Colt Starting Series; Part 4
- November 9, 2024
- |
- Anna Foulger
Posted in: Featured, Horse Training
At this point, I have a few round pen rides done with my colt and he is soft, supple, has a little stop and right, left directions. None of this needs to be perfect, just somewhat attainable with my colt. I like to take my colt on his first outside ride now. I do not expect a whole lot out of colts on this ride, mostly I want them to free up, move forward, work on directions and hopefully not lose their minds! I do this first outside ride a few different ways. If I have someone that will ride with me, I like to have them get on a broke horse and let me follow them. This allows the colt to build confidence and feed off the other horse without usually getting into a wreck.
The times I don’t have someone to ride with me, I like to warm them up in a round pen, into a good working sweat. Once I feel confident they are ready, I open the gate and head out. I usually have a plan in mind of where I am going to ride. The first outside ride, I try to make sure there are a few hills (in case the colt becomes a runaway), a flat open area to let the colt open up and line out, maybe a creek or trees that I can use to work circles or help the colt use his head. If the colt lines out and doesn’t decide to buck or run off, I keep the ride short and sweet, letting them know he did a good job. On the other hand, if the colt does decide that he wants to buck or run off, I like to make the ride a little more difficult. Finding tall hills to ride up, trees to ride around, creeks to cross, or any type of obstacle that is going to make the ride more of a challenge for the colt. A horse trainer I interned for once told me, “some colts’ brain isn’t between their ears till they have a sweaty lather on their chest.” I have seen this time and time again with different colts.
The biggest thing I like to keep in mind is I want to use the ride to make the colt a better horse overall. I use this time to work on things that in the round pen have been a struggle. If the colt needs help with his directions I find trees to go left and right or make circles around to help the colt understand the pressures of the bit. If the colt really needs to figure out how to move his feet, finding a open space to let them move forward is usually helpful. If the colt really needs work stopping, I like to find big hills, because in my experience, tired colts really like to stop. Anyway I look, I try to make the first outside ride work for me and better the colt without getting too stressed about perfection.
Related Posts:
Posted in: Featured, Horse Training
About Anna Foulger
Hey there! My name is Anna Foulger, I am a young mom of soon to be two; a toddler daughter and little boy on the way! Me and my husband ranch in Eastern Montana with his family and we love every minute! My background is in...