Training a Belgian to ride?

Question

A family friend has a two year old Belgian they are offering to me for free and I was thinking of taking them up on that deal and training her to ride IN A YEAR OR TWO. (She is too young now) Just basic stuff, trails, etc.

Now, this horse has had NOTHING done with it. It can't even lead properly. Are Belgians typically easier to train? She's a very mellow horse, just doesn't know anything. Am I better off just buying a trained horse? I don't have a problem doing ground work, etc, just wondering if two years of doing nothing in a field is going to cause her to be harder to train in the long run?

THANKS!

Answer 1

welllllllllllllllllll, uh, belgians (in my peference) are harder to train...but, i guess it alll depends on what size the horse is (i myself do not go over 16.3 hands to train...just too much to handle)

and, english would be the best for those breeds...jumper.

also........if you are willing to work CONSISTANTLY with the horse, then yah, it's a good deal

she will even be better because YOU trained her...because sometimes you have to retrain tecniques if the person who trained did it differently...

i say its a good offer if you're doing english jumping....shows.

A rated!!!!!!=) best answer!?!?!?!?!?

Answer 2

If she has not ben worked with AT ALL. She is going to be a bit hard. But if you have experince, and can deal with it. You can do it. Just work on ground work so much that she knows it by heart. This'll help

Answer 3

A lot of horses dont know much more than how to lead at age 2, so she's only a bit "behind".. personally, I dont have much problem at all training a horse to lead properly, so i would hardly be concerned about getting a horse that didnt know how to lead at that age.. i've taken on much older horses that knew less than that and had no problem bringing them along..

the advantage of getting a horse that doesnt know much is that you will bring it in the direction you want it to go, and wont have to work with "baggage" from other trainers.  of course, if you make any mistakes, those are your fault too..*LOL*..

i've found draft horses to be very easy to train.. once i had a draft horse that was very used to being big and not having anything "bigger" than it, so we ended up hanging things in his stall so he would get used to manmade things being over his head....he was the "toughest" one, and once he got over that little problem the rest was pretty boring...

you train them like any other horse... just make sure that you work a good "head down" cue... i once had to work with a 19.3 hand belgian that was head shy... always a challenge! *LOL*

Answer 4

Depending on you it is a good deal.  I have trained many horses & teach kids how in a nonprofit camp. If you have a little knowledge and lots of patients you can do it.  You say the horse is calm so it doesn't sound wild.  It is no harder to train an 18 hand draft than a little pony.  If you think you can do it then go for it.    

Answer 5

My reining trainer, strangely enough, had a Belgian in for training (not for reining--could you imagine?lol) but just to be broke to ride.  The horse was gigantic but he had no idea how huge he was.  He was such a doll baby.  He was very easily trained.  As a matter of fact, the trainer taught him how to bow while he was riding him so he could get off of him easier, hehe.

Anyway, most of them are very mellow, hence the nickname "gentle giants."  They are just like any other horse to train, they're just bigger!

ETA: To add, I don't think being idle for so many years will make it harder for her to train.  There are lots of horses who aren't started til late.  Look at how many mares are broodmares their entire lives, then trained when they're like 12 or something.  He should be just fine.  Just don't let yourself fall into the mindset that because he's older, he will magically know things that most other horses his age would know.  Start slow and easy and work your way up, just like you would with a younger horse.

Answer 6

I own a carriage company and have 2 belgian myself. If yours is 2 years old now is the time to start to train her and you would do this like any other horse......start with round ring and ground manners. I have found that the draft breeds are easier to handle and train and much more affectionate. I advise that you get a cheap set of working harnesses and start driving her from behind once the ground manners are improved. All my drafts ride and drive.....as for the riding part I have found them to be the smoothest ride of all my horses. I have percherons, belgians, a saddlebred and a quarter horse. Treat her like you would any other breed and I believe that you will find that she is a gem. Most belgians are smart, docile and very eager to please.

Answer 7

Oh dear, please do not buy that beast. I tried training them, however I found them to be bull headed and dangerous.

Answer 8

well, the bigger they are the harder you fall.

the last training question my answer got reported, so i'm just gonna leave it at that. why bother answering seriously when i'm just gonna get reported.