Horses

(continuation)

22: Then it's time to work on the girth strap. This can be tricky, because it's constricting and uncomfortable, and because they won't want their belly being touched. Start very gradually, just by touching them with it, lightly placing it in place, etc. Don't fasten it yet. Give them plenty of practice with an unfastened girth strap being in place and even applying some pressure with it. But you do not want to actually fasten it and tighten it down until they're fully ready to accept it. Because once you fasten it, it's not going to come off easily, and if they freak out at that point, they'll be very freaked out about this thing following them around everywhere. You want to avoid that traumatic experience and only have good experiences with it, so make sure they're extremely comfortable with the girth strap before you try actually fastening it and tightening it down.

23: Then the bridle, which will be the same as the halter, except with the extra step of getting them to open their mouth and let the bit in. That will require some additional patience, but it's usually not actually that bad as long as you take it slow and take care never to push them faster than they're willing to go.

24: Once they're comfortable wearing a saddle and bridle, you can work on mounting. Again, a gradual process. You don't just jump on -- they'll instinctively think someone jumping on their back is a predator trying to kill them. So instead, you take it very slow and gradually. First just a hand resting on their back -- you should have already done that in Step 13, so they should already be comfortable with it. Then resting an arm on their back, then leaning on their back, then both arms on their back, then laying your chest and arms over their back, then putting a little weight on, then raising a foot, then putting a foot in the stirrup, then putting a little pressure on the stirrup, then kind of hopping up and down on the stirrup, then lifting yourself high enough without fully mounting yet, then swinging your other leg around, then (finally) actually getting on and sitting on top. You know the drill -- if they freak out, Step 3; if they do good, reward them with a break. There should not be any 'bucking bronco' or theatrics. If you've done this gradually enough, they should put up with it pretty easily and not try to fight it or get you off of them. (If they're still bucking a little even after being very gradual and gentle, check that the saddle fits properly and comfortably. Even a fully trained horse may buck if the saddle is pinching them.)

25: At this point, you can start training them to ride. Much like training to be led around, this is a matter of applying pressure and then rewarding them with a release of the pressure when they do what you want, with 'go forward' and 'stop' being the first priorities to learn, closely followed by turning. Practice those basics for a good long while before you try anything fancy like 'walk backwards' or 'side-step'.

26: And then you're well on your way. Where you go from there will depend on exactly what kind of riding you want to do, and there starts to be too many different possibilities to get into here. And, anyway, at this point, it's pretty much the same as training any already-trained horse to do the specific things you're interested in doing.

It sounds like a lot, I know. And it kind of is. But this process can work a lot better than you might imagine. Look for those signs from Step 4! That's the most important thing, and that's what will always be telling you when the horse is ready for the next step.

There are a lot of steps here and some of them can take a long time sometimes, sure ... but it isn't necessarily as long as it sounds! I've seen guys using this method take a wild-caught mustang and calmly ride them out of the round pen in just a matter of hours! (Don't rush things, though, especially if you're a beginner! Take all the time you need. And -- more importantly -- take all the time the horse needs.)