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When you go to find a horse to begin training you must first discover the horses temperament. If the horse has a gentle patient temperament then he or she is an excellent prospect to making a good saddle horse or trail horse. First, spend time with the horse watch how he reacts when you touch him in different areas. Also try to pick up his feet each one and see how the horse reacts if the horse lets you mess with him and he seems not to be concerned then this is a good prospect. However if the horse moves or is nervous acting look else where for another prospect.

Once you have your horse and are ready to begin training your horse you will need to start slowly. If the horse is a young baby, you should train him on how and what the halter is, picking up his feet, how to lead and you may begin introducing him to a light saddle pad or a bareback pad. Each thing should be, separately introduced to the horse as to not overwhelm him or confuse him. Beginning to train your horse is a long patient process. Your horse will not get it right the first time.

You may work on one or two things during the training sessions but finish one before you move on to the next one. An example: work on teaching the horse to allow you to pick up his feet and then introduce him to the saddle blanket. This is, done by letting the horse smell and see the blanket. Wave the blanket back and fourth around the horse and gently place the blanket over the horses back and let it rest on his back for a period, of time. This allows the horse to become accustom to the feel of the blanket on his or her back.

Then you can teach or work on training your horse to follow or lead. Keep your arm outstretched while teaching this part of the training as to allow enough room apart from you that the horse does not accidentally step on your feet. As this is extremely painful and can disrupt the training sessions.

Next, you will need to teach your horse how to lunge this can be, taught by the use of a pole, or a round pen. For this you will need a 30″ lunge line or longer and a halter. You can use the end of the lunge line to twirl around to get the horse started in the direction you wish him to go. On the other hand, you may use a regular training whip however if you are gentle breaking a horse this is not recommended. As a whip will cause the horse to fear you and the whip, the whip is only in the case of a last resort.

After the lunging and all the basic training is, learned then you can proceed to the horse’s saddle and saddle training. Place the saddle in the center of the round pen and allow the horse to smell and become use to the saddle in his presents. Then when he or she is comfortable with the saddle gently place the saddle upon the horses back. Do not attempt the cinch the saddle around the horse unless the horse stands calmly.

If the horse does remain calm then proceed with the cinching the saddle around the horse loosely each time you place the saddle upon the horse and cinch it make it tighter until the horse is comfortably wearing the saddle. Then leave the saddle on the horse for extended periods and allow him to wear it all or most of the day on cooler days this will allow him to feel how the saddle moves with him as he moves through the day.

Next, follow the same procedure with the bit and bridle training. Then the actual weight or someone in the saddle or the breaking process begins. Have a professional horseman, or horse trainer to actually step onto your horse for the first time. You will want to do this in a soft tilled arena and make sure the arena is free of obstacles. Once this process is finished you may begin riding your horse and introducing him to the reining and directions from you. You may also teach some of this process from the ground.