Got a greenie? A wiggly worm with the brain of kindergartener in horse form? Bless you.
Training a young horse can be a rewarding journey for any rider. But the process is often long and filled with ups and downs. Heels Down Mag caught up with five-star event and FEI dressage rider, Lainey Ashker, on riding tips to help build confidence in young horses.
For Flatwork
For Lainey’s dressage horses, teaching confidence begins by showing them how to accept proper contact.
“You want a horse that seeks the contact – not just flopping on a long rein, but demonstrating a true stretch to find your hand, forward and downward,” she explained.
To accomplish this, Lainey incorporates a lot of stretch work at the walk, trot and canter.
“I know they’re ready for proper work when they’re stretching at the canter,” she said. “That means they can be collected. When the horse has self carriage, that means he has confidence. He’s not leaning on you or sucking back.”
Lainey also focuses on the freedom of the shoulder in her flat work, even with young horses. That includes asking horses for extended gaits on a long rein.
“Even a green horse will naturally find his own balance in an extended trot on a long rein,” she described. “They may not be ready to accept the contact in that big of a trot, but they are through in their bodies and seeking their own balance. The more they stretch, the better.”
For Jumping
Any Lainey follower knows she’s a big fan of gridwork with her jumping horses. She says gridwork is the No. 1 tool in her arsenal for helping young horses develop their footwork over fences.
“Not all grids are the same for every horse,” she said.
For example, some off-track Thoroughbreds could get quick through a grid line of jumps. They may be better off starting with trot-in grids rather than canter-in exercises. But generally speaking grids help put horses in a “good place to jump well, even when the rider does something wrong,” Lainey described.
“It’s always worked for my horses. It gives me confidence as a rider, and when I’m confident, my horses are confident.”
For young horses who could benefit from being a little more forward thinking, Lainey doesn’t wait to introduce them to the cross-country course. It’s an opportunity for them to work on their forward momentum and experience natural logs and obstacles.
“They get to go be a horse and gallop,” she said.