At the show (15hrs from home) stabling on-site allowed them to settle in and take long hand walks around the venue to see the sights. (It would have been awesome to have an older lead horse for support, but mine had to just grow up and deal, and they did, because of our little field trips at home.) They were both very well behaved the first day in the qualifier, and the filly was great on day 2 in the championship class. The colt decided he had been braided TOO LONG thankuverymuch and tried to lay down and rub his braids out right in front of the judges. I managed to wrangle him through the class and he showed nice enough to win anyway. The lesson here is you might want to practice braiding (and leave them in a few hours!) before the show, too! Most young horse judges have seen it all, and will tolerate minor baby antics, at least in FEH, and want to give a good experience with honest critique.

[RHdobes563]

arabian sporthorse in hand - YouTube

[skydy]

We will want pictures when the time comes, if you’ll indulge us.

[endlessclimb]

For things to do at home: I would work on teaching a rock-solid head down cue. When they’re SUPER lit, “head down” begins the process of taking that edge off. Bonus - when it comes time to bridle that giraffe, you’ll be glad he knows this.

[Bloopie]

I’ve never had one his size go up in the air. Fortunately is MO is to swing his head wide and sometimes strike if he’s feeling amped up or angry. Best way I’ve found to deal with that is to get him to move his feet unless he’s angry - different issue. If something spooks him from behind he tucks his tail like a dog (it’s hard not to laugh) and scuttles forward a few steps and settles. If something bothers him from the front he’ll plant his feet, strike a llama pose, and evaluate.

ETA: I do not want a very spooky insecure horse so one thing I’ve been doing is encouraging him to investigate things he finds scary and then rewarding him with a treat (grain pellet) several times. So now after he has a chance to mentally evaluate something his first response is to try to bravely stick his nose on/in whatever it is He’s a food hound

[Bloopie]

Yeah…this is just solidifying my desire to get him offsite. I’ve mentioned it several times to the barn manager and they’ve agreed it’s a good idea but nothing ever seems to happen (it’s their job to arrange).

We’ve done long braids in his mane and left them in for a couple of days at a time. Only issue there is he sometimes finds ways to rip some of the braid out I need to get a hood of some kind.

[Bloopie]

I will try to remember! He’s super cute but I’m biased.

[Bloopie]

Do you have a specific cue that you use? He has very sensitive ears, family trait, and one thing we’ve been working on is lowering and relaxing his head when a hand is up behind his ears without exerting downward pressure. Ditto his forelock. But I don’t really have a specific cue for it other than my hand being there.

PS: He halters fine as long as you don’t slide the crown piece over his ears. It’s a WIP.

[endlessclimb]

Just put downward pressure on the halter and wait until he offers it. Release and reward. Repeat a zillion times. If he’s really not getting the picture, I find rocking their heads gently back and forth helps unlock their necks and they’ll offer it, so you can release and show him that’s what you wanted.

It’s a life skill he should have anyways, might as well start working on it now.

[Bloopie]

Ah yes, he does know to give to that kind of pressure but his desire to do the giraffe is strong sometimes and I may need to work on the subtleties of it for being in an arena with judges