Chief gets annual hobble reinforcement training.
I’m going to do a series of blog posts about basic training for an endurance horse. I will include things that are often lacking in the education of many horses that travel and that are taken on trips overnight. After riding this season, especially on the long XP ride I am left feeling that there are just too many riders out there who seriously lack some of the basics, or perhaps the knowledge required to teach their horses some of the basics.
I hope that this series will help out new riders who may not realize how serious a wreck or accident can occur from a hole in their horse’s basic training.
These are the topics I’m going to cover. If anybody has any suggestions for something else that they would like to see covered, let me know.
- Hobble training. Very basic. Have posted numerous times on this before.
- Tying: Does your horse panic if he gets tangled up or wrapped around a bucket, or the end of a hitching post?
- Camping while tied or confined overnight. Have you practiced this at home?
- Dragging a rope. If your horse gets lose, what will he do?
- Saddle slipping sideways or under belly. A trained horse will stop and refuse to move. What does your do?
- Crupper training. This is important even if you don’t ride with one. I’ll cover why, and how.
- Hoof boots. Will your horse stop and stand, or try to buck or kick a boot off if it is still attached to his pastern?
I’m sure I’ll come up with some other things to cover, though I think that those are some of the areas where I see a lot of horses severely lacking in their basic training and that can cause some of the most frightening moments if it happens for the first time or concurrently to something else exciting at an endurance ride. Granted, accidents can happen involving our horses that are out of our control. Many of them, however, could be avoided alltogether with a little time spent on training ahead of time.
Just as we wouldn’t take a horse to an endurance ride that hadn’t been conditioned, we shouldn’t take one that hasn’t been prepared to camp, tie or deal with other mishaps which can and do occur with regularity at endurance rides. I’ve seen as many fatalities and serious injuries at rides as a result of horses getting lose or panicking in camp as I have from any other reason.
These basics that I am going to cover should be included in the training of any horse that is going to be traveling and camping overnight or riding with groups of other horses.
One thing else I can think of: train your horse to be ok with a horse wildy running by it, or into it (this latter one is harder to simulate I suppose)… When someone else’s horse gets loose and tears by you, I see a lot of horses get upset, then THAT rider gets dumped. Now you have two (or even more as the chain reaction continues) horses to chase after. I have often been able to catch ppl’s horses, just because my horse did NOT freak out and I could actually block the runaway horse and grab it’s reins/rope… being ‘politely’ passed on trail is much different than a horse galloping by, LOL
Thank you for these! As a newbie I am trying to read, learn and train as much as possible! Natalie, my neighbor and I are working together at going past each other so on rides we don’t have any feak out’s as other horses fly by.
Well Karen, it seems that anyone who’s Ever ridden an endurance ride is now an “expert” & writing on the topic. To see you go back to the basics brings a smile to my face
This timely post makes me VERY happy. I wish you’d do a long series (just for me…) so I can start the new horse and do it RIGHT. From start/to finish. I’ll be reading.
Seriously NOT an expert.
Jacke
Thanks – will be looking forward to the posts.
I am interested in the hobble one. We don’t generally hobble in this region, I have seen only two horses in the past three years with them at a ride, and one was a stallion that had been hobbled as its only restraint… that did not end very well
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Hi Kimi – I hobble just for training at home, not for use at a ride. The lesson basically teaches a horse to give to pressure, not to fight if they get caught and to wait to be rescued. I’ll cover some other benefits when I blog about it. Karen
Good luck with your new horse, Jackie! It’s always important to get a good base on them and teach them these things that I’m going to cover. It makes for a much safer horse! Karen
Hmmm, perhaps some hold & post ride basics? Feeding, blanketing/sponging, etc? I’ve seen some pretty interesting stuff recently and I’m still trying to find a nice way to say ‘what the heck are you doing that for?’
Thank you Karen..you always post interesting topics..that is very helpful. I just wanted you to know that what you do is very much appreciated.
I’m looking forward to following your blog. Other “wreck makers” I’d like to train against are: horses galloping up fast behind you (preventing a bolt) and teaching a horse to stop when caught in downed wire.
Just got a new horse that is missing a lot of these basics. I will be following intently. Thanks.
Great idea. Something I have taught the horses in our group is to back when show an upheld palm. Sometimes, in an emergency, you need a horse to back up swiftly and with the hand signal you don’t have to have them “in hand” to back them up. I have also had success using clicker training for basics on green horses.