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Discussion on Teaching the standardbred to lope
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 8, 1999 - 9:56 am:
Jennifer -
I would view this as a retraining project and start the horse on the lunge as if he had never been ridden and was totally green.
This way, as you progress with each step, you can assess where his education is lacking and breeze through what he already knows.
Once he canters comfortably on the lunge without a rider on both leads (this will take time for him to learn and balance), then I would introduce a rider on the lunge.
I would take this slow and easy as the horse needs to develop his muscles and balance to work with a rider. It is better to invest the time early on and not over-face the horse.
Once the horse is balanced with a rider on the lunge at all three gaits, your friend can begin to develop his western specialty.
I would estimate any where from 2 to 4 months of steady work to achieve this. But, the time should only be used as a guide - many reuse horses might take longer as they are so fit for their first job that it takes some time to settle in and relax.
Hope this helps.
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