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Once we have our colt lunging fairly well in the round pen (review March's Round Pen Basics article), we want to move on and introduce him to the bit. While still working in the round pen, we want to bridle the colt, making sure the headstall and the snaffle bit are adjusted properly. If you are using split reins youll want to tie them together then loop them over the colts neck. Using the walk command, we want to walk beside the colts shoulder and pull on the left rein to circle him to the left. Once hes made his turn, straighten him out for a ways, then turn him left again. You may get some resistance but be patient. When you think the colt is catching on to the turns to the left, youll then want to walk around to the colts right side and do the right rein turns.
We want the colt to understand what the bit and reins are all about before we climb on his back. Depending on how fast he catches on, we can then move on to the saddling. While still in the round pen, remove the bridle, and using a halter and lead, we start off with the saddle pad or blanket by letting the colt sniff and examine it to his satisfaction. Then we rub his shoulder with it, and slowly drape it over his back. This probably wont get much of a reaction from him. We then let him sniff and examine the saddle in the same way.
Lifting the saddle to his shoulder may have him trying to step away warily. Give him the whoa command and keep your movements calm and steady. He will take his cue from you. If youre nervous, hell get nervous. Try to remain relaxed but still alert if anything should go wrong. Place the saddle on the colts back, leave it a few seconds, then take it off. Keep repeating this on and off routine until the colt has relaxed and accepted this new procedure. If at any time your colt should start to misbehave, remove the saddle and send him around the pen at a fast trot, making him work off his mischief before starting again.
Once the colt accepts the saddle, we want to cinch it up and start leading him around the pen. Again, stay calm but alert. Try to stay in control of the colt, even if he should spook and try to yank away from you. Stay with him until he calms down and realizes hes not hurt. Now we can make sure the cinch is tight, and turn him loose to lunge him. Keep him moving, dont let him buck too much. Remind him hes here to work by repeating your voice commands. When you can lunge him in both directions in all three gaits its time to call it quits for the day.
The second day we want to repeat the bridling and turning of the colt. Repeat the saddling on and off procedure and the lunging under saddle. If you feel the colt is ready to move on, great. If not, take another few days for the initial training until you feel comfortable mounting. After the colt has been lunged enough to take the edge off, we now put the bridle back on and prepare to mount. Check to be sure the cinch is tight. Put your foot in the stirrup and pull yourself up, without putting your other leg over the saddle just yet. Again, we want to make sure the colt is comfortable with this new experience before moving too fast. Put your feet back on the ground, using your whoa command if he should try to move off at any time. If the colt seems too nervous at this point, I would suggest lunging him again to make him good and tired. Now try mounting again. After a few half way mounts, well want to swing our leg over for the first time and sit down gently into the saddle.
On our first ride, we want to walk only, turning and halting periodically. Everything is still fairly new to the colt and they can get confused easily. We dont want the confusion to turn into frustration. This can lead to the development of bad habits. Go back a training step if you need to in order to clear up the confusion. Quitting on a good note, and starting again fresh the next day builds a good training foundation. We progress only as fast as the colt is able to. Some take longer and need our patience and understanding.
From our first rides at the walk, we move on to the trot, and finally to the canter. Being able to ride your colt in both directions at all three gaits is our goal. Once that goal is met, we can then move on to more specialized training, being confident that our colts basic training is in place.
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