Training my horse to ride in a halter?
I love to ride bareback with just a halter, and I am about to move and buy my own horse, and I want her to ride in just a halter. But, shes never ridden like that - any ideas on how I can "train" her to?
Thanks so much for the responses I have had already - let me give a little bit more information. I am a Natural Horsemanship kind of girl - I understand it, and use it to the best of my ability. The horse has been ridden bareback, and I have experience riding bareback - so the bareback part for both of us, isn't a problem. I think I will just start her out with a halter (oh to be more specific about that, I have a Natural Horsemanship Rope Halter, with a 12ft lead that can be create into a reins, so it's mecate style you could say) and convert the lead rope into reins, and start small. Work on just walking, and giving leg/vocal cues to get her to do stuff. And I will definatley practice stopping, and emergency stopping with her a ton. Whence I am comfortable with walking, I will go on to trotting, and so forth and so o. Does this sound good to you? Any other ideas to make it an easy adjusment for both of us? Thank you guys so much again!!
Mudpuppy sure said it. Any horse in the world can be ridden with a halter and lead rope, or even bridleless for that matter. (I'm serious when I say any horse) They don't need to be "trained" for it, but the rider sure does. This is because horses respond NATURALLY to a rider's cues, but the rider must deliver them correctly and efficiently. Basically, it all boils down to communication. If you feel you are a confident and experienced rider, you should do fine. Start on the ground and see how responsive and submissive she is. Just take her into a round pen, let her go at liberty, and see what you can do! It's amazing what you can do with a horse, a round pen, and your body language. Usually I get them to follow me at liberty, then give to pressure just from my body language (backing up, disengaging hindquarters, etc.), and just anything that comes to my mind. This all goes into riding, because if you can get them to respect you and be soft and supple, you have a totally different horse under saddle.
So go ahead and take her into a round pen and just see what you can do. Look up some methods of natural horsemanship to experiment with, and try to gain her trust and respect. You'll also be able to tell her personality by asking her to trot around the pen a few times. Is she lazy? She's real mellow if it takes you a slap on her rump with a lead rope/lunge whip and a strong voice to get her moving and keep her moving. Or is she high-strung? She'll be spirited if all you have to do is take a step toward her and she bolts away. Most horses are a little on the lazy side, since they'd rather stand than move. I like a horse right in the middle where he'll respectfully pick up a trot when all I have to do is look at him and maybe cluck. (but this most likely won't be achieved until after a lot of work.
After you discover what kind of horse she is, you'll be able to tell how she is riding. If she's lazy, you'll have to emphasize your cues. If she's jumpy, you'll have to be really quiet and relaxed. You could also see how she gives to pressure. Stand in front of her and ask her to back up by taking a step towards her and leaning forward. If she backs up like a reining horse, you have a horse that gives very very well to pressure! lol wouldn't that be nice…If she refuses, that's okay. Advance and place your thumb on her chest and cluck to get her to move away. Does she back quickly and bend at the poll? This is very good if she does. If she takes only one or two steps or puts her ears back, then you have a horse who does not give to pressure very well. This is important to see how soft she is so you'll be able to tell before you even get on her if you need a bit or not. If she gives to pressure easily, then she'll respond well to just a halter.
So now that you know your horse's personality and how soft and supple she is, you could continue to do some exercises with her on the ground or you could try and ride her in a halter depending on how "good" of a horse she is. If she's responsive and tuned into you, then you should have no problem. If she's edgy or spirited, then you may want to stick with ground work until she's respectful of you and is soft/supple. It's important she sees you as "alpha". All this round pen work will save you a huge head ache if you were planning on jumping on and seeing how she acts then. Lol 
If you can tell she may pose some problems, and you don't feel experienced or confident enough to tackle the situation, call a local trainer. If you've never done any of this stuff before, but you feel you have the courage to do it, go ahead and experiment with her. Read up on equine behavior and professional horse trainers such as Pat Parelli, Clinton Anderson, etc. Good luck with your new horse!! I hope everything goes swell
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April 16th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Simple, don't use a bridle and stick with a well made rope halter. Keep her super soft in your hands though. If she gets pushy you are not going to have good leverage with just a halter. Do a lot of lateral and vertical flexing. Also try a bosal or sidepull.
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April 16th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Basicly you just have to do trial and error. If the horse knows leg cues, and responds both neck reining and plow reining then it should be fine already. Basicly all you have to worry about without a bit is stopping, so make sure that you and your horse are solid on that before you start out. Bareback is great, and the more bonded you are with your horse, the better it will respond to you while riding bareback.
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April 16th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
well do you mean just using your legs to control, or putting reins or lead ropes on the halter? Its basically just like riding with a bitless bridle if you are doing it with reins, and the horse should be pretty good aobut it unless you have to use the bit to control it most the time
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April 16th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Lateral work and getting her to listen to your seat and leg ques is very important. You have to be able to ride her with very light hands and she need to be responsive.
you can put a lead rope on both sides of your halter. they also sell bareback pads that look fun to ride in if you ask me.
also train her well to your voice commands. When you longe her does she automaticly slow down to "whoa"?
Is she easy to lead?
after pondering those questions and you feel you have a gentle horse go ahead and try it
best wishes!
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April 16th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Well first after you find the horse of your dreams I would just get to know your horse. First under saddle and go from there. Develope a trusting relationship, play with her. Then go to bareback with a bridle. Just one step at a time and don't rush her.
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April 16th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
It really depends on the horse.
When I started riding my horse in just a halter (a rope halter), I thought she'd be fine, but WRONG!
I got too bold one day and cantered her bareback in just a rope halter and she took off running and dumped me in the sawdust pile.
So take it slow if she has never been ridden like that. I recommend first riding in just a snaffle for a while on little or no rein contact and teaching her to stop and back up from light cues like lifting the reins up. The lighter you can get her on the bit the better.
When you think she will be safe enough in just a halter, try a rope halter with a longer lead rope as reins (mine is 12 ft). It is a good idea to teach one reined stops, getting your horse to bend and sniff your foot with the lightest tug (do both directions!). Then get the halts and backups very light.
Practice a LOT of walk/halt transitions, then when you feel comfortable, trot/walk transitions.
Take it as slow as you feel you need to go! You horse could be perfectly fine the first time, or it could take a while.
Good luck!
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April 16th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
i recon 1 step at a time, as you and your horse have to get to know each other, it may take days, weeks or even months, and it wont go astray to find out some history on the horse also, good luck and remember easy does it.
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April 16th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
You should really get to know her better before determining if riding her with just a halter is reasonable. She may need more training with a bridle and bit before she's able to be trusted to carry you with just a halter on.
And if riding with just a halter isn't in the cards for you and your horse, try a hackamore or bosal. You get the rewards of riding without a bit, but the comfort that the pressure will stop the horse if she decided to run off with you.
If you're dead set in riding her with a halter- I'd suggest getting you a breaking halter. These are specially designed halters that most trainers break their young horses in. Most are high quality with reins- so you aren't riding with a lead rope which can be dangerous.
Hope this helps.
I'm adding this a day after my response. Nothing about riding a horse is natural. They were originally a wild animal just as lions and bears and such. If horse back riding was so natural then we wouldn't have to break and train them to let us ride them.
And horses don't naturally move off pressure- they actually move against it and then are trained to move away from it. So before anyone says- I practice NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP think this– Just how natural is it for the horse if their first reactions are to run away or buck?
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horse ranch owner, breeder, and trainer. APHA, AQHA, IBHA, NCHA, NRHA, NRCHA, and NARHA life time member.
and retired equine and large animal veterinarian.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Start with a tube top!!!
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Humor
April 16th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
If your horse is well-trained and respectful, you shouldn't have to train him into anything like that.
Bits actually should be an advance in communication, NOT a necessary part of it.
The best, most awesome and fun way to learn to ride bareback and with just a halter is definately natural horsemanship. My friend has been doing it for four years with her horse and let me tell you, it is INCREDIBLE! She can canter around, do lead changes, serpintines, circles…. etc. All without ANYTHING on the horse and in a big open field with her hands on her hips! It is just like Alec and the Black Stallion. lol. I'm not there *yet*, but I am working towards it. You don't need a special horse or anything, just communication to live your dream.
Good luck!
References :
http://www.parelli.com
April 16th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Mudpuppy sure said it. Any horse in the world can be ridden with a halter and lead rope, or even bridleless for that matter. (I'm serious when I say any horse) They don't need to be "trained" for it, but the rider sure does. This is because horses respond NATURALLY to a rider's cues, but the rider must deliver them correctly and efficiently. Basically, it all boils down to communication. If you feel you are a confident and experienced rider, you should do fine. Start on the ground and see how responsive and submissive she is. Just take her into a round pen, let her go at liberty, and see what you can do! It's amazing what you can do with a horse, a round pen, and your body language. Usually I get them to follow me at liberty, then give to pressure just from my body language (backing up, disengaging hindquarters, etc.), and just anything that comes to my mind. This all goes into riding, because if you can get them to respect you and be soft and supple, you have a totally different horse under saddle.
So go ahead and take her into a round pen and just see what you can do. Look up some methods of natural horsemanship to experiment with, and try to gain her trust and respect. You'll also be able to tell her personality by asking her to trot around the pen a few times. Is she lazy? She's real mellow if it takes you a slap on her rump with a lead rope/lunge whip and a strong voice to get her moving and keep her moving. Or is she high-strung? She'll be spirited if all you have to do is take a step toward her and she bolts away. Most horses are a little on the lazy side, since they'd rather stand than move. I like a horse right in the middle where he'll respectfully pick up a trot when all I have to do is look at him and maybe cluck. (but this most likely won't be achieved until after a lot of work.
After you discover what kind of horse she is, you'll be able to tell how she is riding. If she's lazy, you'll have to emphasize your cues. If she's jumpy, you'll have to be really quiet and relaxed. You could also see how she gives to pressure. Stand in front of her and ask her to back up by taking a step towards her and leaning forward. If she backs up like a reining horse, you have a horse that gives very very well to pressure! lol wouldn't that be nice…If she refuses, that's okay. Advance and place your thumb on her chest and cluck to get her to move away. Does she back quickly and bend at the poll? This is very good if she does. If she takes only one or two steps or puts her ears back, then you have a horse who does not give to pressure very well. This is important to see how soft she is so you'll be able to tell before you even get on her if you need a bit or not. If she gives to pressure easily, then she'll respond well to just a halter.
So now that you know your horse's personality and how soft and supple she is, you could continue to do some exercises with her on the ground or you could try and ride her in a halter depending on how "good" of a horse she is. If she's responsive and tuned into you, then you should have no problem. If she's edgy or spirited, then you may want to stick with ground work until she's respectful of you and is soft/supple. It's important she sees you as "alpha". All this round pen work will save you a huge head ache if you were planning on jumping on and seeing how she acts then. Lol
If you can tell she may pose some problems, and you don't feel experienced or confident enough to tackle the situation, call a local trainer. If you've never done any of this stuff before, but you feel you have the courage to do it, go ahead and experiment with her. Read up on equine behavior and professional horse trainers such as Pat Parelli, Clinton Anderson, etc. Good luck with your new horse!! I hope everything goes swell
References :
horse owner/trainer
April 16th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
well it depends on how she has been ridden. but mostly all you haft to do is make shure she is good under saddle with a bridle first and make shure she mindes well with a halter. after that just take her in a small arena and try it. u might haft to pull harder at first so she can get the idea but it sould work. if not train her to neck rain(be ridden with one hand) so that she will turn when the leed rope tutches her neck. aneyway i hope i helped. i trained my horses and even worked for a horse trainer for 2 summers so if you have aney questions you can e-mail me
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