Training the weanlings/yr to trot on lead

[Leeana]

I'm curious how everyone trains there weanlings or yearlings to trot on the lead or command. I've trained 2-3 year olds and older to trot on command but i'm having a bit of trouble with Narko. I have him to the point where he will not pull and stays next to me and keeps his distance away at my side. Narko will be several months old this month on the 22nd so he is still young and we have all winter and spring until show season but for those of you who show weanlings/yearlings ....how do you get them to trot on command or go about training them to.

I tried using a driving whip to encourage him to trot and it workED great, but then when the whip isnt there he knows it, i even tried swinging the end of the lead in my left hand behind to get him to trot and he will trot a few steps and then stop and park right there. Normally i kiss to them, thats the sygnal i try to teach all of them to trot off of. I've got to where i feel we should start working on trotting but im thinking of trying a different method and am interested in how everyone else trains their foals.

Thanks for all advice

I've got enough patience so if it takes all winter i'm prepared, he isnt wanting to give in to easily

 

[Steph G]

If you have someone to help you, you can give your cue and then if they don't start off immediately with you have your helper encourage them from behind. I have my little sister help me. She's stands far back and only comes in to help if they aren't listening. I kiss to them too, but I also give body language as a cue. I lean my body just a little bit forward as a cue to trot. I got this trick from my showmanship days with my quarter horse. You couldn't make sounds so body language was key.

You might try hiding your whip on the other side of your body until it's needed. Always kiss first before using the whip or even showing it to them.

Hope this helps,

Stephanie

 

[CJMM6]

I show a lot of weanlings.

: I give them a little more lead line so they have their head. I cluck to them &

say trot. I like them a little ahead of me & I trot so they do too :lol: Keep practiceing & he will get it

:

cjmm

 

[wiccanz]

I must admit I have never found it necessary to even carry a stick of any sort, much less use it, to teach babies to trot.

They are easiest to teach when they are very young, i.e. in the first month of life. All of mine walk and trot on lead by the time they are 4-6 weeks old.

The first thing I do is let them teach themselves about pressure and release, simply by sitting in the paddock with a halter & lead on the horse, and letting them figure it out for themselves. The pull back, they get pressure from the halter, they come forward, the pressure is released.

That generally starts them on the right path. Some take longer than others. They all figure it out in the end. Once I think they have come to the conclusion that coming forward is a great idea, I attempt to lead them. Sometimes I may use a bum rope for encouragement, sometimes it's just the other hand around their back ends (the place where their mothers nip them to move them forward works well :bgrin )is enough. What they immediately notice, is that when you are standing near their shoulder, you are able to reach back far enough to pinch them on the bum. Therefore, if the horse hesitates, all I have to do is move back toward the shoulder, and away we go again.

Once they get the idea, getting a trot out of them is a simple matter of leading them down the other end of the paddock, they will always want to trot back towards mama!

That's when I use the word "trot" (or whatever you use). Every time.

Like everything, it takes time and patience. Five to ten minutes every day (twice if you can) is all I ever need to teach them. Works for me :bgrin

 

[Ferrah]

Before I start with teaching the trot I make sure they are consistently leading at a walk great. That means, no pushing pulling, ect. They should walk easily beside me, not too far ahead, not too far behind, and so they are not pulling back or trying to pull ahead.

Like mentioned before they have to understand the idea of pressure and release otherwise training them to trot on the lead becomes really difficult. I start by giving a gentle "give & take" pull on the lead, as soon as the horse takes even the tiniest movement forward I release the pressure and praise like crazy. I continue this over a few weeks until they imediately move forward from the pressure. Some horses learn this in a matter of days, others can take a few weeks.

I found teaching the weanlings to trot on the lead was a lot easier if I gave them a little more lead than I would with a "finished" horse. I found if I kept the lead to tight, and they lost balance and braced a bit, they would panic from the pressure exerted on the halter and start to set back.

I also found it a bit easier to get the weaners to trot if I was slightly behind the motion. That is I started asking for the trot just slightly behind their shoulder. I would send the horse forward before I started off. I found that most of the time with the weaners, especially the sensitive ones, they will put on the brakes if you get too far ahead of them.

You have the right idea with light tapping with the buggy whip, or getting a helper to encourage your horse forward. I found that with the weaners you have to be consistent and patient. At first you have to be happy with only a few trotting steps. Try to stop your horse before he stops and makes a mistake himself, and then praise like there is no tomorrow. Little by little you will start to see progress in how far you can get your horse to trot and befor eyou know it he will be trotting a long side you just great.

A lot of times I find that some weaners are so worried about where you are, and worried about you running beside them that they get tense, put on the brakes or bolt forwards. Sometimes it is just a matter of getting them used to you running beside them. When I come accross a training "problem" I always determine the cause first, then I work on solving the cause. I found that training goes so much quicker if I find and relieve the cause of a problem rather than just trying to "fight through it", also your horse is happy too!

Another thing you might want to check out his how tense he is. When I have a harder time than usual teaching a weaner to trot or even walk on the lead, I find they are usually pretty tense. You'll see this tenseness in their mouth and their neck. If you put your hands on them you can feel it too. I use TTouches (ala Linda Tellington Jones) to relax the muscles in the horse's neck and back and I find it really helps them relax and my teaching them goes a lot more smoothly.

 

[Jill]

I have had a lot of luck using a dressage whip to just tap them never really "whip" them. It's been what I've done with weanlings / yearlings and has always worked. What I do is look forward and just as I'm stepping off, cluck and tap the horse.

Additionally, if you have someone who can help you, you may try having that person stand behind you and clap or stomp, etc.

If you are lunging in a round pen, that's another opportunity to have them associate clucking with the cue to trot.

A key, I think, is to practice it maybe 5 minutes or so a day and let it go. Just keep practicing until it is second nature for them to trot off with you when you cluck.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I too never use a whip when training weanling's and do not use another person, either, although I agree it is a lot easier when one is available I do find that once something is a two person job it stays that way.

For this reason I tend to teach things like loading onto a trailer, halter work, etc, on my own.

Once an animal gives to it's head and leads properly, as has been said, there will be no problem trotting.

If there is then the groundwork of leading has not yet been completed.

You have plenty of time yet, and I am sure you are doing this every day, as usual, so stop worrying, is my advice.

The colt needs to be trotting in hand by his first show- now how far away is that??

Put it back in perspective as, once he is trotting in hand he will not "unlearn" it.

So, if he were only to be doing it correctly a week before his first show, this would still be fine- see??

As to how I achieve it- just walk faster- without breaking into the jog that will be the cause of the foal jibbing just extend your walking pace.

You are a lot taller and a lot younger than me, if I can do it, so can you

Once I have the foal doing a little jog trot to my very fast walk- THAT is when I will change my pace and, if the foal jibs, we drop back to an extended walk (mine) and then we get the foal trotting and then I try jogging again.

A few minutes every day, and ALWAYS on your way to somewhere the foal wants to be- his feed, his turnout, whatever.

He will get it, believe me, he is already doing well at the walk by the sounds of it so just keep on as you are.

You are doing OK, do not rush it, in fact, slow down!!

And where are the pictures of this new colt, by the way???? (We need a foot tapping smiley, ML!!)

 

[Leeana]

Thanks everyone, when i use the whip i didnt really whip him with i more of just tapped him rump after i kissed and if he didnt trot i would kiss and tap so i try to make it as if he has two chances, the fist kiss means move ...if he doesnt choose to move after the first kiss then its a kiss and a tap ..i have had luck with it before and normally they learn that if they move off of the first kiss then they wont get tapped with the driving whip. Maybe i just have not given him enough time but i will deffently try out some of your methods.

Jane, i posted him a while back but i'd be more then happy to show him off some more

. His name is Westwind BTU Crown Prince Narko, he is a grandson of I'm A Boones Little Buckeroo Too. I got him from Karen Wales of the orginal Westwind Miniatures in Illinous. He is also a grandson of Buck Echo. He should mature 32'' and will be 7 months old this friday, i got him last month. He is by Boones Little BTU Crown Prince and out of another one of Boones mare who is a buck echo daughter, cant remember her name off the top of my head as AMHR has the papers for transfer at the moment. He will be shown untill he is of breeding age.

These were right after we got him off from the trailer after the long haul so he was willing to trot for this picture ...its one of few lol.

Reference Sire:

Boones Little BTU Crown Prince (son of BTU)

 

[wiccanz]

Hi Leanna

I know you didn't mean that you actaully whipped him, the whip is just an extension of your arm really :bgrin

Sometimes, I will use my foot in a similar manner, not to kick the horse, but simply to touch the rump area to encourage forward movement. That way, you can face forward, use both hands on the lead (as you do in the ring), and reach one leg/foot back to encourage them on.

Be careful not to trip up! :new_shocked: :lol: :lol:

ETA: Your little guy is lovely!