Halter Breaking

Bobi · 11-10-2003, 08:34 AM

Hello
I am New Here .. And have a question about Halter breaking a horse.. I recently obtained a 2 year old stud Quarter Horse .. who I bought along with his buddy a broke 4 year old quarter Horse.. he was delived to me yesterday without a halter I have tried unsuccessfully to catch the ****** and halter him.Any tips on catching and Haltering him would be much appreciated. I cannot be sure he ever has had a halter on him before.He is very shy and will not let me approach unless I have a feed bucket. Then he'll let me pet him but rears as soon as he sees the halter.
Thank you
Bobi

jrmorgan · 11-10-2003, 09:20 AM

Ok sweetie, first things first...Once you figure out how to catch this horse, call the vest asap and GET RID OF THOSE TESTICLES! Number one priority. Stallions are very hard to handle, especially one that obviously hasn't been worked with. In order for a stallion to be easy to handle, they need to taught from a very early age to trust and respect humans. Your boy sounds like he has a problem with this and you don't sound experienced enough to manage a stallion anyway.

That said, you will just have to go slow and gentle with him. You may have to lure him in with the feed bucket at first. Don't bring the halter with you. Slowly see if he will let you touch him on his neck or shoulder. Once he accepts that readily (this may take a while), then try to pet him higher on the neck. Keep working your way up until you can pet his head. Once he's comfy with that, the take the halter out with you and stand a few feet away so he can see it in your hand. Shake a grain bucket to get him to come closer. When he gets closer, let him sniff the halter. Once he calmly sniffs it, put it up and go away. The next day try again only this time try to stand closer to him. When you get where he's not afraid of the halter, only then should you try to slip it on his head.

You've really gotten yourself into a pickle getting a horse like that. You couldn't pay me to go through all that with a full grown horse. Just too dangerous and too much work.

How did you get these horses? and why?

Bobi · 11-11-2003, 07:32 AM

thanks for your response ..
We went to pick up Lucky... who is a 3 year old and very well mannered. he is broke to ride an they claim kid broken.. Seems the boy who raised him from a colt kept him in the backyard like a dog.. He follows you around an wants loving all the time, his Companion we call him OZ is the unhandled stud. He was so upset when we went to pick up lucky we just told them to go ahead an load him up too an we would figure out what to do when the time came..He has a trust issue with males .. He will let me come near him an he will eat from my hand and he will let me touch him a little. Im just gonna take it one day at a time .. they both have appointments to get gelded. I was just lookin for some tricks to get a halter on him . lol... someone suggested I drop one in the feed bucket an pull it on him when he goes to eat .. But I prefer a slow kind approach..

I am in no hurry... I will work with him til it proves to be a no go... then I have a friend who wants him... he is a papered QH and they say about 2 I think he may be younger

jrmorgan · 11-11-2003, 07:57 AM

Hi papers should tell you how old he is. I hate to disappoint you but I have never seen a 3 year old that I felt was kid gentle. Kid gentle horses take years to develop. They have to have "been there, done that' and there's only so much a 3 year old can have done.

Don't get me wrong, I've seen 2 year olds who were very very broke, but I wouldn't have called them kid gentle. They just hadn't seen enough of the world for me to trust that they wouldn't spook at almost ANYTHING. If a kids gonna ride a horse, that horse needs to be as close to bombproof as possible.

My mom gives riding lessons, and sometimes I try to find horses for the kids who have decided to buy their own. I don't go LOOK at anything under 10.

horse_crazy · 11-11-2003, 02:16 PM

jrmorgan:
Kid gentle for riding can not be....or just in general? Because if it is in general...i disagree. We have a 6 month old filly and we have a 11 yr old VERY INEXPERIENCED boy lead her into a stall from the pasture. But Im not really sure if you were talking about riding or not! But if it is for riding....the horse possibly could be kid gentle....although it would have to be a really good horse!! wink I know a 5 yr old gelding that is SOOO kid gentle, he is used as a lesson horse. I think her was started at the age of 3. And thats only 2 yrs of riding, and he is actually so kid broke that when i rode him int he arena he was like...duh...duh duh.....duh duh....duh duh! But w/e! lol!

Bobi · 11-12-2003, 06:48 AM

Oh no disapointment like I said they "claim " he is kid broke.. I wouldnt stick a child on him until I knew him .. And that may take years.. I would never even consider putting "Anyone" on him unless I felt comfortable that they were an Experienced rider til I have had him for a while and get to know him plus until after he is gelded..I myself am not the Horse expert I would like to be .. Been around them all my life Ride comfortably but by know means claim that I know it all or even half of it all.. He displays wonderful ground manners and rides very nicely bareback. Only disagreement we had was he likes to plow rein and that is fine with me being thats the way I was taught many years ago..
We saddled him last night and he was wonderful .. holds his head nicely.. He even impressed some of the HORSE EXPERTS aka my friends when he stood perfectly still after dismount,placed the reins over his neck and walked away from him .. even when we brought out the feed bucket he refused to move until we took the reins and allowed him too..
But, like I said time will tell. And isnt that what horseownership is all about.. Time to enjoy
thanks again you sound like you really are on the ball with your knowledge of horses..
Bobi

jrmorgan · 11-12-2003, 06:52 AM

I have a very strict definition of 'kid gentle.'

The horse should well enough trained to walk, trot, lope, stop, back up, pivot and change leads with minimal cueing as most young children don't have much body strength to send strong cues. It should carry itself a loose rein consistently at all gaits and should never go any faster or slower than the child asks, unless it feels the child is about to fall, at which time it should stop. I have had SEVERAL wonderful kid gentle horses with the talent to know when a kid is about to go faster than they can really handle or about to fall. Bless their hearts that just slow down/ stop until the kid gets their bearings again.

The horse should be dead calm and unspookable in a parade, a warm up pen with crowded horses everywhere, a trail ride, with loud noises going on, etc.

It should lead, tie, bathe, clip, pick up feet, stand dead still for grooming and basically have perfect ground manners.

The horse must never buck, rear, run away, etc.

The horse should be dependable in any environment. Personally I think it takes years to develop all these things. The only young horses which would even come close to meeting my standards would be some of the 5 yr old WP horses who have been hauled to death since weanlings and exposed to A LOT of stuff.

Maybe that's too demanding, but I know that if i had a child, I would not want it riding something that was unsafe in any way, and I will not recommend a horse for purchase to someone for a child unless it meets my standards.

Bobi · 11-12-2003, 07:32 AM

My hats * cowboy of couse* off to you..
you sound like a person who has standards ... You have no idea how many people I have met in my quest to find a Kid broke horse who say Oh yeah that ones kid broke .. then you come to find out they have only had the horse for a few weeks.. My conscience wouldnt let me sell a horse to a parent without KNOWIN beyond the shadow of a doubt that that horse is bombproof!

SMILE
Bobi

11-10-2003, 08:34 AM	#1
Bobi Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 9	Halter Breaking Hello I am New Here .. And have a question about Halter breaking a horse.. I recently obtained a 2 year old stud Quarter Horse .. who I bought along with his buddy a broke 4 year old quarter Horse.. he was delived to me yesterday without a halter I have tried unsuccessfully to catch the ****** and halter him.Any tips on catching and Haltering him would be much appreciated. I cannot be sure he ever has had a halter on him before.He is very shy and will not let me approach unless I have a feed bucket. Then he'll let me pet him but rears as soon as he sees the halter. Thank you Bobi

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11-10-2003, 09:20 AM	#2
jrmorgan Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 302	Ok sweetie, first things first...Once you figure out how to catch this horse, call the vest asap and GET RID OF THOSE TESTICLES! Number one priority. Stallions are very hard to handle, especially one that obviously hasn't been worked with. In order for a stallion to be easy to handle, they need to taught from a very early age to trust and respect humans. Your boy sounds like he has a problem with this and you don't sound experienced enough to manage a stallion anyway. That said, you will just have to go slow and gentle with him. You may have to lure him in with the feed bucket at first. Don't bring the halter with you. Slowly see if he will let you touch him on his neck or shoulder. Once he accepts that readily (this may take a while), then try to pet him higher on the neck. Keep working your way up until you can pet his head. Once he's comfy with that, the take the halter out with you and stand a few feet away so he can see it in your hand. Shake a grain bucket to get him to come closer. When he gets closer, let him sniff the halter. Once he calmly sniffs it, put it up and go away. The next day try again only this time try to stand closer to him. When you get where he's not afraid of the halter, only then should you try to slip it on his head. You've really gotten yourself into a pickle getting a horse like that. You couldn't pay me to go through all that with a full grown horse. Just too dangerous and too much work. How did you get these horses? and why?

11-11-2003, 07:32 AM	#3
Bobi Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 9	thanks for your response .. We went to pick up Lucky... who is a 3 year old and very well mannered. he is broke to ride an they claim kid broken.. Seems the boy who raised him from a colt kept him in the backyard like a dog.. He follows you around an wants loving all the time, his Companion we call him OZ is the unhandled stud. He was so upset when we went to pick up lucky we just told them to go ahead an load him up too an we would figure out what to do when the time came..He has a trust issue with males .. He will let me come near him an he will eat from my hand and he will let me touch him a little. Im just gonna take it one day at a time .. they both have appointments to get gelded. I was just lookin for some tricks to get a halter on him . lol... someone suggested I drop one in the feed bucket an pull it on him when he goes to eat .. But I prefer a slow kind approach.. I am in no hurry... I will work with him til it proves to be a no go... then I have a friend who wants him... he is a papered QH and they say about 2 I think he may be younger

11-11-2003, 07:57 AM	#4
jrmorgan Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 302	Hi papers should tell you how old he is. I hate to disappoint you but I have never seen a 3 year old that I felt was kid gentle. Kid gentle horses take years to develop. They have to have "been there, done that' and there's only so much a 3 year old can have done. Don't get me wrong, I've seen 2 year olds who were very very broke, but I wouldn't have called them kid gentle. They just hadn't seen enough of the world for me to trust that they wouldn't spook at almost ANYTHING. If a kids gonna ride a horse, that horse needs to be as close to bombproof as possible. My mom gives riding lessons, and sometimes I try to find horses for the kids who have decided to buy their own. I don't go LOOK at anything under 10.

11-11-2003, 02:16 PM	#5
horse_crazy Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 1,067	jrmorgan: Kid gentle for riding can not be....or just in general? Because if it is in general...i disagree. We have a 6 month old filly and we have a 11 yr old VERY INEXPERIENCED boy lead her into a stall from the pasture. But Im not really sure if you were talking about riding or not! But if it is for riding....the horse possibly could be kid gentle....although it would have to be a really good horse!! wink I know a 5 yr old gelding that is SOOO kid gentle, he is used as a lesson horse. I think her was started at the age of 3. And thats only 2 yrs of riding, and he is actually so kid broke that when i rode him int he arena he was like...duh...duh duh.....duh duh....duh duh! But w/e! lol!

11-12-2003, 06:48 AM	#6
Bobi Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 9	Oh no disapointment like I said they "claim " he is kid broke.. I wouldnt stick a child on him until I knew him .. And that may take years.. I would never even consider putting "Anyone" on him unless I felt comfortable that they were an Experienced rider til I have had him for a while and get to know him plus until after he is gelded..I myself am not the Horse expert I would like to be .. Been around them all my life Ride comfortably but by know means claim that I know it all or even half of it all.. He displays wonderful ground manners and rides very nicely bareback. Only disagreement we had was he likes to plow rein and that is fine with me being thats the way I was taught many years ago.. We saddled him last night and he was wonderful .. holds his head nicely.. He even impressed some of the HORSE EXPERTS aka my friends when he stood perfectly still after dismount,placed the reins over his neck and walked away from him .. even when we brought out the feed bucket he refused to move until we took the reins and allowed him too.. But, like I said time will tell. And isnt that what horseownership is all about.. Time to enjoy thanks again you sound like you really are on the ball with your knowledge of horses.. Bobi

11-12-2003, 06:52 AM	#7
jrmorgan Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 302	I have a very strict definition of 'kid gentle.' The horse should well enough trained to walk, trot, lope, stop, back up, pivot and change leads with minimal cueing as most young children don't have much body strength to send strong cues. It should carry itself a loose rein consistently at all gaits and should never go any faster or slower than the child asks, unless it feels the child is about to fall, at which time it should stop. I have had SEVERAL wonderful kid gentle horses with the talent to know when a kid is about to go faster than they can really handle or about to fall. Bless their hearts that just slow down/ stop until the kid gets their bearings again. The horse should be dead calm and unspookable in a parade, a warm up pen with crowded horses everywhere, a trail ride, with loud noises going on, etc. It should lead, tie, bathe, clip, pick up feet, stand dead still for grooming and basically have perfect ground manners. The horse must never buck, rear, run away, etc. The horse should be dependable in any environment. Personally I think it takes years to develop all these things. The only young horses which would even come close to meeting my standards would be some of the 5 yr old WP horses who have been hauled to death since weanlings and exposed to A LOT of stuff. Maybe that's too demanding, but I know that if i had a child, I would not want it riding something that was unsafe in any way, and I will not recommend a horse for purchase to someone for a child unless it meets my standards.

11-12-2003, 07:32 AM	#8
Bobi Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 9	My hats * cowboy of couse* off to you.. you sound like a person who has standards ... You have no idea how many people I have met in my quest to find a Kid broke horse who say Oh yeah that ones kid broke .. then you come to find out they have only had the horse for a few weeks.. My conscience wouldnt let me sell a horse to a parent without KNOWIN beyond the shadow of a doubt that that horse is bombproof! SMILE Bobi