Colt Starting and Re-Educating

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. She teaches the horse how to connect the rope to his feet through his thoughts. So when Shea picks up the lead rope and directs it to the right, the horse should take his focus and actually look that direction. He will then connect that feel to his feet.

Once the horse understands that the direction of the lead rope has meaning to his thought and feet, Shea then transfers that feel to the reins. When Shea lifts the rope to her left, the horse should look that direction.

Then Shea asks his feet to move and the horse takes his feet and goes to Shea's left. When Shea rides him and picks up the rein to steer him, he will already have a clear understanding of what is being asked.

In the photo to the right, this mare's first ride demonstrates that she knows how to be directed with the reins.

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.

Shea also works horses from the fence to see how the mare feels about someone being above and behind her eye.

Here Shea uses a flag to teach the horse to move forward off pressure, and to get used to seeing something above and behind her eye, where the rider will eventually be.
	Shea teaches the horse to steer both directions and stop with the rope while she walks along side.
Shea mounts the mare on the off-side to get her used to having things done from both sides. She gets on and off both sides before she sits on them
	Some horses are not naturally very forward, so using the assistance of a person on the ground can help them learn to move forward a little easier. Here Shea has the help of Harry Whitney to encourage this mare to move up into her first canter. The mare is more familiar with moving up from the direction from the person on the ground. Shea uses a little leg, then Harry comes in and helps the mare to understand what Shea is asking

When Shea re-educates a horse, she basically goes through all of the steps to start them and looks for a soft feel and responsiveness through each step. The holes present themselves pretty quickly, and this is where Shea will pause and continue to present until the horse has a clear understanding and can move on.

Go to Training, Ground Work, Troubled Horses page...