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Posts: 76
| Currently my barrel prospect has a dressage trainer working with her. I plan on having her continue coming out 1-2 times a week for the next several months.
This winter or spring I would then like to send her off for 60 days to get started on barrels.
Wondering which 2 months would be best in your opinion? I would like her back by for sure june...
And what should I be able to expect with 60 days? I understand it depends on the horse and trainer but should I be expecting her to still be walking it? Trotting? Loping? | |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| Elsa5 - 2014-08-08 1:20 AM
Currently my barrel prospect has a dressage trainer working with her. I plan on having her continue coming out 1-2 times a week for the next several months.
This winter or spring I would then like to send her off for 60 days to get started on barrels.
Wondering which 2 months would be best in your opinion? I would like her back by for sure june...
And what should I be able to expect with 60 days? I understand it depends on the horse and trainer but should I be expecting her to still be walking it? Trotting? Loping?
I just got my gelding back from 60 days at the trainer. He just turned 8 in June, and the past few summers I've done some lessons with a dressage trainer as well. Other than that, he was shown in some local western pleasure shows just to get him out and about, and trail ridden. Western pleasure horse he is not ;-)
Which two months will depend on if you can ride all "winter" - I'm not sure where you are located. But I'm in Vermont, and don't have an indoor, so riding all winter is pretty much out. So he wasn't really in shape in the spring. I didn't want to pay for the trainer to get him in shape, so I chose to send him at the end of May, so that I could get him into shape prior to sending him by trail riding as soon as the snow was gone.
What the trainer can accomplish will depend on how trained your mare is now. My gelding, while I still considered him green, had nice leg yields, was supple through his ribcage and neck, and was starting to really reach under himself with his hind end. His gaits were still a little inconsistent as far as rate, and his lope wasn't entirely balanced, but he was moving well off seat and leg and had been loped at home.
What 60 days gave me: more consistent gaits, he was picking his lope up from the walk or within one to two trot strides, he is much softer in the bridle, he has a great whoa, and he's loping the pattern.
Now, the trainer was 3 hours away, so during the first month, I went down for 3 lessons. During the second month, we just couldn't match up our schedules (me and the trainer) so I didn't do any lessons the 2nd month. I brought my gelding home last week. It's like riding a new horse. I did take a lesson on Sunday when I went down to pick him up. So now that he's home, even though he was loping the pattern with the trainer riding him, *I* have things I need to work on, and I have to get used to riding him again at the same time. So, probably in a week or two, I will be comfortabling loping him through the pattern.
I would highly recommend taking lessons with the trainer while the horse is there, to help you with understanding the aids the trainer is using and whey they use them. Makes it much easier to ride your horses when the horse comes home. You can continue the techniques and aids that the trainer used to get your horse going.
Hope this helps.
Edited by SuckerForHorses 2014-08-08 8:12 AM
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  Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
 
Location: NE Texas | IMO it does depend on the horse and what your expectations are as the owner. I have had the pleaseure of having two outside horses recently, both owned by the same person, and both of these mares were loping a pattern and exhibitioning in 30 days. That being said, the first mare had more handle on her than most reined cow horses have and the second one is just nice, quiet and willing. Both mares were pretty fat, soft, and out of shape when they came, so I spent the first two weeks easing into things and building them up physically, but both were loping the pattern in 2 - 3 weeks and the ready to exhibition in 30 days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mop7PdScNoc&list=UUXl2eKL4paH2H8ZfJtFJqJw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO2moixuYeI&list=UUXl2eKL4paH2H8ZfJtFJqJw
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Regular
Posts: 76
| Thank you! She is VERY much in shape. Gets worked daily, thankfully we have an indoor and the trainer also has an indoor.
My biggest concern is that she was ran on barrels without any training so she needs to be restarted on them.
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 Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | All I got here is make sure you pick a good trainer and make sure you can visit or get some videos every week or two. | |
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Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | Elsa5 - 2014-08-08 12:39 PM Thank you! She is VERY much in shape. Gets worked daily, thankfully we have an indoor and the trainer also has an indoor. My biggest concern is that she was ran on barrels without any training so she needs to be restarted on them.
That definitely could change things dependent upon how much handle she has now. Hard to correct bad habits once they are there. Good luck with her....hope she makes you a great one! | |
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 Husband Spoiler
Posts: 4151
Location: North Dakota | Herbie - 2014-08-08 12:53 PM Elsa5 - 2014-08-08 12:39 PM Thank you! She is VERY much in shape. Gets worked daily, thankfully we have an indoor and the trainer also has an indoor. My biggest concern is that she was ran on barrels without any training so she needs to be restarted on them. That definitely could change things dependent upon how much handle she has now. Hard to correct bad habits once they are there. Good luck with her....hope she makes you a great one!
I agree. Bad habits are so hard to break. Even if the trainer can get a nice lope through on the pattern once you start adding speed again things can quickly go back to before the training. It definitely is possible to correct those issues it just can take a lot of time depending on the issues and the horse. | |
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