Starting from scratch in the deepend

DAPNET Forums Archive › Forums › Draft Animal Power › Training Working Animals › Training Horses and/or Mules › Starting from scratch in the deepend

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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  • May 4, 2011 at 2:13 pm #42689
    northern farmer
    Participant

    I’m still working my way around this forum and trying to read and take in all of the great information on offer, but I’m still feeling completely overwhelmed and I figured I should just post about my situation here and see what happens. I feel pretty stupid posting this and I apologize upfront for my lack of knowledge and the long-winded story to come 😀

    It’s just coming up to a year ago now that my family moved from the city into a house on my wife’s uncle’s land. We’re setting ourselves up to be as self-sufficient as we can be with a small goat herd, meat rabbits, chickens, wood stove etc.

    Now then, the uncle has had horses for years, and despite the fact that they were ridden and trained to pull back in the day, they have been nothing more than over-sized and under-used lawn ornaments for years. The farrier comes 3 times a year, we push a bale of hay in the pasture every 4 days in winter… and that’s it. They are left to their own devices in the pasture year-round. The uncle is quadriplegic and hardly ever even sees the animals. I simply do not like his theories about training and raising horses which I wont go into now. Suffice to say I don’t want to ask for his advice and any training I put in will be largely without his knowledge. They aren’t mistreated, as such, it’s just such a huge waste of potential, particularly considering they all seem in great health, never needing to see a vet and coping with Quebec winters without trouble.

    I’m not a horse person at all, I have no experience whatsoever, and I’m intimidated by these current horses who seem incredibly bored and show no desire to have anything to do with people unless they offer food.

    But… the Norwegian Fjord mare is due to foal in about 6 weeks to an Appaloosa stallion and I’m wondering whether I could get enough knowledge together to actually work with the foal from scratch, take it under my wing, and see what we can do together. I don’t need to work a horse hard as I’m pretty much doing the jobs myself already, the horse would simply make things easier. I’d like to be able to ride it, use it as a pack animal, and to haul logs/bucked wood/hay carts. I’m a big believer in self-sufficiency and fully expect the impacts of peak oil to hit us hard in the near future, so owning a working horse could become a tremendous asset to our little ‘stead here.

    If anyone can offer any advice at all, from first-day basics, gear, books I should read or even other forums/sites that I should join, I’m willing to take it all on board.

    May 4, 2011 at 5:02 pm #67202
    Tyler Fournier
    Participant

    I had zero horse experience up until 3-4 months ago, when we began looking for a horse. My wife has a decent amount of experience, so we had that going for us. For a while we considered a Percheron yearling. He was for sale right across town, and both he and his parents seemed like great horses. We ended up with an 8 year old Percheron mare, trained to ride and drive. We made the right decision for us. Even with my wife’s experience, combined with the help of other experienced folks, I have my hands full learning about horses even while dealing with a trained horse. If both the horse and I were in the beginning stages of learning, it would be extremely difficult, and downright dangerous, for us both. Take this with a grain of salt, as I am still very new to all of this, but I am a firm believer that the best match for an inexperienced person is the most well trained horse that you can find.

    Tyler

    May 4, 2011 at 5:35 pm #67204
    Pebbles
    Participant

    Hi NF:
    Tyler is exactly right. The old saying around horses is green (human) on green(horse) makes black and blue. You will be hurt, frustrated and give up. I have trained saddle horses for many years. Find a well trained horse who can help train you-it will be worth every cent. If you want to drive find a horse that can do that WELL.

    I have just starting training my older saddle horse to drive. We are at the stage where we are ground driving and pulling a skid. I am very aware of the potential for injury when working with horses, teaching a horse to drive adds another danger level with all the equipment you will be using. When you are training a horse to ride your concerns are getting thrown, trampled, accidently stepped on, bit etc. Driving adds to the list getting yourself or the animal hurt or killed by the equipment you have attached to him-and it happens really fast. I can’t imagine training a horse to drive without knowing horses.

    Working with horses is the most rewarding, awesome experience you can hope for IF YOU DO IT RIGHT. Horses are big, strong, clautrophobic scaredicats, as untrained animals they derive their confidence from you and if you do not know what you are doing it will be a wreck and that would be a shame.

    I know it’s hard because you see all those horses with potential just eating their life away.

    All that being said, if you insist on working with what you have start by spending time with them on their territory. Hang out with them, scratch them, get them to looking forward to seeing you. Get some DVD’s on ground work-Clinton Anderson is excellent, gives step by step directions with lots of demos and troubleshooting. Pat Parelli is also excellent for training and particularly for the horse psychology aspects.

    Start at the very beginning-do not skip any steps. Respect your horses but do not allow them to bully you. If you learn nothing else learn to be assertive with your horse but NEVER AGRESSIVE…big difference but it will mean the difference between having a horse that you treat as a tool, a means to an end, who will leave you when the going gets tough and a horse who considers you his partner and you both work together to get a job done, he respects you AND TRUSTS your decisions and you respect him.

    Horses are herd animals, they need a leader-if you are not the leader then they are the leader. Parelli will teach you about horse psychology

    Get Lynn Miller’s books on training-same philosophy.

    Sorry the post is so long, I could go on and on…can you tell I love horses

    May 4, 2011 at 5:54 pm #67203
    northern farmer
    Participant

    Keep going Pebbles! I need as much information under my belt as I can get and I’ll look for those books.

    I agree with you too Tyler but unfortunately we only have what we have. I can’t afford my own horse, nor the hay. I either try to work with the adult horses here, which I feel is beyond me, or start with the mare and foal with the basics.

    The mare’s last foal was sold last June at 1yr old. He had seen the farrier a couple of times and that was it, he was virtually a wild horse in a pasture who wanted to bite and paw at anything that went near him or his momma. Took over 4hrs to get him in the wagon once he was finally sold and I know the same thing will happen with the next foal if I don’t at least try.

    May 4, 2011 at 6:05 pm #67201
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    you probably won’t ever get better advice than what tyler just told you.
    find a gelding not a day under 12, who gets pushed around the pasture by every other horse. last one in the barn. don’t have strength enough to pull your sick aunt off a milking stool. feed him, tend him and get his faith and he will teach you anything you want to know.
    don’t refuse helpful advice or real experience, but in the end, its always the horse is your teacher. good or bad.

    good luck and best wishes, mitch

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