At Roy Marchinton Training Stables, our philosophy is getting to understand your horse as an individual.
Roy has 35+ years experience starting horses, & prides himself with all horses he has started having a soft mouth.

Starting a Horse under saddle
Weanlings/Yearlings
Re-Training
Float Training
Western Performance Training

Starting a Horse under Saddle


We usually allow 6-8 weeks starting a horse.

A basic outline of the program your horse will go through is described below in weekly stages.

Week 1 Handling the horse: catching, leading, tieing up, grooming, handling legs, rugging Lunging: in round yard and arena Mouthing: introducing roller, bridle & side reins Week 2 Introducing saddle, lunging with saddle. Start driving (long reining), beginning in the round yard then progressing to arena, around the property and through bush trails. Weeks 3 to 4 First ridden work started Riding in the round yard, then in the arena. Horse to be worked with other horses, then alone. Weeks 5 to 8 Continued ridden work on transitions, circle work, moving shoulder, hindquarters, leg yielding & side passing Riding around the property, along the road and through bush trails – both with other horses and alone. Float Training Farrier/shoes fitted

By completion of training, we have your horse stopping & backing to light rein pressure, maintaining even circles at all gaits, clear transitions from walk through to lope (canter), moving shoulder (turn on hindquarters),moving hindquarters (turn on forehand), side passing & leg yielding.

At this stage and prior to the horse going home, Owners are to complete 2 lessons with Roy, ensuring they understand the training methods used and what to continue on with once the horse is back home.

Owners can see their horse progressively through the weekly stages by appointment only. 

Please Note:
As each horse is an individual, we cannot guarantee the exact time
required to completely start a horse under saddle.

Weanlings/Yearlings

We like to have Weanlings/Yearlings for a minimum of 2 weeks.

• Handling: Catching, leading, tieing-up, grooming, legs handled, rugging
• Lunging: in round yard and arena
• Float Training
  

Re-Training

We have a variety of horses come to us for re-training.
As each horse is an individual, please contact Roy to discuss your requirements.

Float Training

We have many horses with a variety of problems come to us for float training.
Contact Roy to discuss your horses problems.

Roy float training a QH yearling

Western Performance Training We specialise in starting horses and continuing their training for a variety of Western Performance disciplines. Contact Roy to discuss your requirements and ambitions for your young horse.   Roy training on Deb Walduck's 'Hes Just Jokin' Cutting training at home Photographs by Eva Hartmann