American Saddlebred help!?

Question

Ok I was recently given an American Saddlebred. She was a neglect case with a body score of 2 and is now to light riding condition. I don't know the first thing about this horse other than she needed someone to save her. She didn't even come with a name ): I would like someone who has had experience with Saddlebred training to help me.

Here it goes,

First, She will not walk. As soon as I mount her she trots and will not stop no matter what I do.
I have started to flex her in circles when she breaks gait from a walk to a trot. It doesn't work to well she takes 2 steps at a walk and starts trotting again. Our whole ride is nothing but trotting. I know they are bred to trot and used as saddleseat horses but im looking to use her for jumping. I need to know how to slow her down and be more collected. I am also working on ground work. Im pretty much taking her back to the basics. She is really a great horse and I hate correcting her for trotting out when im sure she was taught that from previous owner. There was a girl that had her before she was sent through 2 neglectful owners so im assuming she was a show horse. She clips and everything and i know people wouldn't take the time to teach a trail horse to clip. but thats just my opinion.

Also, everytime she is standing she lifts her legs to where her hoof will touch her girth area. and she does this with both feet. She has really good legs and feet, its not just when i tie her it is while she eats too. I don't know if this is something she was taught or if it is just her being her. but she is sound and healthy.

Please anyone that has any information that would be helpful please let me know. 
I am experienced with horse and have rode/trained and competed horses for 15 years so i know what to do and am not a first time horse owner.

Thanks

Finley · Accepted Answer

if she's barely in light riding condition, I would not be riding her.
I would be doing lots of ground work.
look up John Lyons Bridlework and you'll see that you can get everything you want done under saddle...but on the ground first.

This horse sounds badly trained (she does not really know anything) and she was probably a show horse. So REALLY bad training.

All shows do is fake the way they move (why your horse picks up her feet so ridiculously high). It was forced on her either through painful means (burning the bottom of the hoof) or chains (to hit the feet and the sting hurts, or heavy shoes) or even whips.

So, basically you have a very VERY green horse.

Go back to basics.
Doesn't matter her breed. She's GREEN.

Show horses are typically abused (not all but too many to ignore the numbers) and they are traumatized more often than not ("trainers" will spook the horses with fire extinguishers to get an animated look from the horse), so these poor animals do go through a lot in the name of "showing"

Start from the beginning.

Pretend she is totally unbroke and begin with ground work.

I would suggest at least 6 months of it to get her strong (look up LARRY WHITESELL he shows owners how to get the horse to be strong in the hindquarter) then riding when she is truly ready. As is she doesn't sound like it.

So, if you've trained horses, then you know the basics. Go back to them, groundwork then riding only after she's totally soft and supple and yielding and bending and traveling well.

Blake G. · Answer

My horse does the thing wear she lifts her hooves up to her girth area while she eats with both, im not sure what that means. Im not sure about trotting thou.

partly cloudy · Answer

You need to change your thought process.  if your already "getting pissed off" because your horse is showing anxiety with the leg lifting while tied and eating that is a bad start.

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American Saddlebred help!?

3 Answers