TIM PIPER of Professional Horsemanship continues his series of monthly features with a look at the development of young horses after backing.

In the first few days of riding a youngster after initial backing, I am looking to keep it simple but positive.

I find the first bridge to cross is the walk to trot transition.

Naturally, I would be trying to achieve this in a round pen with somebody of experience on the ground.

The person on the ground is usually the one helping to create the energy to gain forward movement. I would look for a couple of changes of direction in walk first.

Because we are working in a pen, this is much easier as the pen naturally guides the horse on one side and the person on the ground is pushing the horse out.

This helps the rider stay relatively neutral, which in turn helps the horse stay relaxed as you do not have to overwhelm them with hand and leg inputs.

As always, every horse is different.

Very early on, I would be thinking about the trot, and once I felt the change of direction in walk softening, I would indicate to the person on the ground to push for trot in a smooth and consistent way.

This may sound quite technical, but it is important that the person on the ground pushes the horse on a 45-degree angle to the horse's spine, which basically means they are sending him around the pen and not into the side of the pen, which may cause the horse to turn back on itself.

With an easy going sort, slight lack of inexperience from the person on the ground is tolerable but obviously, when I am riding something sharp, I expect them to know exactly what they are doing.

As you feel the energy building in walk, you prepare yourself for an upward transition. When it comes, I usually try to sit lightly the first four or five strides, before starting to rise.

Most youngsters feel slightly awkward for the first strides, but then you feel that nice sensation of softening.

If you think it's going too quickly, you must steady it and again this is when the person on the ground should be reading the situation as well.

Everything should be done in a subtle but positive manner.

Achieving the trot usually tells me that the horse is starting to accept the rider, and once this has been achieved, we can start to think about progressing further.

The canter transition I would look to get in much the same way. However, I may not look for this quite so early.

It is hard to explain exactly how I handle the horse's mouth, but obviously this is something that is important, and I would be watching the way it is going.

Some horses are less fussy with their mouths than others, therefore require less attention, but an awful lot of the good development of the horse's mouth comes from the rider's hands.

As I have said before, teeth should all have been looked at before.

Obviously again, riding in the pen helps because you are only asking a certain amount at a time.

When I make turns, I open my reins and guide the horse's head in the direction I want to go.

I refine this as they start to understand - and the same with a stop.

I am quite positive when asking for this but am ready to give when I get the response I am looking for.

I would also use side reins and other equipment, when needed. I have seen people using side reins when riding horses for the first time which would frighten me because if the horse was to fight them, he is likely to land on top of you.

The reins are, in my mind, a sensitive control and not a set of handle bars to keep your balance with, which is why I ride with a neck strap - so if my balance becomes unsteady, I use that to hold on and not the horse's mouth.

In the safety of the pen you can experiment and explore until the horse and you have built confidence enough to move on.

During this time you are weaning the rider and horse off of the person on the ground and putting more emphasis on control from on top.

More food for thought: too many novices together can lose their way. A novice horse being led by a novice rider can be like the blind leading the blind.

My next move would be to introduce a lead horse to help your youngster progress, and we will talk more about this next time.

  • For more information, contact Tim on 01458 274832.