From: Valerie
Hello Dr. Jahiel:
I have a 2 and a half year old gelding. I am a beginning riding. Bad combo, right?
Actually I wanted a young horse that I could work with - without any preconditioned vices.
It has actually gone pretty well for the year I have had him. I can touch him anywhere, he lifts his feet easily and was very easy to long-rein. Getting on his back wasn't a problem either. But now I see the youngster coming out in him. He use to lung without any problem at all but now he tries to pull away, bucking and has successfully run away a couple of times (I catch him and don't let him get away with it).
Recently he threw me. I think something spooked him and when I tried to stop him and then when he wouldn't stop, turn him in a circle, he bucked. With this new behavour - or rather perhaps him just being a kid, I am kind of nervous.
I have found a person who will trade an older horse (14 years old) for mine. But I am not sure. I love my horse, but am afraid like they say green and green make for black and blue. What do you think? Better on a older horse or more patience and work?
Yes, you'll be much better off with an older and better-trained horse. Be sure that the older horse IS well-trained, though - you shouldn't be trying to ride a green horse of any age.
Green and green DO make for black and blue. That colour combination also creates rough, nervous riders and unpredictable, confused, nervous horses.
The part you've done so far is early preparatory groundwork, and it's very valuable. Now your young horse needs to go to an experienced rider and trainer who can teach it to be a good riding horse. Meanwhile, YOU need to have an experienced, well-trained horse - and an instructor.
The trouble with teaching a horse to be a good riding horse is that it's complicated and subtle, and it simply can't be done by someone who doesn't know how. It comes down to what I call the "Clue Factor" - a well-educated rider has a clue; a well-trained horse has a clue. A green rider doesn't have a clue; a green horse doesn't have a clue. Between them, the horse and rider's resources should add up to AT LEAST ONE clue. This is just my personal variation on a very old and very true saying: For an old rider, a young horse; for a young rider, an old horse."
Learning to ride means learning a language - how to communicate with a horse through the aids, but also through your own posture, movement, balance, and breathing. From the horse's side of the saddle, learning to be a riding horse means learning how to move well and easily, first without and then WITH a rider, and then learning the physical language that the rider uses to communicate with the horse. It's hard work for both rider and horse, and it simply does not work when neither one can teach the other.
What it comes down to is this: If you want to learn a language WELL, you won't trust your education to someone who doesn't know that language. You want to learn to ride well; you probably want your young horse to become a good riding horse and have a long and pleasant life. The two of you can both be very successful - but not together. This isn't the horse you should have right now. Turn your young horse's education as a riding horse over to someone who knows the language and knows how to teach it; turn your own riding education over to someone who knows the language and can help you learn to be a truly good rider - with the help of a well-educated horse.
Jessica
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