Even when you’re already a horse trainer, you should not stop learning about horses. Wild horses are not used to human presence. It can be very hard to train them especially if you lack patience and determination. Training a spooky horse is challenging but if you’re up to it, a wild horse is always waiting for you.
If you posses the right attitude and skills, you can train a wild horse even if it takes some time. You must be prepared for possible injuries because a wild horse can be very spooky. For your training, try to set up a time frame – say a year or two. But it still depends in your horse’s learning ability and you skill in training as well.
How will you start the training program?
Wild horses are different from bred ones. The bred horses are already used to humans while the former is afraid of humans.
Before you start the training program, you need to gain the trust of your spooky horse. This is always the first task that you need to accomplish as a trainer. You can’t possibly a train a horse which doesn’t trust you. It would be best to keep the spooky horse in a little pen. Visit him everyday and feed him. Observe your horse. When he doesn’t flee when you feed him, take it as a sign and the next day, try going inside the pen. Approach your horse slowly and rub his body. You can also use a brush to rub against his hair.
When your horse is already used to your presence and he recognizes you, you can now introduce a halter. This may take time. Just carry the halter and the lead every time you visit your horse. Let him smell and scrutinize the objects you’re carrying. Put the rope under his neck and see if you can attach the halter and the lead. Leave the halter on while you’re inside the pen. When you leave, take it off again.
Once your horse is already comfortable wearing the halter, do other things. You can pick his hooves, brush him, and lead him to different places. At first, your horse might be scared but later on, he will get used to it.
Now, it’s time to introduce the saddle. Get him inside the pen and let him smell it. When he’s already familiar with the saddle, attach it to his back. Make sure that the girth is tied just enough; and not too tightly. For a couple of days, let your horse walk with the saddle in place. Don’t forget to place the bit in your horse’s mouth.
After some time, try to ride your horse but make sure that someone’s around just in case your horse reacts violently. Ride him inside the pen until he is already used to carrying you around. Try executing cues while inside the pen like stop, turn to the right, to the left, turn around, etc.
You must be consistent with the training program in order for your spooky horse to learn. Here’s a tip – never force a wild horse to do something he is not ready to do. If you keep on pushing him, he will never learn. Earn your horse’s trust first and after that, training will be a lot smoother.