New Horse

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I’d like to introduce our new horse “Indy”. Indy is an 8 year old Canadian who I would guess runs around 1200 lbs and just under 16 hands. For those of you not familiar with the Canadian breed, here is some more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_horse
We bought him to team up with our Paint/Percheron cross mare and as a riding horse for my wife Kristan. Indy has had no experience in harness and no riding experience.

Indy was born on my friend John Hayden’s farm where he nursed off his mother for 4 years and was babied – according to John – by his mom and sister (John’s working team). In other words, he has lived a very sheltered life. Riding horses are sometimes described as “forward” horses with a lot of “go”. As I am not a rider, I only understood these terms as an abstraction until I met Indy. He is a very athletic horse that likes to move. He lacks confidence and is very distractible. I went to load him on my trailer (something he’d never seen before), and he wouldn’t go within 30 feet of it. Despite his lack of confidence – or because of it – he seemed willing to accept my leadership and I was able to load him on the trailer within an hour. I did this by circling him closer and closer to the trailer and letting him rest near or on the ramp. Eventually he was willing to enter and I got him home without event.

He has been here for just over 3 weeks and I work with him for 15-20 minutes every day. My main goal during these sessions is to get him to focus on me – completely – during this time. I have been working on getting him to yield his hind and forequarters, putting his head down, and backing. I am also introducing him to the concept of “personal space” as he is a horse who likes to crowd. Lastly, I work him some in the round pen. However, I don’t think this is a good tool for this horse as he just tears around the pen with no pressure.

Last week I started him in a driving bridle and a sort of backpad with rings attached to keep the lines supported. He had no concept of what a bit is and its function. I drove him around his pen initially and slowly he is starting to understand the benefits of yielding to the bit. Despite lots of herky, jerky, chewing incessantly on the bit, some bucking and rearing, he is making progress. I have been driving him outside his pen and around the barnyard venturing further and further trying to keep him comfortable, but pushing him a little every day. Around the barn, he drives in a completely relaxed fashion – head down, little or no pressure on the bit – and will stand relaxed. As we venture further from the barn (say a few hundred yards, but still in sight), he will test me by trying to swing around, rearing a bit, and has trouble standing unless I am beside him. I think this is normal and he should become more confident as he gets more experience.

If things continue to progress, I plan on harnessing him next week. As he becomes comfortable with the harness, I will have him drag a single tree and a small load and go from there. I would like to get him started as a single and then perhaps team him up with one of my larger horses to do some “real” work such as moving some wood in a wagon. I am trying to strike a balance between getting him going single and linked up with me as his leader compared with keeping him comfortable with a steady horse by his side.

Does this sound like a reasonable approach so far? Any input and insights on starting horses would be appreciated.

George