Australian Horse Training – Jason Webb

Starting Young Horses

Give Your Horse or Pony the Best Start to his Ridden Career

“Jason has done exactly as I asked with my stallion, Steal A March, and I love his quiet but effective approach” Lindsay Hartett, Flytesfield Performance Horses

You have given me so much confidence, knowing he has had the best start to his ridden future” Jane Barrett

For more testimonials, please click here

With over twenty years of experience, Jason’s main love remains as working with and starting young horses and ponies. Much in demand by studs, professional and amateur riders alike, Jason provides exceptional results in a short space of time. Treating each horse as an individual but working to the same system and ‘checklist’, he starts the potential Grand Prix dressage horse, to the racehorse, to the happy hacker in the same way, ensuring that horse and rider have the best possible chance of success in their chosen discipline.

For more details on our Training Philosophy please click here

Starting System

The photos show the starting process for a stunning Hanovarian dressage colt, Junior.

Days 1-3 Groundwork

• Catching
• Tying up
• Leading
• General handling & Manners
• Foot & Leg handling
• Round pen work
• Desensitisation
• Introduction of the saddle and bridle
• Mouthing
• Long Reining
• If required, work with ‘Lead Pony’

Days 4-6 First Rides

• 5-10mins in the round pen
• Introduction to the arena
• Walk, Trot and Canter patterns on both reins in the arena

During these first few rides, we are looking for forward motion and positive responses from the horse to the aids to change direction and to stop.

Week 2

• Introduced to riding outside the arena
• Ridden around farm (open fields, woods etc) alone and in company.
• Opening and closing gates (an excellent way of developing control of the horse and is a big part of our starting process!)
• Close Contact Lunging and developing groundwork

Week 3

• Rides become longer
• Elements of the discipline the horse is destined for may be introduced (for example, the racehorse will start canterwork, the polo pony will be stick and balled).
• Encounter natural obstacles such as logs, small shallow ditches and water, which will be crossed/jumped with minimum fuss, becoming a positive experience for the horse.
• Hacked out on (quiet!) roads in company and alone.

Weeks 4 – 6

• Work is consolidated and we would expect the horse to be going in a settled, forward manner by this stage.
• The tack that the owner will use will be introduced.
• Manners and ground handling are also worked on so the horse is a willing loader and safe for the farrier, vet and dentist to work with.
• The owner/ rider may start to ride the horse.

Hometime!

Before the horse goes home, the owner would ideally have had a few rides on the horse, but at the very least, they must have seen the horse being ridden and be happy with the way he is going.

We recommend that the horse is turned away for a while after he has been ridden at home a few times. It is a very intense time for the horse to cope with and he will deserve a break!

When your horse goes home, you will be given a Horse Training Summary Sheet of your horse on how he has coped with his training and our recommendations for his future training.

And to end this section, we couldn’t resist putting in a photo of our smallest pony in for starting – the wonderful Frankie Frankham!

Frankie was a rescue we found at the side of the road and Jason worked wonders with him, transforming him from a nervous flightly little pony to a wonderful little childs pony. As you can see Jason did all the usual work with him even with his small size! Frankie is now in a loving home being a fantastic pony and best friend. Becky Bosman