Has anyone ever told you colt starting is fun and exciting? If so, they were partly telling the truth and partly lying through their teeth! It’s exciting alright but I wouldn’t say “fun” describes the feeling most days. A better word would be, frustrating!
Groundwork Basics of Colt Starting
As I mentioned in the previous post about Keira, she came to me as a barely touched 2 year old with no training and only knowing how to give to halter pressure. She would stand tied, let you put on the halter, and would walk but stop and not move at times. I believe most of what she knew, she learned as a weanling. So first thing first was teaching her the basic groundwork exercises.
Here’s a list of all the things we worked on during those first couple of weeks:
- Backing up with halter pressure
- Giving to pressure and starting to read my body language
- Standing to be fly sprayed
- Standing without kicking or biting for me to brush her
- Learning to pick up all 4 feet and hold them up
- Yielding her hind quarters
- Yielding forequarters
- Standing to be hosed down
- Lunging on a lead
Just to give you an idea of what these early days of colt starting were like, I’m going to share quotes out of the diary I kept of her training.
“Today, I worked more on teaching Keira to pick up her feet but she’s still trying to lay down and bite me.”
“Still trying to kick my head off when I go to pick up her back feet with the rope.”
“Keira seems to really like being around me and seeing me until I ask something of her.”
“Lunging is another thing that brings out Keira’s crazy side.”
“Does she have ulcers or is this pain from a hidden injury?”
What I Can Remember
When you hear colt starters say, training a horse requires a lot of blood, sweat and tears. They aren’t lying. The early days of teaching a colt knew things is hard, like really hard. It requires more patience then a buddist has and isn’t for those that give up easily. It’s also not a linear experience. One day your horse is perfect and the next they are bat shit crazy! Welcome to colt starting!
That picture is just a glimpse of some of her antics when trying to lunge. You can watch the full video on my Youtube Channel.
Keira was no exception to the rule and I had to be very mindful when around her. She tested my patience daily and reminded me how to be grateful for good sound horses! Despite all the blood, sweat and tears, she was a quick learner and was willing to do what I asked. That didn’t mean she did it sans attitude, oh no, she still would kick out, paw, and rear. However, each week she did get 1% better.
Despite 1% better, progress wasn’t happening like I wanted it too though and I reached a point of feeling stuck. Nothing I was doing really moved the needle on her attitude. She still would try to bite and kick when brushed. Plus, she still kicked out, bolted and reared on the lunge. So I knew it was time to get professional help.
Lucky for me, there is a great colt starter 30 mins down the road and he was in a slow period (aka winter and coming back from a horse accident). Normally, he wouldn’t travel to other farms for lessons but since he couldn’t train horses at that time, he made an exception to come to my farm to help me. I remember the first thing he said when he got a good feel for her was, “you sure picked a hard one to start.” Of course, that is just my luck.
This trainers name is Richard Schouten of Remount Horsemanship. Truly an exceptional horse trainer and full of knowledge he’s willing to share!
I worked with Richard for most of winter until he healed from his injury and went back to training horses. During those months, he showed me how to handle her outbursts on the lunge and get her started under saddle. At the time, he thought her behavior issues would get better with more training and handling. She was showing progress and each day that passed she was getting better. It just wasn’t happening fast.
Then a set back happened when she ran into the gate and gashed open her shoulder. I thought for sure she broke her scapula with how hard she hit the gate and how deep the wound was. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case but she did tear the muscle pretty bad and would require time off to heal. She was put on antibiotics to prevent an infection and given the summer off.
Timeline of Events
August 2023 – I purchased her.
Sept/Oct – I work with her myself.
Nov-Feb – Richard starts helping me.
March – Keira gets hurt.
This timeline is going to be important as this story goes on. So stay tuned for the next part of the training journey with Keira.
So Tell Me
What were some of the frustrations you’ve experienced when training a horse?
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