My horse is not been riden in about 5 years?

Question

She has not been riden in about 5 years my boyfriend bought me a brand new saddle and bridle with all the goodies. I am nervous as h**l. I was told that she has been rode before, but with an unexperienced rider. Is there some steps I can do to get her used to all this again?

Answer 1

well make sure shes comfortable with you touching her and make sure you are not nervous when you get on...

put the saddle and all the get up on her and just lead her around for a while so she can get used to the feeling of the saddle again. when youre ready and she is get on...and dont tell her what to do but just let her walk around or do whatever while praising her constantly. if she is not acting skiddish or nervous during this then she will be fine with you riding her :):) if she isss acting nervous just continue letting her choose what to do while you just sit in saddle. don't worry, and especially since you are not a stranger things should go even more smoothly :) good luck

some horses will get used to not being ridden and some will always be fine once they are broken...just find out which it is:)

Answer 2

Just spend some time just sitting next to her for most of a night and next day try riding her. But if you ridden her before it shouldn't mater to the horse if it was five years ago. Remember that who ever feeds it, it is loyal to that person.

Answer 3

good luck....  ")

Answer 4

This depends quite honestly on the horse and since I do not know the animal I can't tell you for sure.  Have you ever ridden before?  Are you an experienced rider?  If the answer to either is no then I would recommend getting in touch with a local riding instructor.  If you know how, I would also recommend lunging your horse for at least a half hour before you climb into the saddle, but only if she has behaved herself admirably while lunging.  Any bad behavior means that you should seek a professional to reback the horse and I strongly urge you to have competent assistance when you do ride her for the first time, this means one person to catch and handle the horse, one to stay with you and another to call 911 if anything should go wrong.  I do not want to scare you out of riding your horse, simply caution you that this can be a dangerous hobby.  If all goes well lunging then chances are she will be fine under saddle but I would still at least consult with a local riding instructor before you do anything, at the very least they can evaluate your mare and give you a better idea of the prep work that will need to be done.  The other recommendation is to call a vet, is there a reason she hasn't been ridden in five years?  Are her muscles, tendons and bones up to this sudden increase in activity?  You have left out valuable information in your question that you need to know and that we can't tell you without seeing your mare for ourselves.

Answer 5

well you might have to get her use to the saddle again, so just put it on her and leave it there for a bit while you sit and spend time with her...maybe a little light work before u get on her...walking around, trotting ..u just need to lead her around and jog with her, eventually u will be able to mount her with out problems.

Answer 6

i haven't ridden my horse for 2 years because i was working with a different horse 4 show. when i got back on him and showed him he was his old self and we did better showing that year than what we did 2 years ago...

Good Luck! :)

Answer 7

yes get someone who knows what they are doing to lunge her first, then put tack on and lunge her again. this will take the freshness or giddiness out of her.

be careful.

Answer 8

"I was told that she has been rode before, but with an unexperienced rider"

Isn't that a good thing? The better trained your horse was five years ago is just another step toward how good she'll be now.

Don't be nervous.....just hop on and take her for a spin!

It's not like she's never been ridden before.