horse training, need help?

Question

Hi, I'm training a pony named Melody. She's a 12.4hh Newfoundland pony. She never really spooks, but does kick out sometimes. Melody is about 4 now. I have ridden her about 10 times in the span of 2 weeks. I have been doing ground work for a little over 2 months now and she is really coming along great. She does not understand leg commands quite yet when I ride her. I'm working with another girl named Makayla. Makayla doesn't have much experience with training, so she's just helping me with ground work. Anyways, I am stuck with training. I can't go outside due to ice. I'm in the indoor areana and she's not my horse to begin with. She's the barn owners who wants me to work with her. I've taken her over trotting poles and very, very small jumps (on her back and off being led).

I want to take her to a command class at a show in a few months and need to get her prepped for it. I have no idea what their going to get us to do in the command class. The past years they laid a tarp out for horses to walk over and had a half a foot cross-rail you have to walk them over. What should I use to train her for this class?

All I've been doing right now is walking and trotting in circles and backing up. (We can't canter yet as she has not been trained to lunge and the barn owner does not want me to yet). Like I said before, she also walks and trots over trotting poles and a small jump with me leading or on her back.

What else should I do? I feel like I'm stuck, I need to train her to do lessons and we have been doing the same things over and over. She's board and so am I. Is there anything I could bring, like a tarp or something? Please help, need training ideas.

P.S I was wondering also how do I train her to trot over a half a foot cross-rail (no one on her back)?
I've walked her over the cross-rail before and she stumbles over it.

Answer 1

Since most of the stuff for the command class is on the ground expose her to whatever you can. Bring out tarps, plastic bags, tires, anything and everything you can think of. The goal with this is to get her "bombproof". You dont want her to spook at things at her first show so its better to be prepared before you get there. Try setting up cones and stand about 10 feet away from them, draw a line that you cant cross, and have the horse weave in and out of the cones while you are at the end of the lead rope, this is a challenging task but will help you teach your horse how to navigate an obstacle if you cannot be close. Also try things like backing through obstacles, ie an L or straight through poles. Be creative, do weird things, people will look at you funny but at the end of the day you will have a horse that anyone can ride. Ive personally taken my horse trick or treating in a busy neighborhood, down to the lake where people are doing all sorts of things, etc and she could care less. As for the cross rail, try using barrels with crossed poles so that you can stand in place and ask her to lunge over. I hope this helped.

Answer 2

Very cute. The grey ponies are lovely.



There'a a ton you can and should be doing with the 4 yo. First she needs to be accustomed to you carrying a dressage whip, so she doesn't have the option of ignoring your leg.



Work on all transitions (walk, halt, trot), and begin teaching the leg yield, haunches in and out, shoulder fore, then spirals in and out at the walk and trot (not too small), gentle serpentines, etc, and walking and trotting over the ground rails. She should know all of these things before even thinking of jumping. It's basic flatwork (aka dressage) for all horses and ponies, for all disciplines.



Also, you shouldn't be thinking of jumping her until her 5th year, so this is the time to patiently teach her all of the above, and keep the sessions relatively short (45 min) with a day off in between, is ideal, gradually going to 5 or 6 days per week as she approaches her 5th year.



EDIT: Oh. Well, that's not really "dressage" in the sense you owner is thinking. It's just very basic flatwork that every horse should know, be he a hunter, jumper, endurance, western or whatever (except maybe gaited. . . ?) horse. The lady must be afraid you'll misuse the dressage whip. Sounds kind of ridiculous to me, and really puts you on the spot.



If she won't allow you to lunge the pony, and you can't free lunge her down an enclosed grid (what I would do) then your only option is to get really fit yourself and lead her trotting through the little jumps line.



Also, collection would be nowhere in the picture at this point in her early training,so I don't understand what the "instructor" is so worried about. . . . sounds rather silly to me. Good luck with her!

Answer 3

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