How expensive and difficult is it to break a 9yr old mare with good ground manners, never ridden?

Question

My daughter purchased a green horse who can be placedundersaddle butis difficult to mount. she is 9 and was never ridden.She has wonderful ground manners. Should i sen her away to be trained or try to have someone do it at the barn.

Answer 1

It really depends on the horse. Like, my sister's horse was fine, after 2 sessions you could just jump on and teach it things from on top but then another horse might be freaked out and take months. It also depends on the past, the horse is already 9, so if something has happened to make it hate mounting so much then you may have an emotional block to work through.

If your daughter is experienced enough then you could possibly do it at the stable but if not then send it away. Also though, training takes time, and if the horse is away then the daughter is going to miss it and then it may be more fun for her if she gets another horse instead.

Answer 2

In my experience as a trainer and avid horse-back rider, you're best bet is to sell the horse.  As another contributor said, all you're doing is asking for a large hospital bill.  

At that age the mare is not going to be broken easily, and it will take a very long time to have her comfortable under saddle and easy to ride.  You're daughter's health and safety is not worth keeping the horse; she will most likely do better off with a broke horse who is better suited to young riders.

Answer 3

If you are not sure of the background of this horse and why she was never ridden than you are taking a big chance of someone including your daughter getting hurt. I just went through it myself. A  horse we bought was a dream on the ground but when under saddle he was a very untrusting horse and threw off the trainer almost going backwards on top of her. My suggestion is to get a trainer that can put the time into the horse if you feel that it is worth it. Training a horse that has issues can be expensive and depending on the issues it can take up to several months before the horse can be safe to ride. A good trainer can tell you in 30 days if the horse is going to be easy to train or if it will be hard and if even possible. Just be careful, make sure that you find someone who is honest and will not make you promises to keep taking your money. There are some really great trainers out there and if you do decide to find a trainer do your homework and don't be in a rush. Check you  local barns and trainers to see what they charge. I pay 350 per month for a green horse to be broke/worked with 5 days a week. I have a trainer that is not mean or rough but and handles that horse gently but is also firm. The trainer will tell you about how much and how long it will take her to train your horse depending on the mounting issues and training that the horse has had in the past. Shop around and ask lots of questions. If you find one that you like, take the time to go out and watch her trainer other horses and get a feel of what she does and how she does it. Good Luck to you and be safe.

Answer 4

You should find someone who is a good trainer for the horse. Green means that someone has been on the horse's back and ridden her a little bit. But that, a riding horse, does not make. And if your daughter has not trained horses (supposing not), your horse NEEDS training by someone who knows what they are doing. Even after the horse has had 30 days or more of training, your daughter should be guided by a person who understands both horse, and rider, because even horses who have been under saddle for a long time can develop bad habits. Newly trained horses will need more care and knowegable horsemen. Get with someone who knows what they are doing. Or better yet - get a trained horse.

Answer 5

My first question would be why hasn't she been ridden?  Was she breeding stock?  

Yes, have her professionally assessed and at least get her started under saddle...you know your level of experience, so go from there.  Professional training is expensive since you pay board and training fees.  Depending on what is charged for board, it can range from 500 to 1000 dollars a month around here...you have to check in your area.

Answer 6

The horse has probably been started before and has gone sour. That type of a horse is a little more time consuming to start under saddle than a toung horse never saddled before. The reason is this horse has probably had some bad experiences and maybe some bad handlers.

  Sending the horse to a very reputable trainer is always best if you can afford it but this horse is months away from being paired with a green rider.

Answer 7

I currently own 2 horses one is 13 year gelding and supposely was to be broke and well taken care of. When we got him home and let him settle in. He was fine with our other mare but when we try to ride him he acted up when we saddle him or try to mount him. We took him to a local trainer who did wonders to him. We found out that his previous owners were really cruel and beaten him until he cooperated with them. That was the reason he didn't like to be mounted. He had good manners.

I would suggest look at some local trainers, do some research and found out from some trainers to look at the mare. See what they say about the mare before getting a new horse. 9 yr old is good and bad in some ways. Some are harder to trail when they are that age and maybe she has some back problems. Check with your vet to check her out.

if you have any friends who live nearby have them come over and check the mare out and see if she is trainable.  

I researched for a trainer for 5 months before I sent my horses to her and she has done a beautiful job with my mare and gelding. Cassie

Answer 8

If you have a good trainer at your barn, most definately have her trained there.  If not then call a few stables in your area and go out and not only talk to, but WATCH the trainer working with young or unschooled horses and see if they meet your needs.

Answer 9

That is question can not be answered here.  I have seen them so easy to break that they can be ridden after a few short sessions.  On the other hand I have seen such horses that can never be trusted to ride anyone anywhere.  

However if you daughter is inexperienced I suggest selling the horse and getting another.  It sounds like this horse has some mounting issues which was why she was never ridden.  Just a guess mind you, but either way you do not put an inexperienced person on a horse that is not well trained and experienced.  That is asking for a hospital bill.

Answer 10

What was your daughter planning to do with the horse that she would buy one that is 9 and not broke to ride?  If she is experienced with horses that would be one thing but I gather based on your question she is not, and training could be difficult even when someone is experienced....which could be the reason why she hasn't been.

I would advise you to seek the advise of a professional in your area for guidance and an opinion.  Professional training can be expensive.

Answer 11

I would have someone at the barn do it first. well if I was you thats what I would do but everyone is different when it comes to horses My boyfriends uncle bought a horse about 2 months ago that has never even had a halter on her untill he got her, here about 2 weeks ago we decide to see if we could ride her so we saddled her up and hopped on her with no problem, keep in mind she had never been rode. Which some horses are easier than others. Hope this helps

Answer 12

the easiest horses i ever broke to ride were older horses.. they are generally more mature and i personally never had any problem with them being more muscled/stronger than a young horse...correctly breaking a horse is really all about training the mind anyways...

i would never let "just anyone" break a horse for me.. if you have someone at the barn you are at that is experienced/a professional, then i would go for it, otherwise send her to someone that is...at this stage in the game you really need a trainer who trains the mind, not tries to outmuscle the horse...

does your daughter have the experience necessary to ride a green broke horse when the training is done?... just like with a young horse, there is still lots of training needed once you get to that "green broke" stage... if your daughter is a good, solid rider that has experience with green broke horses than there is nothing wrong with an older, green broke horse... in my experience they progress much faster than the younger, green broke horses (as long as they are ridden properly)...

if however, your daughter does not have experience with green broke horses then she needs to at the very least ride with someone who can really help her, or sell the horse...

of course, all of this is assuming that the horse hasnt had a really bad history that prevents the horse from being ridden safely... i've had some older horses that were just left in a field because there wasnt time to train them, and some older horses that were nutso and needed a little extra mental help before they were ready to ride...make sure you know why the horse hasnt been ridden until this point before you make your decision.. a horse with some mental problems will probably need a true professional who specializes in problem horses...

Answer 13

The mare having good ground manners is a plus but that doesn't mean that she won't be afraid of someone on her back.  She probably needs some ground work like loungeing to learn the basics of walk, trot, and stop under command.  The cost will depend on the amount of time it takes, 30 days is usually a minimum time.  If she has had a saddle on but not ridden I would really wonder why? Loungeing under saddle is a great way to find out.

If you have someone at the barn do it, it allows you to watch the progress and the method. You will learn lots and you get to see those heart stopping moments when something goes wrong AND when they go right..It gives you a sense of being a part of it all. Also have your daughter finish the mare out at the end of training by cooling and grooming. That will bond the two of them better. One piece of advice, a horse does not need to be tied in the stall to think about the lesson after it is over,  they need to be able to know they are okay and move on with the rest of their day. There are some trainers that do this thinking that the horse is still remembering the lesson. The horse is really thinking about getting a good roll and getting the itchy saddle and pad off to cool down. Good luck to you both. EM

Answer 14

This is hard to answer, need more details.

Difficult to mount?  In what way?  What is the horse doing?

How experienced of a rider is your daughter?

What will the mare be used for & you said she is green, how green?  Never ridden, ridden once, 30 days under saddle, 45 days under saddle???

Without more information people will not be able to provide thorough answers to help you.

Answer 15

It depends entirally what she does when your daughter tries to mount.

If she walks off she could train here, lots of horses have that vice of walking off while mounting and it is easy to reteach them the method it is jsut time and patience.

If however she bucks, kicks, attacks ect. Then you should send her to someone who has experienced this and has solved the problem with horses before. It is dangerous for your daughter to be mounting an un-reliable horse, but if it is something simple like walking off that is jsut teaching voice commands and having time and patience.

Goodluck

Answer 16

You've had some good answers from other posters, I will just add a bit.

Training a 9 year old is more difficult than training a 2 year old.  Young horses are often less dominant, less coordinated, less set in their ways.  A 9 year old is experienced, had lots of habits, is strong and muscular and takes someone with knoweldge to start properly.

You have not mentioned how old your daughter is, and what her riding experience level is.  If she is a beginning rider, she will be safer, happier and be able to have more fun right off the bat with a broke horse.  I recommend older broke horses for my young riders.  They will give the child the opportunity to learn skills without having to fight with the horse.  If the horse is green, and the rider a beginner, the horse will quickly win the battles and begin to cheat.  The rider loses confidence and soon doesn't want to ride.  So you are probably best to find a different horse for your daughter.

If you are determined to stick with this horse, then I would ask myself - why did this horse make it to the age 9 without being ridden?  Yes, there are many mares out there with limited riding because they became broodmares.  But there are other reasons that you may not know until she gets started by a trainer.  Often if a horse has some sort of quirk, behavior problem, soundness issues, etc that would make someone not want to train it, they end up using it for a broodmare with the theory that they want to get SOME use out of the horse!  So its is possible this horse has issues that made other people decide to not go on with training it.

Then again, it maybe a lovely horse without any problems, but just didn't have the opportunity to be broke.  if that is the case, then you might have success if a good rider handles the horse at first.

Good ground manners are a good start, so that is encouraging.  The face that she can be saddled but won't stand to be mounted could be because she simply isn't trained and doesn't know what to do.  Or it could show the tip of a real problem.

I would find a good trainer and send this horse to it for a 30 day start and evaluation.  Here in Canada you can expect to pay between $500-$800 month, that will include their board.  Within a month you'll probably know whether the horse is worth more time or money, or not.  Do not consider the horse broke enough for a green rider after 30 days, please.  We send our children to school for 12 years before they are ready for college.  How can you expect a horse to be ready for an untrained rider with a month of riding?!  Good luck and keep safe.