Colt Start & Re-Educating

Horse Training

COLT STARTING & RE-EDUCATING

"AS THEY ARE STARTED, SO THEY SHALL GO." Harry Whitney

Shea takes in young horses to get a solid start under saddle. Their start is the most important part of their lives. When trouble ever arises in the future, a horse will always fall back on their start.

The basics of a proper start are softness to the reins and leg, and encouraging the horse to be balanced and straight, and offering that the horse respond off of feel from the rider's intention. This is accomplished by acknowledging each try that the horse offers. As the horse progresses in his training, these are basics that will always be important for his advancement.

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Shea checks in with each step as this young quarterhorse mare gets used to being directed with Shea at her withers, and with a saddle pad on her back. When the saddle pad was put on, the mare got real sticky in her feet, which told Shea that she was not feeling great about it. Once she can move freely, Shea will introduce the saddle.

Starting a horse under saddle does not have to be stressful for him. Shea starts with teaching the horse how to respond with softness and focus on the ground.

A horse should always be thinking where he is going. When we can direct his thought, his feet will follow. This is the beginning of the feel behind the reins. Here, Shea teaches this 2 year old to follow the feel of the rope. She starts by asking him to look to his right first ...

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... then asks him to follow through with his feet. A horse's body will naturally balance and line up to where he is looking. His thought should weigh nothing in the reins or in the lead rope.

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This 2 year old Friesian learns to take direction from the reins with Shea behind him. Once she gets on his back, he will already have a clear understanding of the reins.

Once the horse understands that the direction of the lead rope has meaning to his thought and feet, he will look for that feel when Shea begins riding him.

Ground driving helps this young Andalusian re-learn the feel of the reins. Before coming to Shea, he was lunged in side reins, which -- unlike ground driving -- have no feel behind them. Here, Shea can give a release to the reins as he finds his balance and forward movement.

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Shea also works horses from the fence to see how they feel about someone being above them and behind their eye.

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Once this young horse can willingly line up to the fence and put Shea behind her eye, Shea then works on mounting. She checks in with mounting the mare from the right side. If the mare needs to move her feet a little, she can with a bend in her which will release her hind end. This mare stays soft and focused which tells Shea that she is ready to ride.

"WE LOSE THE HORSE WHEN WE FOCUS ON WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND NOT HOW THEY FEEL AND HOW THEY ARE DOING IT." Shea Stewart

The most important aspect of starting and riding a horse is keeping his thoughts and feet in the same place. Too many horses are trained to move without thinking, then they end up operating in spite of us instead of operating with our feel. A horse's thoughts and feelings can change from moment to moment; this is why Shea trains horses based on a feel and not by forcing them through a system of steps and levels.

This Fox Trotter came in for a tune up and had no softness in his body. When Shea applies pressure to the reins, he tends to throw his head up and hollow out his back.

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Shea keeps steady pressure until he drops his nose, releases his top line, and begins to raise his back. This is where she releases the reins and soon the horse will search for this spot. It's the feel behind the reins that is important, not the type of bit used.

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Ground Work | Colt Starting & Re-Educating | Troubled Horses

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P.O. Box 1283, Boulder Creek, CA 95006
located in Ben Lomond
831. 336-3252
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