Jazzy's Training and Some TINY Questions...

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

As most of ya'll may or may not know, I am training Jazzy to drive!!! This is the first time I have ever "officially" trained a horse! He has come along REALLY well, and i just thought I would share with ya'll what we have experienced.

I first started training him about a year ago. A friend of ours, and also the breeder of Jazzy, helped us out the first couple of months. We borrowed a sircingle from her and she helped us fit him with the bridle. We worked on trotting with him with the sircingle and bridle on for a couple of months. Then, long lines. He did really well turning and doing figure 8s in the round pen. Then, i started ground driving him with the sircingle, that wasnt fun...I tripped and fell a couple of times, he was fine though LOL! Last fall i had I tripped over my own foot! Im such a cluts!!! I gave our friend back her sircingle and long lines, and I started training him with his show saddle. Nothing new. Ground driving has gotten better for the both of us now. We ground drive all around our house and the construction workers equipment (we are building a guest house next to the main house

)

Yesterday, I hooked him up to the cart. Without a bridle though, I lead him around while he was hooked up by the saddle, the tugs and the traces. I didnt put his bridle on so he could look at the cart behind him and see what he was pulling! He liked it! He just looked at me like, "this is ALL we trained for?". Today, i ground drove him for the last time, and i put 2 and 2 together and drove him walking behind the cart!!! He was SO good! He listened to voice commands and did everything without a problem! Then, I SAT IN IT!!! I didnt make him walk, i just wanted him to get used to the weight. I got out and we went outside and drove around some more. After we got back in, I sat in it again and made him walk a lap! He did good, except he spooked at one of the horses and bolted, but we were fine! Tomorrow, Im going to work on steering and just getting used to the cart and harness itself, then the only thing i have to do is get in and we are DONE! Well, with the basics!

My questions are...

• He is a coming 3yr old, in May, is it too soon to get in the cart and start REALLY training him? I would like to know because i am going to a Lyn Yung driving clinic in Janurary, and i would like to take Jazzy prepared to see what Lyn thinks/what me and Jazzy should work on.
  
• He keeps foaming/frothing at the mouth, Bentley doesnt do this, is it normal? I know it is with riding horses, but is it something i should be concerned about?
  
• He coughs, ALOT. All that comes up is the foam. IS that something else i need to be concerned about.
  
• Last, but not least, Im going to a show in April. Since he will be 3 in May, can i drive him in the show? Is the show age determined by actual date or by year?
  

Thanks in advance,

Jazzy and Bailey

 

[valshingle]

You can show him starting the 1st of January in both AMHA and AMHR.

Some horses foam quite a bit. In dressage, it is considered desirable.

I think you are OK on your stage of training right now. Just keep things easy and not strenuous.

Coughing is NOT normal. I would consult your vet. Maybe it's just his teeth, but he shouldn't cough. Call the vet soon. I'd be concerned with aspiration pneumonia.

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

He did choke when he was little, but im not sure that would cause him to cough now. Ill give our vet a call, hes a friend of ours so I hope he will answer our weekend call

Okay i just noticed i put he coughs ALOT. Sorry, i meant he coughs sometimes :/ SORRY! He didnt cough yesterday, and if he does its only once. Either when he has the bit in his mouth or a long workout in the roundpen...sorry for any confusion

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Is the breast collar in the appropraite location not to inhibit breathing?

Mine coughs sometimes; I don't think it's too much to worry about.

You are doing a fantastic job with your horse!

Something that one could definitely get in trouble about from well-trained drivers and possibly at a show: One should never hitch a hrose to a vehicle without the bridle. Technically, one should never NOT be in the vehicle when it is hitched. Reins/bridle are like a steering wheel and brake. If he takes off, one has little or no control of a vehicle under acceleration. This has happened to me; even a well-trained horse can take it into his head to move. If the lead rope was jerked out of one's hands, what would stop the horse? Some immovable object, most likely, and the horse would learn he can bolt away.

Also, I have been told by trainers that one should never teach a horse to stop and look at strange obstacles. One should move past them, without even looking at them oneself, as body language communicates to the horse that it is something that needs to concern him. His focus and trust should be with his handler. A scary object should mean nothing to him, if his handler is not concerned. So, I do not think it is a good idea to teach him to look at all the obstacles. After I learned this and began to practice it, it was an amazing epiphany.

Maybe someone with more experience will jump in here and comment about these tips.

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

I agree that horses should deal with scary things and focus on the handler, but Jazzy is just a very sensitive horse. Dont get me wrong, he is my bomb-proof mini, but i didnt want to mess thing up, and he learns best when you take things slow. It was probably stupid to just hook him to a cart and make him pull it around without anyone in it and without a bridle, but I did it because the cart made noises, and I wanted him to look at the cart and put 2 and 2 together--the cart will make noises when you pull, you cant do anything about it. Though a horse does not think in this way, he got the concept pretty quickly. When I put the bridle on yesterday and ground drove him, he was fine and didnt look back at all. Im sure the session i did before helped him get confidence and ignore the cart all together. I wont let him look back or touch the shafts with his nose anymore. He knows its there and he is used to all of the equipment on him, so there is no need to worry about it.

The breast collar is in the right spot. I check it ALOT for that reason.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I agree that horses should deal with scary things and focus on the handler, but Jazzy is just a very sensitive horse. Dont get me wrong, he is my bomb-proof mini, but i didnt want to mess thing up, and he learns best when you take things slow. It was probably stupid to just hook him to a cart and make him pull it around without anyone in it and without a bridle, but I did it because the cart made noises, and I wanted him to look at the cart and put 2 and 2 together--the cart will make noises when you pull, you cant do anything about it. Though a horse does not think in this way, he got the concept pretty quickly. When I put the bridle on yesterday and ground drove him, he was fine and didnt look back at all. Im sure the session i did before helped him get confidence and ignore the cart all together. I wont let him look back or touch the shafts with his nose anymore. He knows its there and he is used to all of the equipment on him, so there is no need to worry about it.

 

The breast collar is in the right spot. I check it ALOT for that reason.

People know their own horses best. General rules are there, but we all do what works best for us. All the books say not to train alone--well. lots of us would never get to drive if we followed that rule!

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

Marsha, HAHA very true! I never get to drive untill my parents are there :/ Oh well, at least I drive on the weekends!

 

[Renolizzie]

Congrats on working hard to train your horse. It is nice to see progress, isn't it?!

People know their own horses best. General rules are there, but we all do what works best for us. All the books say not to train alone--well. lots of us would never get to drive if we followed that rule!

Yep, I was hoping to get a little help with training but I mostly have had to train on my own. Hubby helps occasionally when I insist that something is a two person training exercise. I try to think hard on how to keep me and the little guy safe while we are working together. The info on this forum helps a lot.

 

[MiLo Minis]

You are extremely lucky that things worked out as they have. It is extremely dangerous to hitch an experienced horse to a cart without a bridle and lead him from the ground with a halter let alone a green for his first time in the shafts. It is dangerous enough with a bridle on without a helper. You were very lucky and I discourage anyone else from trying this!

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

Milo,

Yep, now that i think on it, it was stupid! Its a good thing Jazzy is a good horse and puts up with anything stupid I do.

I, myself, dont encourage anyone to do this the way i did it!

Yes, luck does tend to be on my side when im with the horses...lets hope i dont jinx myself anytime soon with that.........