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Riding colts.

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Big Muddy rancher

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the daughter is riding 3 two year old geldings. One is moving out and getting a handle. The other is a bigger colt that likes to challenge her and when warmed up in the round pen will crank it up and buck a little but then she can ride him and he behaves quite well. The third colts is maybe the best to handle stands good to be saddled and lopes around the round pen to be warmed up. He will move around the pen while I am in the middle at a walk , trot and lope but if I am not their he is content to stand and not move. She doesn't want to use spurs on this colt but no amount of Clucking squeezing with legs or swats with the reins really get him to move out.
Any Ideas for her? She is getting a little frustrated. I think once we can get taking the calves out of the pens he will work better with a job to do.
 
I try to keep them turning until they want to walk out on their own... you know how if you turn them they take a few steps... Good luck :wink:
 
Friend of daughters is spending the night....she has something to say about gettin this horse to move.

Ok i ride a lot of horses like that and here is what I do. Sometimes I do that circle thing, but some horses i have found that does not work on. You can get maybe a small whip and try that. Yet, you have some really stubborn horses that you do have to resort to the spurs. At my house every horse we ride we use spurs on. You have more controll on them, and also they respond to your leg movements better. When your a small girl like me a big horse can't always feel your legs even though you are kicking hard. Spurs will give you just enough force so that he will feel her cues. I saw you said you have to always be there. What I think is that she needs to learn she has to make the horse know she is the boss not him. Also, tell her that no matter how hard she kicks she is not going to hurt him. She has to learn that sometimes you have to get agressive with him, so that he knows she means bussiness and is not just playing around. You also said that she has used the reins so I am guessing she uses split reins. If I was her i would go to some roping reins they work alot better. If none of that works you might have to go back and work alot on his ground manners(gournd foundation). I think that is all I can think of now. Good luck hope he starts working better.
 
It is a big NO NO to use roping reins on a snaffle bit, and I would bet BMR's daughter is using a snaffle bit on this horse.

I will repeat: ABSOLUTELY do not use roping reins on a snaffle bit. You cannot operate the bit correctly because the reins are too short AND if he should jerk his head you could lose the reins. Seen it happen, and it ain't good.

BMR, have your daughter reach back and kinda to the side with her hand and kind of 'drive the colt' with her hand. Use her hand in an up and down motion to get some energy going in the horse. She doesn't need to touch the horse with her hand, but the movement causes some energy to get flowing. This horse is not responding to energy from her at all right now. Be sure that when the horse is ready to move, that she lets him go in a fluid motion. Don't pick up on him when he starts, or he will think he shouldn't move.

Sometimes, if you can't ride 'em, you can drive 'em. Pat Parelli says, "you can't lead a horse to water and make him drink, but you can DRIVE him and make him thirsty."

Hope this helps.
 
My suggestion would be, if all else fails, to have another rider snub the bronc to another saddle horse and lead it. Then the rider of the bronc could "generate some energy" and persuade the horse to move, and the rider on the horse doing the towing could enforce the commands and make the bronc move. If the bronc breaker is by themselves, just lead the saddled bronc from another horse, getting it accustomed to "move ahead" audio cues like "clk clks" and other forms of commands.
 
Thanks for all the advice. We have ponyed him out as well in the round pen and areana. little Muddy is trying to get him to move out stop and turn nicely but she went back to driving him tonight and will continue to drive him for warm up.. He moves out nicely when I stand in the middle of the pen as if I am lunging him as Little Muddy has worked him that way. he just seems lost when she is up on his back. Thanks again.
 
Faster horses said:
In other words, we didn't help ya much, did we? :wink:


Oh I wouldn't say that. It always helps to have some one other then dad tell her things. I think it was your suggestion about more driving that got her to do it.
We might make it to Miles city with Roger on the 16th. if all goes well.

Will you be there?
 
BMR,

Glad to hear it seems to be working out.....Some horses are natural born followers and freexe up if they don't have direction....HMMMMM many more people are that way...

The reluctance to spurs i don't understand...I use, but wouldn't abuse them. The thing I don't like about clucking and verbal go cues is someone else can prompt my horse to go while I am on it.

Anyway, one of the best horseman I ever knew had a saying....I do as little as it takes but I do what it takes.......Generally, once the horse figures it out, it takes less each time,


Hope the daughter continues to enjoy this and maintains an interest inasking...I find it interesting to hear different ideas,


Pat
 
The use of spurs is just another tool you can have as useing different bits. Cues with spurs are neither painful or frighting if used right. I like short shank small rowels. But that`s all in preference.
 
I think her concern with using spurs is if they jump or crow hop she might dig in to much and cause more problems. I try not to push to much as she is rebuilding her confidence after recovering from a broken pelvis last year. In the heat of the moment during a great team penning run her mare came over backwards. It sort of just happened. She had come to the hole slid to a stop. Then she immediatly had to back up. The mares hind feet were well under her a and her front end came in motionand her back end seemed locked up. Over she went with the saddle hitting her on the hip. Six months later the doctor let her ride again.
 
I think I have to agree with BMR's daughter. I have short legs and bad knees - spurs usually cause me more grief than give on young horses plus I'm not a bronc rider!! I don't mind using spurs on an older horse once in a while. I've also learned the hard way to always roll my heel when 'spurless'. Things can sure happen hard and fast if you forget and "kick" when the spurs are on.

My two cents worth about getting her horse to move out. From the ground with lead in one hand direct your horse ahead (or a turn) while bumping his elbow with the stirrup. Keep bumping (have patience) until he steps, accept any step but don't try to keep him moving with the lead or continued bumps - his reward for doing it right is to stop asking. If he stops just bump his elbow with the stirrup again. Work both sides. I like to give them a second or two to think about it after they've been successful a time or two. When he is moving out change the bump to behind the front cinch, both sides worked again. Give the horse a chance to move out with a lighter bump first, progressively firmer as needed. The hand on the lead isn't to pull him forward, it's a suggestion of direction - a little help! The knuckles or thumbs will work (behind the cinch) too, but more for freeing up the hindquarter and moving sideways. I think probably the most important thing is to reward any step or movement by stopping the pressure (bumping) which is why the trainers tell us to not try to keep them going - not until they have the basics figured out - squeezes and bumps to disengage the back end. Hope things work out with the gelding(s) and her.
 
It is one continuous rein that is attached to the bit on both sides, instead of a split rein or two reins.
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
I think her concern with using spurs is if they jump or crow hop she might dig in to much and cause more problems. I try not to push to much as she is rebuilding her confidence after recovering from a broken pelvis last year. In the heat of the moment during a great team penning run her mare came over backwards. It sort of just happened. She had come to the hole slid to a stop. Then she immediatly had to back up. The mares hind feet were well under her a and her front end came in motionand her back end seemed locked up. Over she went with the saddle hitting her on the hip. Six months later the doctor let her ride again.

Boy I feel her pain its been 2 1/2 months since I broke mine I have rode the same horse in the last 2 weeks. the first time I rode him my wife asked why I did'nt just ride one of the gentler horses.I told her I wanted to get something done but more so I wanted to see If I had the gut's to climb back on him all went fine and as I figured my horse does'nt like rodeo's in town great ranch horse hates town who can blame him for that.Was REALLY sore for 2 days after but It sure felt good to be back in the saddle everyone think's I'm nut's but that's okay I am....
 
My suggestion would be to slap my hand on my leg and push aginst my saddle with my thieghs, kinda incourage forward motion. I would be pretty nervouse if they don't try and move out. Usually my experiance if they don't move out they will buck.. Soap has a good suggestion too. I have ridden alot of horses snugged up to another..
 
Good for you Denny, you got that out of the way. Will be easier from now on.

My husbands grandfather had a truly great ranch horse. Everyone talked about her. There were 6 grandsons and a couple of them tried using her for arena roping. No go. She absolutely hated it.

We had another horse we got from Kidd Cattle Co. from Three Forks, Mt. Started by Buck Brannaman when he worked there. This was a good horse. A friend used him on a big ranch doctoring calves. That horse went at those calves like he was killing snakes. The best horse on the whole ranch for roping and doctoring calves. We started team roping on him. He was really broke good, and we went at it real easy. Lots of scoring, slow cattle, the whole bit. He hated it. When you walked back up the arena after taking your rope off a steer, he would be looking out of the arena the whole time, wishing he was someplace else. He then started fouling you. He wasn't mean, just didn't want to be there. We'd get one of his tricks figured out and he'd throw another your way. We finally gave up. He should have made a grand rope horse, had everything it takes, but the right mind.

So he lived his life happily, as a ranch horse.
 

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