comet girl…DUCK!: Horse trainers: How long would it take to accomplish the following with a smart and willing horse? (English)?
Teach him to stand still when mounted.
Teach him to stand still on concrete while being groomed. (He likes to walk all over the place.)
Teach him to not freak out when he’s being sprayed (Show Sheen, fly spray, etc.)
Teach him to get on the bit nicely every time. (He CAN do it and does sometimes).
Teach him to pick up his feet. (He’s willing about 75% of the time and once his feet are up, he stands nicely, but sometimes he flat refuses.)
How many hours of training would this horse need and what would you charge to accomplish this? I know there are a lot of variables here, but give me your best estimate.
Should a professional horse trainer guarantee her work?
Note: We just bought the horse about 3 weeks ago. He’s a really good and sweet boy, but he hasn’t been ridden or even handled much in about a year. He’s getting a lot better at each of these issues as my daughter is working with him.
Thanks for all of your answers.
Answers and Views:
Answer by paige h
it will take a long time to do that. set small goals first though. like for instance, only teach him to stand while mounted at first and after hes accomplished that, then move on. if you try to teach him all of these things at once he could get confused and start bad habits like bucking while mounted or stall vices like weaving, cribbing, pacing and kiking. i would work with him for only an hour a day on one of the goals untill hes got it down. then move on to another goal, but still practice the first goal. i hope im making sense. i have an 11 year old gelding and i think i tought him to many things at once and he got frusterated while i was riding him and spooked at nothing, just to get me off. good luck!!!!!!!!!!
Firstly, your last question: I don’t think anything should EVER be gauranteed when it involves horses. A professional *should* be able to offer a more experienced hand and better ability to reach your goals than an amateur trainer, but there are many many many many many “trainers” out there that call themselves professional that I wouldn’t let breathe in the general direction of my horse.
Next, if I were training your horse, the only charge per say, I would have for you would be for the under saddle training. everything else you’ve mentioned comes from daily handling in a positive fashion. However, getting a horse to get on the bit nicely every time is something that could seriously take a long time, or hardly any time at all. Either way, I’d say from my own definetly not-professional experience, I would be confident that there would a positive improvement in 30 days in all your areas of desire.
For me personally, teaching a horse to stand still when mounting usually only takes about 7-10 days. Teaching him to stand still on crossties, regardless of the footing he’s on takes about just the same. Same with being sprayed and picking up his feet. All of these things can be worked on simultaneously along with the under saddle work, and much of it is a lack of respect for you that causes it.
Many trainers charge a lot for their work under saddle, but I can’t imagine any of them ignoring the rest of his ground issues while training him. Some trainers charge per ride and come to you (like me, and I only fetch $ 35 per workout). While others need you to board at their barn and pay training in addition, which can easily go to the $ 500-$ 800 or higher before you blink.
Anyway, either way, I would definetly say that his ground issues can be resolved fairly completely in 30 days, and you would see an improvement in his frame and forwardness within 30 days too.
If you take him to a trainer that works with him for 30 days every day, and you don’t see results – move to a different trainer. None of these issues are very difficult to work through.
Answer by mastermindmeI agree with Amandal, it sounds like a lack of respect issue. You see this alot in horses owned by sensitive people who dont want to ‘hurt’ them. You would probably benefit tremendously from having a good woman trainer work with him and you for 30 days.
I say a woman because horses are smarter than we sometimes give them credit for, and I’ve seen alot of horses who knew the difference between men and women and behaved completely different when handled by a man vs. a woman. And since you are a girl, it would be helpful to have your horse’s training reinforced by a female.
All in all, the ground handling issues are easy to correct. Getting him on the bit is a different story, but again, it probably comes down to being lazy and/or having no respect for you. Which your trainer should be able to address with you as well.
As for the charge, that will vary, but typically a decent professional trainer charges anywhere from $ 400-$ 800 a month.
And while no one can ‘guarantee’ anything when it comes to a live animal, your trainer should be able to make a very considerable difference in your horses behavior and teach you how to maintain it.
Good luck!
Answer by clyff12To acomplish all of these tasks, will take about a year. One way to get him to do this wilingly is NOT forcing him into anything, you have to let him willingly accept the task.
To teach him to stand while mounting: being him to a mounting and square him up to it, put one foot in the stirrup, and then just lay on him back for maybe 5-10 seconds. then if he doseent moove, jump off and try again, only this time swing all the way over and wait 10 seconds. Now if he moves, back him up about…. 5 steps, and repeat the 1sr and 2nd step.
To teach him to stand on x-ties: while hes on cross-ties also have a leadline attached and when he starts to dance around, pull on his lead, and direct him back to the middle of the isle.
Fly spray: Start slow! i also have this problem. while hes crosstied, spray his feet with water in a fly spray and vbery slowly work up twords his shoulder, and say “spray-spray”‘ Now this may sound funny but as he learns what this word means, he will slowly understand that its not going to hurt him. tehn you can move to fly spray and showsheen etc.
Teaching him to be on the bit: this is the one that will take the longest, while you’re riding sponge your inside rein and massage his side with your inside leg, with your outside rein, keep a stady contact, but not so hard that you’re pulling on him. This wil also teach him to set his head.
Feet: Run your hand (starting at his shoulder) down hus leg and once you get to rght above the fetlock, squeze and he should pick it up, if he dosent lean into him alittle bit.
I would say you should work him about 1-2 hours a day and if dosent have to be just riding, it can be ground manners or x-ties or feet. And no a trainer doesnt have to train her.
Answer by KatLet’s tackle theses one at a time, and I have to say it is better if you can to work with your own horse as it helps build trust. And having a horse trust you is very important.
Teach him to stand still when mounted.
Work with him everyday; and reward him when he does what you asked of him. With that said; what I have done with my horsesI, is that I have someone stand near him to help reinforce what I asked of him. As you try to mount if he takes a step, gently pull back on the reins to let him know to stop and say stand in a firm voice as you do. Have the person helping you back him up to where you can easily mount the horses and keep repeating. When he stands even if it is for a few seconds or a minute, reward him by patting him, giving him part of carrot or apple and telling him good boy, in a positive voice.
Teach him to stand still on concrete while being groomed. (He likes to walk all over the place.)
I have someone stand near him to help reinforce what I asked of him. As you try to brush him if he takes a step, gently pull back on the leadrope to let him know to stop and say stand in a firm voice as you do. Have the person helping you back him up to where you can easily brush the horses and keep repeating. When he stands even if it is for a few seconds or a minute, reward him by patting him, giving him part of carrot or apple and telling him good boy, in a positive voice.
Teach him to not freak out when he’s being sprayed (Show Sheen, fly spray, etc.)
Take a spray bottle and fill it with water and stand 5ft from him and spray the bottle where he can see it, most horses don’t like the noice of the spray bottle, exspecially if they can’t see where the noice is coming from. I had a mare that couldn’t stand the sound and would freak out. I would spend everyday working with her and rewarding her and eventually got to where she could care less.
Teach him to get on the bit nicely every time. (He CAN do it and does sometimes).
This is something that while you can teach a horse how to do, a rider has to know how to ask for it. If she does not know the proper way to ask for him to go on the bit, he won’t do it. My horses know how to go on the bit, and I know how to ask them how to, but I could put some one else on them and they won’t go on the bit. You do not want what is called a false headset, this is where the horse looks like he is on the bit but is not really. I learned how to get my horses on the bit from being in Pony Club, this is some thing the teach the kids is how to teach your horse to be supple and on the bit, instead of having a false headset.
Teach him to pick up his feet. (He’s willing about 75% of the time and once his feet are up, he stands nicely, but sometimes he flat refuses.)
This again is something you have to work with him on, picking his feet up everyday, and rewarding him with a pat or a carrot when he does let you pick his feet up. As with teaching any animal you have to have their trust. My mom just bought a pony that had only done pony rides; she bought it for the grandkids, it took her a week of working everyday with him to get him to pick up his feet.
How many hours of training would this horse need and what would you charge to accomplish this? I know there are a lot of variables here, but give me your best estimate.
There is not good way to know how many hours your horse would need, it depends on the horse and the person working with the horse. It could take a week or it could take 6 months. I really reccomend that you work with the horse yourself, if at all possible. When I was training horses as a summer job as a teenager I charged $ 10.00- $ 20.00 an hour.
Should a professional horse trainer guarantee her work?
Most the trainers I have ever met do not guarantee their work; they usually just say that you will see an improvment in say 30-60 days. There is a trainer here in my area that requires you to board the horse at their place and charges you for that on top of the training fee. Also becareful as I have heard some cases of where the trainer is very rough with the horses and that in it self can cause problems later.
In my honest opinion it is always better to do things yourself if it is at all possible. Positive reniforcement is better than negitive reniforcement. I know I have said this before, if you can find a Pony Club near you and have your daughter join it would be a good idea. You can also find several of their older member who might be willing to work with your horse and or help your daughter work with her horse. GOOD LUCK!!!!!
I would say maybe 1-2 months of professional training. I do not suggest sending her away to be trained because then you do not know if the trainer is really training your horse. Have the trainer come to your house or where you keep your horse. Have them train your horse at your barn. I charge $ 270 a month. I charge $ 400 a month when breaking a horse to ride. The pro trainer should not guarantee her work but she should have a contract saying her guide lines and guarantees. My guarantee is ‘your horse will come out being better behaved then he was before’.
Good luck!
Answer by angela rit would take a long time, but i agree wih other people when they say that it seems that your horse doesnt respect you. i would say a joint up might be worth a try, though i have never done one myself so i really cant help you their. my horse hates water so he hates beeing sprayed too. try haveing someone hold him and feed him treats while you spray him to take his mind off of it. treats might also work for your bit issue. you really cant guarontee how long it will take but i think all of this would take some time.Answer by florayg
No more than a couple of hours for all of them except ‘on the bit’ (What does that mean anyway?). Seriously, they are all part of the same problem, he doesn’t quite understand and maybe trust you fully.
As far as ‘guarantees’ – I guarantee I could get your horse to do all those things for me in a couple of hours, but I can’t give any guarantee he would do them for you, because it depends on you. Also make note, the horse doesn’t need ANY training in how to do ANY of those things, he already knows HOW to do them, your problem is communication. Genuinely, I would say YOU need about 12 hours training to get the idea how to communicate effectively
And yes, I am a professional trainer. But I don’t train horses any more, only people…it gets a better long term result.Answer by *r s c*
All these things sound more like a lack of respect and discipline rather then a lack of training. An experianced/professional horse person should be able to get a horse to do these things with about a week of work (except getting it on the bit, that is a whole different issue), if that. If a trainer took any longer then I would really question their methods (I would assume they aren’t actually working with your horse). I don’t know any professional trainers that would take in a horse to only work on these things, it would seem like it wouldn’t be worth their time. But if you put your horse in training for riding work, the trainer or a groom should still work on teaching your horse basic mannors.
Being completly honest, these issues hint more towards an issue with your communication and discipline towards your horse, not really a training issue, other then getting on the bit, which could be an issue related to the way you are riding.
If my horse had these issues and I put it in training, I would say there is no excuse for the trainer to not get these things accomplished pretty much right away, with the exception of getting your horse on the bit, so yes, I would say the trainer should gaurentee her work, but keep in mind if you dont follow up and discipline your horse, it will quickly go back to its old ways.
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