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FRANÇAISFrom 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 horses, 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;
- Lungeing cues;
- 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!
