I have this wonderful two year old paint gelding. I love him to pieces and I have been training him since I got him last year as a yearling. He is the smartest horse and he learns stuff really easily. He can lead, pick up his feet, load, and he'll wear a saddl and a bridle and everything. So a few days ago I started putting my weight in the stirrups and everything went realy well, so after a few days I put my leg over his back when I did that and I was sitting in the saddle. And then he like, freaked out when he felt my weight. Let's just say it ended up with him running away with me and me ending up in the dirt. I'm not afraid of him or anything, I'm just wondering how I should get back in the saddle next time. I'm sure he was afraid of the weight cause we had a simlar problem when I was training him to get used to the saddle, but I don't really want to get thrown again. Is there a way for me to introduce my weight a little slower?
Answers:
It sounds like you may have skipped some important ground work. I would put this horse in a round pen and do some work with voice cues. Get him responding well to whoa, so you have some brakes when he does get scared and move away from the weight. If you do a lot of ground driving with the bit you plan to use when you ride, then he will understand what to do when you pull on a rein. I would not put anything on his back that can come off when he freaks, unless you want to train him to unload whatever weight comes on his back (you!) He simply invoked the "flight or fight" law of horse instinct. Young horses will do this whenever their environment produces something that in the wild would probably try to kill him. In the wild, anything on your back is trying to eat you - so he ran. You can't go back and undo that, but look out for yourself and do some groundwork before you move on. It is easy to think that he should trust you - sounds like you have a lot of time invested together - but with some horses mother nature will win out every time. Get some brakes and control on this kid before you try to mount him again. By the time you try again, he will have forgiven you and you will have some tools to use to regain control if he goes ballistic. Oh, and remember to have him in a controlled area, a mid-sized round pen works best to circle him down if he panics.
You should put a heavy sack on his back, but dont secure it at first just let it sit there. He might be alittle young, so go really slow. I dont fully ride my horses until they are 3
i also think you should find a sack to put on his back. you don't want to put your full weight on his back just yet if hes only 2, coming from you said you got him last year as a yearling. you really don't want to ride them until they are 3. their backs aren't fully developed yet and if you ride him too early, you can mess up his back. keep putting your feet in the stirrups like you were doing but just don't get on.
The easiest way I have found to introduce a 2 year old to weight is to have someone help you. Very gently lift yourself up the side of the saddle and lay stomach down across his saddle, while your partner is holding him. You feel like an actor on a western who was shot and is being brought home across the back of his horse. Make sure your foot is removed from the stirrup. Have your partner slowly walk your gelding around the enclosure until your horse feels comfortable to the weight. When he is comfortable, then you can begin to bring your leg over. The partner also helps when you do get your leg over to start walking him around the pen to help teach him what he is supposed to do.
I like doing it this way because if the horse does start to buck or race, you can easily slip off their back and land on your feet. Your partner will continue to hold him, so he will not be able to take off. I have never been injured doing the training like this.
This has taken several days for me to get my young ones used to the weight, but I feel it's a very gentle way to do it.
I always introduce a rider to the horses back by having a good handler on the end of a lead rope! Someone you trust who is horse savy and who can maintain control of the horse while you mount and sit in the saddle. Also, the smaller the area the better, a round pen works well, a smaller corral is better. The small pen will keep the horse from bolting on you.
Keep up this proceedure of the handler holding the horse until he/she can lead you around in the arena without the horse reacting. Eventually you can go it alone!
At the barn I used to work at they put sand bags over the horse's saddle and led them around with those on. Then they would lunge the horse with the sand bags on. I train horses the same way you seem too [bridle, bid, pad, saddle, hop on]. This seemed very interesting and when I heard your story I think this could work for you. Well happy trails!
~Good Luck
I typically get them used to it from the side of the round pen. I get them used to walking along the side of the pen and stopping periodically and letting me climb up the side of the round pen. Once they are used to me hanging on to the side of the round pen, I can get a leg over - even sit in the saddle. If the horse goes nuts, I am holding on to the round pen, not them and they can go buck. Eventually the horse gets used to me sitting on them and I will mount completely from the side of the round pen. After I know the horse isn't going to go crazy, I start working on mounting from the ground.
I have tried having a good handler hold the horse, but if the 1000 lb animal wants to buck, they are going to buck regardless of who is holding. And I have tried getting my stomach in the seat and hanging over the horse - I have found it a good way to end up on your head. I have mounted from the ground right from the start, and it works, its just the mounting from the side of the round pen works better in my opinion.
Best of Luck!
THE ONLY WAY TO DO IS TO GET YOUR BUTT BACK IN THE SADDLE. THATS THE ONLY WAY THEY LEARN, IF YOU DON'T THE HORSE WILL HAVE WON, AND YOU DON'T WANT IT TAKES TIME AND PRACTICE MAYBE IF YOU PUT YOUR ONE FOOT IN THE SADDLE AND JUST LAY ON YOUR STOMACH ON THE SADDLE DO IT IN A WAY THAT IF HE TRYS TO TAKE OFF WITH YOU YOU CAN JUMP OFF WITHOUT A PROBLEM AND DO THAT UNTILL YOU CAN LAY ON THE SADDLE AND HAVE SOMEONE LEAD YOU UNTILL HE IS USE TO THAT THEN TRY GETTING ALL THE WAY BACK ON. GOOD LUCK
I imagine what really scared him was seeing you up on his back, not necessarily the weight on him. Take kicking bear's advice, get him used to seeing you above him, and take it easy so you don't repeat that!
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