Green Horse Rules to Live By

When working with a green horse, regardless of the type, you’re going to have some highs and lows. To help you keep your wits and your optimism about you, here are 10 rules to remember:

1. Building a bond with your horse through groundwork exercises has its benefits, but eventually you have to get on and ride. The work you do on the ground is not a substitute for the work you’re going to do under saddle.

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2. Rarely is a training problem solved with a stronger bit or a trendy gadget.

3. When in doubt, longe. Or encourage your horse to kick up his heels in a large turnout paddock. A green horse that’s fresh and frisky can’t focus on his work.

4. Be patient. Don’t skip ahead to a more difficult request before you’ve laid the foundation. For example, you can’t expect your green horse to pick up his leads if you haven’t first taught him to move laterally in response to your leg aids.

5. Don’t accept bad jumping, sloppy leg yields, rushed transitions or crooked halts. Every time you ride your green horse, you’re teaching or reinforcing something. While you don’t want to bore your horse, you should repeat a schooling exercise until your horse — and you — get it right.

6. Keep an eye on your horse’s legs and joints. The stress of training on a green horse can produce swelling, soreness and stiffness that can become a serious unsoundness issue if left unattended. Giving a green horse time to heal and recuperate can save you vet bills and heartache.

7. While you work with your green horse, find opportunities to ride an experienced horse. Consider taking lessons on a school horse. Riding a finished mount will give you a feel for what you’re aiming for with your own horse.

8. If you find yourself getting so frustrated that you end up yanking on your horse’s mouth, kicking, spurring or whipping his sides, then it’s time to dismount and step away from the greenie. You and your horse are not communicating, and it’s time to seek professional advice.

9. You can train your green horse at home, but when it comes time to show, don’t forget to train your green horse to compete. Your horse will have to learn all about the horse show routine: the chaos of the warm-up ring, the distraction of unfamiliar horses, the water truck, the loudspeaker, et cetera.

10. Regardless of how carefully you chose your green prospect and how meticulous you were in his training, be prepared to accept that your green horse may never develop into your dream horse. Ultimately, you may have to modify your goals or find your horse a new home so that he can enjoy a career better suited to his talents.

Further Reading
Baby Green Blues
How to keep your green horse calm and focused

17 years ago

Cindy Hale

Cindy Hale’s life with horses has been filled with variety. As a child she rode western and learned to barrel race. Then she worked as a groom for a show barn, and was taught to harness and drive Welsh ponies. But once she’d taken her first lessons aboard American Saddlebreds she was hooked on English riding. Hunters and hunt seat equitation came next, and she spent decades competing in those divisions on the West Coast. Always seeking to improve her horsemanship, she rode in clinics conducted by world-class riders like George Morris, Kathy Kusner and Anne Kursinski. During that time, her family began raising Thoroughbred and warmblood sport horses, and Cindy experienced the thrills and challenges of training and showing the homebred greenies. Now retired from active competition, she’s a popular judge at local and county-rated open and hunter/jumper shows. She rides recreationally both English and western. Her Paint gelding, Wally, lives at home with her and her non-horsey husband, Ron.

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View Comments

Lori says:
October 13, 2008 at 7:31 pm
wow! are these a few good rules to live by, dealing with a green horse myself I can totally relate, great advice here!!! listen carefully
riley says:
September 1, 2009 at 12:39 pm
this is all great advice i have an ex race horse and im training him how to jump. hes learning quickly but sometimes i get stuck. thanks for the great advice!!!
Tess says:
June 12, 2011 at 1:01 am
Thanks for the advice really helped just brought a really green horse and your advice has helped me!!!
Andrea says:
November 28, 2011 at 10:22 am
This article was semi helpful but doesn't work for me and my girl. My biggest exception with the rules is to lunge your horse first. Lungeing makes my girly crazy and doesn't help us. I am of the school that no matter how much you lunge, you are not going to get the energy out. If you do... you will progressivly have to lunge longer to get the energy out. I should say however, I am not a show person. My girls are turned out 24/7 weather permitting. I can see them needing to have some play time if they aren't out more. Parelli has made a HUGE impact for my girl. It builds a relationship.
Samantha says:
July 23, 2012 at 3:42 pm
I'm terribly sorry to say this. This article was useless. It revolves around someone that has almost no clue what they're doing. Please, for future reference, remember that there are people who know what they're doing and just need a few pointers. One would assume by the title that this would be helpful. It should be titled "green riders with green horses".
Alaina says:
September 20, 2012 at 4:35 pm
I agree with Andrea. Lunging isn't good for greenies; they don't see the purpose and can't learn anything from it. Parelli, which I do with my greenie, helps you build a relationship with them and teach them to trust and respect you as a leader.
Laina says:
September 20, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Some good advice there. A word about longeing though. Longeing is nothing more than driving your horse in circles to build up his endurance. It can also bring up his adrenaline instead of calming him if he goes to racing around. He may eventually tire out, but next time you'll have to longe a little longer to get him tired and so on.
The Circling Game (Parelli) is about having a conversation with your horse and causing him to think. Out with the old, in with the new, people. It's time to let go ... of the longe line.
Cindy says:
September 21, 2012 at 9:28 am
I taught my OTTB's voice commands while lunging. "walk on" for walking, "trot" for trotting, "gallop" for cantering, "easy" to transition down (from cantering to trotting for example), and "whoa" for...well you know! It carried over with them when it was time to mount up. Having Thoroughbreds from the race track, lunging help me to show them that I was their leader.
Mike says:
September 21, 2012 at 11:09 am
Interesting! I hope that everyone has a great and safe weekend!
Hailey says:
September 21, 2012 at 12:02 pm
can someone explain 'Parelli'?