Keith Hosman - How to Start a Horse

How to Start a Horse

Bridling to 1st Ride, Step-by-Step

Keith Hosman

"How to Start a Horse"
By Keith Hosman

ISBN: 9781301254439, Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012-2019 by Keith Hosman

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If youre reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Please note: The information appearing in this publication is presented for educational purposes only. In no case shall the publishers or authors be held responsible for any use readers may choose to make, or not to make, of this information.

Keith Hosman
PO Box 31
Utopia, TX 78884 USA

horsemanship101.com

081118.011719

Prepping your horse for a first ride requires plenty of ground work. Here are your step-by-step instructions.

This book provides simple and objective training for the unbroke horse, from first-time bridling and saddling to sacking out, bridle work from the ground, pre-mount work, and your (necessarily short) first ride. You'll learn tried and true, proven methods, tips to keep you safer, and tricks to save time.

- If you began your training in the round pen, this book outlines the next steps.

- If you haven't round penned your horse, you can still begin with this book BUT round penning beforehand is highly recommended.

Section I gets you into the saddle for a first ride. You start on the ground, you end in the saddle. Today's the perfect day to get started putting a proper foundation on your horse, a solid start that'll pay big dividends for the rest of his life.

Section II offers additional, related training, helpful at this particular stage in your horse's training career. It includes a chapter designed to prep you the rider/trainer, for all future rides, demonstrating specifically how to use your reins for quicker, easier results with horses of all ages. A good ninety percent of the issues I see at a typical riding clinic could have been prevented if the rider knew a few simple rules about how to hold (and release!) those reins. Developing a "good feel" for when and how to pick up and drop those reins will make training easier at all stages of your horse's lifeespecially when astride a young and nervous colt when clear communication is most paramount.

Finally, pinned to the tail of this book, you'll find three additional chapters, including a trick to gain your horse's respect, a tip to keep its attentionand specifically what to do when you find yourself facing "The Cinchy Horse."

Good luck in your training!

Keith Hosman
John Lyons Certified Trainer
Utopia, Texas USA

Note: When you finish this material, you'll be ready to begin "basically training" your colt or filly; that's where you would go from here.

Section I:
Days 1 Through 5

Bridling to 1st Ride, Step-by-Step

When you're gonna be the first to sit in that saddle, you'll want to do everything possible to stack the odds in your favor.

Colt Starting: The good news is, training up your green horse is a simple, methodical and objective business. Start with Step One, nail it, move on to Two. Years later, after the basics have been instilled through miles and miles of wet saddle blankets, you can be more subjective, you can sort of pick and choose what you'd like to concentrate on"Do I work on speed control today or leads?"but for now, hey, follow the material I've set out here and know you're building the correct foundation. The bad news is, sooner or later, somebody's gotta get on the horse. And that's when you're gonna find out how well you follow directions.

If you're in good physical shape, a relatively experienced equestrian, and willing to chance ending up being knocked to the ground despite your best intentions and time-spent-training, you can do much, if not all, of the work yourself. Yes, I said it and you read it: Despite everything you do, you still might end up on the ground. Everything we'll cover here is for and about bettering your odds that all rides will be pleasant but it's impossible to guarantee that your horse won't buck, rear, or bolt if you do x, y, or z. They're inherently prey animals with small brains that see velociraptors when we see garbage cans. Know that now and hire a pro if need be; trainers work cheaper than the doctors in the E.R. In the end, we do everything we can think of, we do the best we can every step of the way, and then take a deep breath, get on and hope for the best.

Know that the material that follows is invaluable for all equestrians. Certainly you'll need to know it if you're doing the training yourselfbut even if you simply own the horse and have hired some young trainer (who presumably bounces better than you) to do the riding, you'll need this knowledge as well. You need to understand how "A" leads to "B" which leads to "C" and that if "C" is broken all you have to do is go back and re-teach "B" then "C." Example: Understanding that control of the hips on the ground ultimately gives us control over the shoulders when riding is necessary info because it gives you the knowledge you'll need months from now when you find your horse in need of a little fine tuning. Never mind the pro at that point, you'll know that you simply need to re-visit hip control when the shoulders seem "stuck."

The instructions found in this book are based on what I've learned "by doing"but they also parallel the methods of trainer John Lyons. They do so for two big reasons: One, I've been certified by John (and his son Josh) to teach his methods, so that's "what I do." Two, his ways are easy, they're step-by-step, and they really, really work. If I could get wows from folks based on info gleaned from his old training videos years before becoming certified, you can certainly get your young horse started properly with what I've laid out here. Put in the time it takes, keep a business-like demeanor at all times, stay faithful to the exercises, don't cut corners, and pay particular attention to specific points I may call out as common mistakes, traps or just plain "uber important"and you'll see some pretty terrific results.

It can be incredibly rewarding to start your own horse and then look back on this achievement years later as fellow riders complement what a terrific job you've done. But if you've never done this before, understand that it's going to be a long, tough slog. Finished horses become finished horses only after years of consistent training. You won't read this tonight and have a push button horse by supper tomorrow. Each and every timefor a long timethat you think leftyou'll be carried right. You'll have to "set up" your horse's body positioning to get the correct lead rather than simply dropping your leg back to cue. You'll ask for a nice easy jog, but get a bone-jarring 35 mph trot and so on. You'll be training every day, not just "riding." Every improvement is earned.

While the material you'll find here is broken into five "days," bear in mind that this segmentation simply serves as a device to break things down into a simple, easy to follow format. The individual exercises found in any particular "day" may take a week or even more to fully accomplish. Our "week" will break down as follows: Day One gets our horse bridled for the first time. Day Two is about developing hip and shoulder control from the ground, (an introduction to our use of the reins, basically). Day Three is sacking out with our saddle blanket plus first saddling. Day Four prepares us to mount up and Day Five is our first ride. Given that, logic alone should tell you that some of those "days" could in fact take "weeks." Don't worry about how long you think it should take or how long it takes your friends or how fast some pro teaches his horse. Each horse and trainer combination is different so move on only when your horse is ready. Don't get in a hurry and cut corners. Remember, the foundation you build in the coming weeks will serve you well for years in the futurewhile steps skipped today always come back to haunt you.