Right From the Start
February 5, 2009
Give your horse a good foundation with tips from the Vaquero Tradition.
By Bill Van Norman
A good foundation paves the way to a well-broke horse.
When you’re starting a colt, one of the most important things is to keep him from having bad experiences. If something happens to make him throw his head up and run off, he’ll remember that, and he might even revert back to it later.
That’s why calm, gradual training will get you the best horse.
Learn all the steps toward calm, gradual training by downloading the “Vaquero Tradition” horse training report. This how-to-guide, which includes techniques used by some of the best cowboys in the industry, is an invaluable resource.
We start our colts in the winter of their 2-year-old year.
We halter break the babies when they’re weaned, so these colts already know how to give to pressure a little bit and move their hindquarters.
As we’re halter breaking babies, we want them to learn to trust us. We’re careful not to use movements, like slapping them, that might scare them. We just scratch and pet them until they start to trust us.
As I’m doing this, I hold the lead rope with my opposite hand instead of tying the colt up. This teaches him a lot, because if he gets scared and tries to leave, I can use the lead rope to arc his body around and slow his momentum.
This lays the groundwork for the one-rein stop we’ll teach him later.
As a 2 year-old, he’ll get a refresher course about yielding his hindquarters. Then I’ll get him used to the saddle the same way I got him used to people – taking my time, with slow, gentle movements.
Get your horse used to the saddle right from the start. Read the “Vaquero Tradition” horse training report to continue your horse’s solid, steady progression.
Comments
3 Comments on “Right From the Start”
Add a Comment
February 12th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
i can tell you from a life time of experience having started over 500 colts myself ;bill van norman is right on the money;when it comes to starting horses time and knowledge and patience are the keys;however it is the general way of the world to want to know ;how fast can this happen and how much will it cost to make it happen;both of these answers belong in the song ;highway to hell ,.happy trails BAZIL
March 9th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
I have a TB that is just now 3 yrs old and have had since she dropped on the ground. I have done all the ground work, and desensitizing and she’s really calm with all of it. I have put a saddle on her once and she was fine with the weight and the saddle itself. The girth is a whole different story, as soon as anything is tight, she goes crazy. I have since bought a surcingle and put it on her loose, just for her to get use to something being around her. She just about torn my round pen down that time. She is nothing like my QH’s that I trained. Any suggestions? Thanks, Suzanne
March 10th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Suzanne,
I think you are on the right track with the surcingle idea. That is exactly how I have started colts in the past. The best approach is always to be patient. Try rubbing, scratching and squeezing the girth area to get your horse accustomed to contact in the area. Then while you have your horse in hand, put the surcingle on and slowly tighten(without buckling) until you get a response and then back off. Over time I think you will see progress and be on your way.