Chihiro grazes on the pasture with

her herd. She catches a glimpse of Curly Horse breeder Petra with a ball and wanders over nosily with the ho- pe that Petra will play with her. The rolling of the ball under the stomach and between the legs shows just how much trust there is between Petra and Chihiro. She is so deeply invol- ved in the game that she is oblivious to all the other Curlys around her.

Breaking in of Talisman

The Journey of a pasture horse to a riding horse

The four year old gelding Talisman spent his foal and young horse years mainly on the pasture. There he could play, eat and run around with other horses.

Now with four years of age he should slowly start to be broken in. Since this is not a procedure that happens from today to tomorrow we gave ourselves lots of time to work with him. We ensured that we were not overburdening him to ensure that he was having fun while learning. Mareike, the attendant of Talisman, supported me twice a week in this procedure. She groomed him, showed him various exercises on our jumping course and took over ground work with him.

These exercises took a lot of work off of my hands in regards to breaking Talisman in. He learned to follow his feelings during the ground work exercises as well as how to cross front and hind legs, walk backwards, overcome barriers and obstacles which helped him to build trust with humans.

After this marvelous preparation we could start to use the lunge. At the beginning he was on the lunge with a halter and caves son while working in a fenced off circle. Day after day he learned how to react to the various commandos I was giving him while he proceeded to learn all three basic steps.

I noticed that he felt safe with these movements so I put a saddle on him. First I showed him the saddle and threw it on his back and took it off again various times to take away his fear of the saddle. He quickly developed trust to this weird object I had just introduced him to. After I put the saddle on him I let the stirrups hang to get him used to the next feeling. Even the belt was not a problem for him. After a few rounds he paced in step, trot and galloped in a relaxed pace in a circle while still on the lunge. I proceeded to do this for many days until it was completely normal for Talisman to have a saddle on his back.

Now it was time to slowly get him used to a rider. Mareike helped me with this next step by holding the lunge while I wiggled on the stirrup and the saddle and jumped up and down from Talisman. At first he looked very appalled and tensed up a little. Although after a few days of practice it became completely normal for him. To get him used to the weight of a rider I put my foot in one of the stirrups and lay on top of him while petting him. I repeated this various times. The next day I laid on top of him while Mareike used the lunge to execute a step tempo. He co-operated wonderfully throughout the whole procedure. The next day I sat on top of Talisman and wiggled with my legs to get him used to having a human on his back. Mareike lead us around. This day also proceeded without any problems.

The next stage was a faster pace of step while on the lunge. At first he didn’t react to any of the directions I was giving him through use of my weight, the bracket or the reins. After a few days of practice he slowly started to understand what I meant and how he had to move. Talisman enjoyed working with Mareike and me therefore when it came time to practice the gallop it was as easy as pie. Since he now understood what my directions meant Mareike was able to untie Talisman from the lunge and I was able to ride around with him on the riding area. At first he was a little unsure but that feeling disappeared with practice. Day after day I rode him either with or without the saddle to get him used to what having a rider on his back feels like.

I worked with him 4-5 times a week planning new activities for every day such as trotting over poles, stepping up on the platform and introducing him to the seesaw and the tarpaulin. Our property was used to get him used to riding in the open terrain. I waited for a sunny Sunday and rode with Talisman over our property. At first he was a little scared and curious to all the new surroundings. Near the end of our ride he began to enjoy the paths and surroundings. His self confidence rose day by day.

We enjoy helping him with his further daily development.