On the fourth day of the Colt Starting Clinic, Professional Clinician Jeff Davis led the class through putting a first ride on the colts.

Class got started at 7:30 with the participants teaching their horses the Sending Exercise. Here, Anjellica asks her horse to move forward between her and the fence.

Jeff explained that the Sending Exercise is a handy tool in helping a horse overcome his fears of tight, narrow spaces as well as spooky objects and is especially useful in trailer loading. Here, Amey’s horse passes through gap and Amey gets ready to yield the mare’s hindquarters.

After working on the Sending Exercise, participants desensitized their horses to their training tools. Wade works on desensitizing his gelding to the stick and string.

When it was time to give the horses their first rides, Jeff and Mitch worked together to do a demonstration with Jennifer’s mare. The demo started with Mitch practicing Stirrup Driving. The exercise desensitizing the horse to the feel and sound of the saddle and also teaches the colt to move forward.

Jeff acts as Mitch’s assistant in the roundpen. During this first ride, the assistant on the ground controls the horse’s movements, making it easier for the horses to understand what’s expected of them.

After a few repetitions of moving the mare around the roundpen by moving her hind end and then front end, Jeff asks her to trot forward a few strides. Mitch keeps her on a big, loose rein, encouraging her to move forward and stay relaxed.

During the first ride, the horses are moved out at all three gaits in both directions. The entire time, the riders move all over the horses and rub them with their hands.