Overprotective 'mother?'

[Mominis]

I am so fortunate to have, in the same boarding stable, the former assistant trainer to the Saddlebred/Morgan trainer I rode with from the age of 6 until about 14. She's now in her late 60's now. She been so great to have around to chat with and bounce ideas off of, but hadn't actually seen Shake go around until yesterday. I work nights, so I am at the barn during the daytime and she works days and is out at night.. Usually we just pass each other coming and going.

Anyway, I had Shake in the outdoor arena yesterday ground driving him hooked to the tire with all sorts of commotion going on around the outdoor arena: circular saws running as they do construction on the stable help's trailer, helicopter flying low over head, kids on bikes, dogs, etc. And Shake didn't turn an ear. I was pretty focused on what I was doing, but I noticed that Connie slid out of the end of the barn and watched for a while. So, when I came in and she was tacking her ASB mare up for a jog, I asked her what she thought about Shake and how he was doing.

She said that she thought he was going great, has a super mind, and she would have brought him right in and hooked him--he's ready. I asked her if I was over-preparing him, and she said yes. I respectfully disagree. I think there are a few more steps that I want to accomplish with him just to make 100% positive that his first time put to is a happy experience for him. So, am I over preparing? Do you think I just just take the plunge?

 

[ClickMini]

YOU are the one putting your bones at risk! Take as much time as it takes for YOU to feel comfortable that all of the i's are dotted at t's crossed! I think that often if a horse has a bad experience early in their driving career they don't ever come back from it. It's so important for the horse to ensure that those early experiences are really good. I think you are doing great, keep it up! I don't think you CAN overprepare for that initial outing.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

So, am I over preparing? Do you think I should just take the plunge?

I think those are two very different questions. Yes, you're over-preparing if such a thing is possible. So what?

That's not a bad thing! I wish more people would do it! The other question is "does that mean you should hitch him up now" and I would say not until you're ready. Sure he could probably do it and be fine. But he'll be fine the other way too and it's not doing anyone (least of all him) any harm to take those extra steps. I know people who have taken several years to ground-drive a mature, natural driving horse who was bored and long past ready to hitch and for those folks, yes, I would have said "Get on with it!" But you're bringing along a naturally high-strung 3 year old and doing a fabulous job with him, neither rushing him nor lagging behind what he's ready for. You keep right on following your instincts; you'll be driving soon enough.

The young woman who trained Kody before I got him IMO skipped a lot of steps because he didn't seem to need them. That was not okay with me so I immediately went back and redid those steps just in case. Sure enough he could have cared less and passed them with flying colors and nary a turned ear, but I then had the confidence of knowing he'd been trained on those things rather than relying on his natural inclination for driving. If nothing else, it was good for ME because I then knew how he'd react in certain situations instead of being concerned when we ran into them in the real world and my own anxiety perhaps causing him to react.

Turbo's perhaps slightly less of a natural in that he had some kicking and confidence issues at liberty but he's born and bred for driving and can't wait. I probably could have had him in the cart last year and he would have been thrilled.

But like you, I would rather take my time early in the training and lay all the groundwork than try to deal with any missed steps later in the cart where it's potentially dangerous. There are some things like ground-driving in the halter that I will probably skip as now that I've got time to do that his teeth are finally settling and he's ready to bit up, but other things like using shaft trainers and pulling a tire we will at least try and only skip if it's more trouble than it's worth. I will continue to go back to ground-driving and lunge work for the next several years to build certain skills but once he's got the basics of stop, stand, go forward, turn, pull, brake, and turn into the shafts I see no reason I can't start him in the cart. He's three now and I've been doing the desensitization and road work stuff for two years. I'll go back through all those basics in blinkers but meanwhile there's no reason he can't be driving in an open bridle. It's all layering if done right!

Leia

 

[Mominis]

Thanks for the confidence booster, guys. I'm sticking with my training plan.