HGG Community Forums

Ok thank you and I'm still a little unsure though

FYI, a post like this that isn't related to HJ horses belongs in the General Discussion section of the forum. That being said, it sounds like you are under 18 (since you mentioned that you are still going to get taller) so the most important thing for you to do is to get permission from your parent/guardian if you haven't done so already. Breaking in young horses and even working with them on the ground can potentially be dangerous and your family might not be comfortable with you doing this so you need to make sure that they will allow you to help your trainer.

Before you work with a green or untrained horse, you really need to consider your own personality first. I know many people who are wonderful riders and are great at helping train or re-train older horses and teach them new skills/disciplines. However, many of these same people just do not work well with very young or green horses. Breaking in and backing a young horse takes an enormous amount of patience and tact. If you are someone who gets easily frustrated, angry, or nervous, then breaking in young horses probably isn't for you. Be honest with yourself! If you get frustrated with an untrained horse, it is very easy to get seriously hurt! This is nothing to be embarrassed about. Many of the top professional riders do not break in their own horses; instead, they send them to a trainer who specializes in backing young horses and they will take them back once the horse has been broken in and has learned to safely accept a rider.

If you decide that you can handle working with a young horse, you need to make sure that you know how to break it in safely. If you have never helped break, back, or train a young horse you should watch someone experienced do this first (and preferably watch them many times and with multiple different horses) so you know what to do. You should never attempt to handle or work with a young or untrained horse without an experienced professional there to help instruct you. Young horses are generally very impressionable and it is very easy to scare them or teach them some very bad habits, even if you don't mean to do so. Remember that intelligent horses can learn things much faster and are easier to train, but their intelligence also means that they pick up bad habits much more easily.

When you are choosing what horse to break in, you should think about the sort of horse that you enjoy riding the most. Personally, I prefer mares and I like horses that are intelligent, forward, and sensitive. I also work well with horses that are more dominant or independent. I am one of those people that loves a good chestnut TB mare. :D If I get to choose a horse to work with, I usually do not choose geldings or horses that are less intelligent, slow, or dull. I know that a lot of people like the big dopey geldings but I don't enjoy that sort of horse. That doesn't mean they aren't great horses, it just means that they aren't the kind of horse for me. You should consider the traits that you like in a horse when you are choosing one to break in. If you like smart horses, you might be easily frustrated with one that isn't so smart and takes a long time to learn something. However, the less intelligent ones are usually more forgiving of mistakes so if you have no experience with breaking in horses, that might be the way to go.

You did not mention if the pony has been gelded or not. If he has not been gelded yet, I would not recommend that you work with him unless you have a lot of experience with stallions. They are a lot more unpredictable than mares or geldings and their behavior can get very scary very quickly if you do not know how to correct them effectively without getting yourself hurt. If you want to work with him but think that you will be too tall, remember that your weight will be a lot more important than your height, especially if you are only going to be doing very basic riding with him. Now, if you are very tall and the pony is very short it may not work, but if the pony is a decent height and you aren't super tall, you will probably be ok to back him if you are lightweight. Personally, I would recommend that you work with each one of the horses a little (if possible) and then choose which one you want to help break in.

Above all, you should enjoy yourself and have a good safe learning experience. If you feel unsafe, scared, angry, or frustrated, let your instructor know! Your instructor is not going to want you to keep working with the horse if you feel uncomfortable and want to stop. Good luck!

Ya I'm pretty sure I will go with dale because then I can do a little more with her this summer