Friday, July 31, 2009

Training a yearling?

I went to the horse expo this weekend. I found the most amazing yearling i have ever seen. She was a spirited little appaloosa who had tried to kick several people but i still think im gunna buy her.
So im trying to get tips on a good way to train a gamer. Any ideas? It would really help. Any other ideas? or thoughts about even buying her? It would help tons.
Answers:
First I would have to ask if you have ever broken or trained or helped train ANY horse before? If not I would advise getting some help from a more experienced person. A lot of things about "Breaking' are much easier shown than told. And it is hard to know which areas to go into without knowing anything about the horse and what she has already learned. Is she halter broken at all? Has she ever seen a saddle or had a bridal of any kind in or around her mouth? Has she been lunge-line broke at all? So many things. Is she just spirited or could that attitude have to do with spookiness? There is just not enough knowledge. I do have a coupke of sites for oyu to look at though which may help since you know the horse better than I do.
http://ellenofstad.com/articles/training...
http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/trai...
http://www.horsegazette.com/dear-rufus.h...
http://www.amazon.com/training-two-year-...
I always thought a firey spirited horse gives her that extra umph of attitude! I had an appy---great horses. Do a google search for more info or contact some pros in your area to get some tips. If you went to a horse expo then ask around there...I would leave it up to the pros. What made her such an exceptional yearling? You can email me from my profile if you like!
you need experienced trainer, your saftey and hers
You get what you pay for. If she is a kicker, a lot of ground manners and respect is the main two things she will need most on.

If you are questioning how to train her, it is best to either 1) Get a horse you don't have to train until you are ready or 2) Higher a trainer to work along side of you (not send her to one as that is not teaching you nothing nor teaching her to respect you).

I recommend to get a trainer if your heart is set on this horse no matter what anyone says.

If she kicks several people, then she is at risk of kicking while you own her and causing some law suits if people want to get nasty about it (In Kern County, California, it is the norm to know someone having a law suit on someone for that. So, it does happen).

she is young and with the right trainer by your/her side, she could be easily be brought out of that stage.

If she doesn't work out for you, can always sell her. But I am the type of girl to stick to the end when I buy a horse. (My mare was a rearing horse when I bought her at age 4 and half.. Today is her 16th birthday and doing wondering. Still her stubborn self at times, but I bought her that way and I love her that way.
I would never buy a horse that is a yearling and still kicks at people- that means she probably had no training whatsoever (or it was so crappy that you can't call it training)

Have you ever even trained a horse? Do not buy a yearling until you are very comfortable with horses- getting kicked hurts. I have a few fractured ribs and bits of my knee shattered off to prove it. I also know of a girl who needed reconstructive face surgery to repair all of the bones in her face after a kick.

All of my kicks (and the girls) were from naughty weanlings- no horse that is trained correctly should be kicking for fun at the yearling stage. There is no excuse after that.


If she is spirited- you are going to need a lot of dominance. If you have never trained a yearling before- you are not going to have that dominance and she will walk all over you- and get you badly hurt.
If you have little to no experience in training, I would pass on this horse UNLESS you can afford to have a trainer help you out. She sound like she already has one bad habit and what you are calling "spirited" could actually be mean tempered. These issues would have to be addressed before you could start any kind of gaming training. And with a yearling, you are looking at a minimum of two years before you could even start her in gaming training. That is the reason so many of the good gaming horses are so expensive. It takes a lot of time (and money) to get one to a marketable level. I would sit down and wrote out all the plus and minus of owning her and see what you come up with. I have bought several horses with my heart when my head said not to and always wound up regretting it. And now, unless heart and head agree, I do not buy. Good Luck
TW0 0F MY H0RSES I G0T WHEN THEY WERE WEINLINGS. MY FILLY L0VED T0 KICK WHEN SHE WAS A YEARLING, WHICH 0NLY LASTED 2 DAYS. IT IS THE EASIEST BAD HABIT T0 BREAK. EVERY TIME THE H0RSE KICKS Y0U KICK IT BACK, FIRMLY AND SAY N0 IN A GRUFF V0ICE. I ALS0 DID THIS WITH MY C0LT. AFTER WE WERE D0NE AT A YEAR Y0U C0ULD WALK BEHIND THEM AND THEY W0ULD TUCK IN AND N0T C0NSIDER KICKING. MY FERRIER SAID THEY WERE THEY 0NLY YEARLINGS HE C0ULD ACTUALLY KNEEL BEHIND AND D0 THEIR H00VES. THEY ARE N0W 4 AND 0FFER THEIR FEET 0N C0MMAND BUT HAVE N0T KICKED SINCE I DID THAT EXERCISE WITH THEM. THEY ARE B0TH STILL VERY SPIRITED H0RSES ALS0. Y0U D0 N0T HAVE T0 RUIN THEIR SPIRIT IN 0RDER T0 TRAIN THEM. PLEASE FEEL FREE T0 E-MAIL ME AND LET ME KN0W H0W Y0U MADE 0UT.

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