I got a question from a friend about what I would work on with a young horse. So here goes.
Things I aim to achieve with a young horse, starting from foal handling to a 3-year-old. This is not a strict list of the work, and the order and importance of each task may vary from horse to horse.
Essentially, this is a list of aspirations that I want to achieve with my young horse before introducing the saddle work. None of the tasks are ever complete, and I work to improve them every day.
Training a horse is a continuum rather than a list of exercises. The way a horse handles being brushed has an influence on the way they are to be caught, which relates to the way they respond when asked to canter. Everything is related, and none exists in isolation.
Your list might be different from mine. Maybe you would include some things that I left out, or perhaps the opposite is true. Maybe the order of tasks in your list is different from mine. Feel free to comment.
Anyway, here is my list, in my preferred order.
* Being comfortable when I’m in its space
* It’s comfortable when I approach and when I leave
* It can approach me without being rude or directing me
* I can touch it all over without worry or fear. Including fingers in its mouth, nostrils, or under the tail, etc.
* NO hand treats until very much further along.
* I can walk all around it. I can shuffle around it. I can skip around it
* Follow it from behind without worry - including being in the blind spot.
* Halter from either side.
* Softly lower head using halter.
* No mouthiness on me. Still NO hand treats.
* Yield to pressure from a feel on the halter/lead rope in any and all directions
* Follow me with its focus wherever I go
* Brushing/grooming
* Walk/trot on the lead rope with focus to “go with” me
* Walk/trot on the lead rope with focus to “go with” the feel of the rope.
* Walks on the trail and around obstacles away from the herd and arena
* Push the boundaries and introduce less safe locations
* Intro to learning the whip/flag
* Learn when to “go-with” or ignore the whip/flag
* Picking up feet when asked
* Worm paste
* Handling of the ears (inside and out)
* Pretend needle injection
* Introduce hosing
* Rugging (blanketing)
* Pole work
* Tying up for short periods
* Trailer loading and unloading
* Trailer loading on different sides of the trailer.
* Trailering short trips (around the driveway)
* Start round pen work
* Introduce belly rope
* Introduce surcingle
* Start of lunging at a walk and direction changes on circle
The mastering of all these skills I consider to be basic to every horse, irrespective of what discipline I choose. A horse is a riding horse before it is a dressage horse, polo horse, reining horse, harness horse, hunter or anything you choose to do with your horse.
Having said that, there maybe plenty of other tasks you might consider to be basic skills that are not included in the list above. For example, if you plan to do lots of camping you may want to teach your horse to be okay wearing hobbles and to lead from another horse. Both skills would be part of the process of teaching it to lead brilliantly.
I hope this gives you food for thought and I look forward to your feedback.
Michèle (my wife) is teaching a foal to enjoy a good scratch and learn humans are not as bad as mother warned him about.