The new challenge for me was to start seven colts in only five days. I have been through a detailed program, worked everyday with the seven horses and I finally could ride them all. Nice horses!
Table of Contents
From January 20 to 25, 2014, I had the opportunity to start seven colts in Denmark: one 3-year old Arabian stallion, three 3-year old Spanish stallions, one 4-year old Spanish gelding, and two 4-year old Spanish stallions.
Seven colts, seven personalities
I planned a general program for all of them but naturally had to adapt to each and every horse, some being more sensitive than others, some being more self-confident and willing to participate.
Day 1
- Desensitizing to the flag
- Lunging
- Backing up
- Grooming
- Desensitizing to the rope
- Rolling the hind end
- Desensitizing to the pad
- Preparing to the cinch
Day 2
- Desensitizing to the pad and saddle
- Full circle and changing direction
- Lateral flexion from the ground
- First mounting
Day 3
- Grooming and tacking in the stables
- Refined backing up and soft feel from the ground
- Half circle
- First ride, lateral flexion from the saddle and walk
- Experimenting the bit
Day 4
- Lateral flexion with the bit
- First ride in a bit
- Untracking the hind under saddle
With the more advanced of them I could start to work on the rhythm and the Soft Feel.
Five days, four sessions per horse
Clock was ticking, yet every horse finished with a fairly good level after four sessions each for a total of three hours in average for each of them. Of course, some needed less time to achieve a good result when others needed more time to achieve less.
As a conclusion, I have to say that it was a very interesting experience and that I am satisfied by the results, although I wish I could have spent more time with them, especially with those that were somewhat feeling a little anxious from time to time. I am pleased to have started the seven of them as we had some pretty nice moments!
