Horse Breaking: Frequently Asked Questions
These are just some of the questions that I (and I am sure other trainers) get asked when people enquire about breaking in a horse.
This is probably the most common question and often the first one that people ask. The answer is of course "it depends". The length of time is a big factor. Some trainers quote a flat fee to start a horse. If your breaker does this you want to make sure that he/she will take the time it takes to do the job well. I think it is not possible to say from the outset how long any horse will take to be started properly - each horse will vary and each owner's needs and expectations will be different. So while a flat fee is great in giving an owner an accurate idea of their costs, a flat fee should not commit the breaker to doing the job within a pre-determined set time. That's why most breakers charge on a weekly or daily basis.
Secondly, I don't believe price is a good indication of quality. Some trainers charge at the high end of the scale because they have huge overheads and need to cover the cost of maintaining their property and pay staff. Others charge more than others because they only train a few horses at a time and need to make a living on the earnings that fewer horses bring in compared to other trainers. Some trainers are cheaper because they are part-time trainers. Trainers that break in a horse in a few days are often cheaper than those that take a few weeks to train a horse for saddle work. Trainers in country areas are sometimes cheaper than those that live on the urban fringe because their costs are lower and because the market (their clients) won't pay the higher prices. And some trainers can charge less because they accept lots of horses into work at any one time. However, this also means they probably spend less time with each horse than a trainer who accepts only a few horses for work.
From my observation, I think most professional trainers range in their charges from $250 to $450 per week. I understand that most everybody is on a budget when it comes to sending a horse to a trainer, but I also believe it is false economy to base the decision of which trainer to use solely on the cost of training.
This is the next most commonly asked question. Again, the answer is "it depends".
When I was younger and began breaking in horses I used to take about 14 days. By the time I was in my late teens I was getting the job done in 10 days. If I managed to finish breaking in a horse in 8 or 9 days I figured I was getting really good. As I got older and learned a lot more I began taking longer. My understanding of what it is to really make a change in a horse has changed over the years and I have learned to look for things in a horse that I didn't even know existed when I was younger. The better the horseman I have become the more time I spend taking care of the little things that I didn't even know about a few years ago. These days Michele and I average about 6 weeks to finish a breaker. The easier horses might get done in 4 weeks and the very difficult horses may take 8 or more weeks. It depends.
I have seen a lot of other trainers break in a horse. Monty Roberts demonstrates getting on a horse within 30 minutes and I know a trainer who teaches his students to take a year to break in a horse. If you have seen "colt starting" clinics by Ray Hunt or Buck Brannaman you'll see horses started in 3 days. I have seen Curt Pate, John Lyons, Bryan Nueburt, Tink Elordi and others riding horses in within 2 hours. But at all these clinics and demonstrations I have never seen any horse far enough along to go home with its owner and be ready to go to work. In fact, at least two horses I saw after they were started by a famous trainer at a "colt starting" clinic were pretty messed up by their experience.
So if some trainer tells you he will start your horse in 1 week and another estimates 12 weeks, you still have no idea how good a job either of them is going to do. It should take what it takes and a trainer who believes breaking a horse in should only take a set amount of time is a trainer who also thinks horses are vehicles absent of emotions, psychological needs and spirit.
A lot of people are looking for a breaker to start their next top level performance horse. There is a view that if you want a dressage horse, then you to have your horse trained by somebody who is a good dressage rider. The same is said for western enthusiasts and western trainers. I don't believe this view is true. My background is in dressage and jumping, but many think I am a western trainer because I ride in a western style saddle. Before I had the money to buy my first western saddle I broke all horses in a Keiffer jumping saddle. It made no difference to the outcome.
Starting a horse is about establishing the basics. The basics are the same basics for every discipline. There is nothing special about any discipline that requires the basics to be different from any other discipline. It doesn't matter if you want your horse for dressage, cutting, endurance, polo or harness. The basics are all the same.
Once a horse is broken in and the basics are established to a high degree he is ready to be moulded into whatever area of interest you may want to pursue. But until those basics are established by the breaker (and followed up at home) there is no event that he is ready to pursue. It is like saying that you want your child to ride at the Olympics one day, so you send her for her first riding lessons to an Olympic coach. The basics of riding that your child needs to learn would be better taught by a good teacher who specializes in helping novice riders. There is no advantage to choosing an Olympic coach until your child is ready to ride at Olympic level.
I think a lot of trainers are like me and cringe when we get a phone call from somebody asking to send us a horse to be backed. They tell you how wonderful their horse is to handle and they have lunged him and mouthed him and saddled him etc. I can tell you all now that as I professional trainer I dread those calls.
I have never, ever, never, ever (am I being clear enough?) had a horse come to us who is going well enough by our standards to be backed. In fact, we have never had a horse who leads well enough by our standards. The one basic thing that I like in a horse is that they are easily caught - that's the one thing that makes life a lot easier. So when somebody tells me their horse is great and they just want us to ride him I tell them good luck finding somebody. If you do send us a horse that you think is ready to be backed, we will still go over everything we want them to know first. If your handling has been good, then we will be able to breeze through that part of the training smoothly. But we will spend time tweaking the things that need improving and passing over the things that are pretty good. When he is at a level that we are happy about we will start riding, but not until then. This is for the benefit of both us and your horse. Which leads me to the next question…
Most people think that breaking in a horse is simply a matter of getting on them with no buck, teaching them to go, stop and turn. If that's all you want from your horse then most anybody who can half-way sit on a horse can get that achieved. But what if you want a horse that is not simply a robot? What if you want a horse that feels good inside and wants to get along with you? What if you want a horse that tries to stay focused? What if you want a horse that still tries to keep it together in the face of trouble? What if you want a horse that hasn't lost his personality by the demand for obedience of a trainer? What if you want a horse that enjoys his work instead of just tolerating it? What if you want softness through the whole horse - mind and body? I didn't know about these things when I started and it has taken a lifetime for me to get the understanding I have today. Maybe I am just a slow learner, but I think most people don't know these things exist let alone how important they are to the final outcome of your relationship with your horse. And if you don't know they exist or don't truly understand what they mean, how are you going to build them into your horse? When I was breaking in horses in 10 days I didn't understand these things - I thought I did, but I didn't really understand them. I may not understand them well enough now, but it has more meaning to me than before and it has a lot of more meaning to the results Michele and I get with horses now.
I believe that we owe it to our horses to provide them with the best start possible. For most people that means getting professional help and not using their horse as a guinea pig in their quest to learn how to break in a horse. If you want to learn how to go about starting horses, spend a lot of time hanging around a good trainer and suck all the information you can from them. Send your horse to them and spend as much time as you can finding out the 'whys' and 'hows' of what they do.
A lot of people have asked themselves if they should get a horse with a clean slate that has not been messed up by poor training. They want to avoid the pitfalls of inheriting problems from previous owners. I think it is a false premise to assume that training a horse you bred or buying an untrained horse will ensure you get a well behaved horse. I say this because I believe that if you do not have the skills to fix problems in a horse, then you don't have the skills to ensure you don't put problems in a horse. You need to be just as good a horse person to solve issues with horses as you do to make sure you don't screw them up. The one advantage of buying a horse already messed up is that you can blame somebody else for it!
If you are not familiar with a trainer yourself make sure you visit and watch them working a horse before committing to sending your horse. A recommendation is a great starting point for narrowing the list of prospective trainers. But you need to make sure that you are comfortable with the trainer. Every trainer has people who bad mouth them and people who tell you they can do no wrong. You will hear good and bad about every trainer. You have to decide these things for yourself. Your needs and ideas of what you want from a trainer may be very different from your friends.
When your horse is with the trainer make sure you visit regularly (make appointments) to watch your horse being worked. When you visit ask every question you can think of. As your horse progresses get some hands-on experience under the guidance of the breaker. Make sure you have ridden your horse several times before taking him home. Make sure you are comfortable with how your horse is going before taking him home. Get some guidance on things to do when working your horse at home. Be prepared to learn from the breaker and change several things about your riding and handling skills. See it as a learning opportunity for you as much as it is for your horse.
For a short time it is quite normal for horses to not go as well at home as they did at the breakers. Owners often lack the confidence at home that they had when the breaker was guiding them and keeping them out of trouble. But after a short time, most people work out how to get along with their horse.
How much does it cost?
This is probably the most common question and often the first one that people ask. The answer is of course "it depends". The length of time is a big factor. Some trainers quote a flat fee to start a horse. If your breaker does this you want to make sure that he/she will take the time it takes to do the job well. I think it is not possible to say from the outset how long any horse will take to be started properly - each horse will vary and each owner's needs and expectations will be different. So while a flat fee is great in giving an owner an accurate idea of their costs, a flat fee should not commit the breaker to doing the job within a pre-determined set time. That's why most breakers charge on a weekly or daily basis.
Secondly, I don't believe price is a good indication of quality. Some trainers charge at the high end of the scale because they have huge overheads and need to cover the cost of maintaining their property and pay staff. Others charge more than others because they only train a few horses at a time and need to make a living on the earnings that fewer horses bring in compared to other trainers. Some trainers are cheaper because they are part-time trainers. Trainers that break in a horse in a few days are often cheaper than those that take a few weeks to train a horse for saddle work. Trainers in country areas are sometimes cheaper than those that live on the urban fringe because their costs are lower and because the market (their clients) won't pay the higher prices. And some trainers can charge less because they accept lots of horses into work at any one time. However, this also means they probably spend less time with each horse than a trainer who accepts only a few horses for work.
From my observation, I think most professional trainers range in their charges from $250 to $450 per week. I understand that most everybody is on a budget when it comes to sending a horse to a trainer, but I also believe it is false economy to base the decision of which trainer to use solely on the cost of training.
How long does it take to break in a horse?
This is the next most commonly asked question. Again, the answer is "it depends".
When I was younger and began breaking in horses I used to take about 14 days. By the time I was in my late teens I was getting the job done in 10 days. If I managed to finish breaking in a horse in 8 or 9 days I figured I was getting really good. As I got older and learned a lot more I began taking longer. My understanding of what it is to really make a change in a horse has changed over the years and I have learned to look for things in a horse that I didn't even know existed when I was younger. The better the horseman I have become the more time I spend taking care of the little things that I didn't even know about a few years ago. These days Michele and I average about 6 weeks to finish a breaker. The easier horses might get done in 4 weeks and the very difficult horses may take 8 or more weeks. It depends.
I have seen a lot of other trainers break in a horse. Monty Roberts demonstrates getting on a horse within 30 minutes and I know a trainer who teaches his students to take a year to break in a horse. If you have seen "colt starting" clinics by Ray Hunt or Buck Brannaman you'll see horses started in 3 days. I have seen Curt Pate, John Lyons, Bryan Nueburt, Tink Elordi and others riding horses in within 2 hours. But at all these clinics and demonstrations I have never seen any horse far enough along to go home with its owner and be ready to go to work. In fact, at least two horses I saw after they were started by a famous trainer at a "colt starting" clinic were pretty messed up by their experience.
So if some trainer tells you he will start your horse in 1 week and another estimates 12 weeks, you still have no idea how good a job either of them is going to do. It should take what it takes and a trainer who believes breaking a horse in should only take a set amount of time is a trainer who also thinks horses are vehicles absent of emotions, psychological needs and spirit.
Do you break in horses for dressage or western?
A lot of people are looking for a breaker to start their next top level performance horse. There is a view that if you want a dressage horse, then you to have your horse trained by somebody who is a good dressage rider. The same is said for western enthusiasts and western trainers. I don't believe this view is true. My background is in dressage and jumping, but many think I am a western trainer because I ride in a western style saddle. Before I had the money to buy my first western saddle I broke all horses in a Keiffer jumping saddle. It made no difference to the outcome.
Starting a horse is about establishing the basics. The basics are the same basics for every discipline. There is nothing special about any discipline that requires the basics to be different from any other discipline. It doesn't matter if you want your horse for dressage, cutting, endurance, polo or harness. The basics are all the same.
Once a horse is broken in and the basics are established to a high degree he is ready to be moulded into whatever area of interest you may want to pursue. But until those basics are established by the breaker (and followed up at home) there is no event that he is ready to pursue. It is like saying that you want your child to ride at the Olympics one day, so you send her for her first riding lessons to an Olympic coach. The basics of riding that your child needs to learn would be better taught by a good teacher who specializes in helping novice riders. There is no advantage to choosing an Olympic coach until your child is ready to ride at Olympic level.
Should I do all the ground work and just send my horse away to be backed?
I think a lot of trainers are like me and cringe when we get a phone call from somebody asking to send us a horse to be backed. They tell you how wonderful their horse is to handle and they have lunged him and mouthed him and saddled him etc. I can tell you all now that as I professional trainer I dread those calls.
I have never, ever, never, ever (am I being clear enough?) had a horse come to us who is going well enough by our standards to be backed. In fact, we have never had a horse who leads well enough by our standards. The one basic thing that I like in a horse is that they are easily caught - that's the one thing that makes life a lot easier. So when somebody tells me their horse is great and they just want us to ride him I tell them good luck finding somebody. If you do send us a horse that you think is ready to be backed, we will still go over everything we want them to know first. If your handling has been good, then we will be able to breeze through that part of the training smoothly. But we will spend time tweaking the things that need improving and passing over the things that are pretty good. When he is at a level that we are happy about we will start riding, but not until then. This is for the benefit of both us and your horse. Which leads me to the next question…
Should I break in my horse myself or send him to a trainer?
Most people think that breaking in a horse is simply a matter of getting on them with no buck, teaching them to go, stop and turn. If that's all you want from your horse then most anybody who can half-way sit on a horse can get that achieved. But what if you want a horse that is not simply a robot? What if you want a horse that feels good inside and wants to get along with you? What if you want a horse that tries to stay focused? What if you want a horse that still tries to keep it together in the face of trouble? What if you want a horse that hasn't lost his personality by the demand for obedience of a trainer? What if you want a horse that enjoys his work instead of just tolerating it? What if you want softness through the whole horse - mind and body? I didn't know about these things when I started and it has taken a lifetime for me to get the understanding I have today. Maybe I am just a slow learner, but I think most people don't know these things exist let alone how important they are to the final outcome of your relationship with your horse. And if you don't know they exist or don't truly understand what they mean, how are you going to build them into your horse? When I was breaking in horses in 10 days I didn't understand these things - I thought I did, but I didn't really understand them. I may not understand them well enough now, but it has more meaning to me than before and it has a lot of more meaning to the results Michele and I get with horses now.
I believe that we owe it to our horses to provide them with the best start possible. For most people that means getting professional help and not using their horse as a guinea pig in their quest to learn how to break in a horse. If you want to learn how to go about starting horses, spend a lot of time hanging around a good trainer and suck all the information you can from them. Send your horse to them and spend as much time as you can finding out the 'whys' and 'hows' of what they do.
Should I buy an unbroken horse and avoid getting a horse with problems already?
A lot of people have asked themselves if they should get a horse with a clean slate that has not been messed up by poor training. They want to avoid the pitfalls of inheriting problems from previous owners. I think it is a false premise to assume that training a horse you bred or buying an untrained horse will ensure you get a well behaved horse. I say this because I believe that if you do not have the skills to fix problems in a horse, then you don't have the skills to ensure you don't put problems in a horse. You need to be just as good a horse person to solve issues with horses as you do to make sure you don't screw them up. The one advantage of buying a horse already messed up is that you can blame somebody else for it!
Final words of advice when shopping for a trainer.
If you are not familiar with a trainer yourself make sure you visit and watch them working a horse before committing to sending your horse. A recommendation is a great starting point for narrowing the list of prospective trainers. But you need to make sure that you are comfortable with the trainer. Every trainer has people who bad mouth them and people who tell you they can do no wrong. You will hear good and bad about every trainer. You have to decide these things for yourself. Your needs and ideas of what you want from a trainer may be very different from your friends.
When your horse is with the trainer make sure you visit regularly (make appointments) to watch your horse being worked. When you visit ask every question you can think of. As your horse progresses get some hands-on experience under the guidance of the breaker. Make sure you have ridden your horse several times before taking him home. Make sure you are comfortable with how your horse is going before taking him home. Get some guidance on things to do when working your horse at home. Be prepared to learn from the breaker and change several things about your riding and handling skills. See it as a learning opportunity for you as much as it is for your horse.
For a short time it is quite normal for horses to not go as well at home as they did at the breakers. Owners often lack the confidence at home that they had when the breaker was guiding them and keeping them out of trouble. But after a short time, most people work out how to get along with their horse.