I have a four year old foal / female horse who is still very energetic, playful and stubborn. However, ?

Question

of these triats, I never rode her as I am scared that she might throw me off (but she does see us riding the other horses). How does one teach my horse to let people to ride her. Is she too young? What discipline does she need?

Answer 1

She is at the correct age to start riding, however, from the sound of it your horse needs to be backed from the beginning.  You cannot be in too much of a rush to ride her, especially if you are frightened.  

This is perfectly normal, but for a  very green horse she needs to know you're in control and command and in effect be her herd leader.  She will sense your nervousness and tensness and will not deem you worthy of following.

Try using your arena or schooling area when it is empy to give you and your horse the maximum bonding session without any attention distractions.  

Start with loose lunging her so she gets the idea of circles and different paces. Your voice is very important at this stage, she needs to hear the commands "walk" "trot" "canter on" etc as she cannot feel your legs giving the commands

The next step I would suggest is long reining her.  This will give her the feel of the bit and reins in her mouth without you actually being on board, as you will be stood behind her.

Then try putting a "horse Roller" on her, this will give her the feeling of the girth around her waist, again without you being on.

You can even spend time in the stable with her by grooming and touching her all over so she becomes used to you and maybe ever try leaning over her back so she gets used to your weight on her.

By this stage you should hopefully be more confident in handling her and used to her little mannerisms.  

Only after you and she feels comfortable with it all,  would I then suggest sitting on her.  

Answer 2

A 4 year old who is still very playfuland stubborn with their ground manners and a novice trainer who must ask what to do is not a good mix.

You may have loads of riding experience and be ready to take the jump into training, I don't know.  What you ask is very revealing, though.  A person who doesn't know these things is not the best choice to start such a horse under saddle.  

I would guess she's a pig on the ground because she has never been taught manners, because you don't really know how.  It happens a lot, and there's no shame in it for you, unless you refuse to see that you're spoiling the horse and need to get help from a more experienced mentor or trainer.

Answer 3

Horses tend to go through rebelious "teenage" stages either at the age of 3 or 4. If your very lucky your horse will not go through the this. It sounds like your a bit inexperienced and there is too much to explain with this question i think. Are you saying you are trying to still break your horse? 4 is not too young to start breaking your horse. As for disipline its up to you.

I think you should either contact a horse savvy adult and ask them for some one on one help or invest in a trainer to help you and your horse.  

Answer 4

i agree with the kate17. you can start by putting the saddle on her and only doing it up firmly. lead her around and let her get a feel for it then take it off and giver her a treat. do this for a few weeks gradually doing it for longer each time and then if you are confdent enough can try lunging her. you xan also tie her up for a few hours with it on just so she can get accustom to it.

if you ride english then an eglish saddle would be best. make sure it fits properly though. you could even try a stock saddle coz they have a bit of extra weight, so as to get her used to weigt on her back.

she is the perfect age to START breaking in but do it slowly over a  couple of months just lunging and leadin and saddleing up.

Answer 5

I guess maye if she is energetic and playful she may go a bit crazy in the ring i have had a horse like that but maybe just wait some time maybe she will grow out of it or something so my advice don't ride her just yet wait till she is older hope this helps!

Answer 6

You need a trainer - or someone that has done this before.

Horses can be energetic / playfull and stubborn well into their 30's this is common in a four year old.

Your horse is a mare not a foal and needs to be started with ground work (leading , patience, manners etc.) long before you try to get on her.

Please stay safe - and keep her safe - by getting someone that has experience in training youngsters to help you.

Even great riders need help from people with more experience in certain situations.

Answer 7

At that age she is going to be a nightmare but yes she should be broken in. You'll need to be firm and let her know that messing around isn't going to get her anywhere and that you are the boss. If you are scared or nervous it is probably not a good idea to do it yourself though, that'll only wind her up and make her skittish.