Overview

We have a unique approach to breaking and starting youngsters and can be as flexible as you require in progressing your horse to the stage you want, whether that be broken to a basic stage to develop yourself, or broken, started and schooled to competition level.

The initial stages of our process start in the round pen. This provides safe, firm boundaries for both the student and teacher. From here your horse will develop the confidence required to successfully progress to the ‘outside world’.

Join up work is also a fundamental part of the early stages and assists in building the trust and confidence in your horse.

Philosophy

A horses sprit must never be broken it must be worked with and developed in a positive and constructive manner.

We have learnt that the key to successfully working with horses is in gaining a connection between the horse and rider. Mat believes that each horse has it’s own unique personality, like a human, with some being more stubborn or sensitive than others. The effective basis of working together is the skill of figuring this out in the first few engagements.

Habits are a huge trait of a horse, they can remember a bad habit easier than learning a good one. Horses are also herd animals and naturally used to a dominant figure, this needs to be you, in the form of respect.  We base our work on pressure release. A horse is always looking for the reward, when a horse responds correctly an immediate reward needs to be given, in the form of no pressure.

The approach at  Mat Lodder Polo ensures that each horse leaves equipped with the skills and attitude to go on to success in their chosen discipline whether that be  happy hacking or high goal polo.

Timetable

An example starting programme commonly takes 4 – 6 weeks and is based around the following plan:

Week 1

Ground work – handling and leading
Pressure points – responding and respecting
Stepping around – learning to step away from pressure
Saddling
Mouthing with loss ring snaffle

Weeks 2 & 3

Respecting the bit
Learning direction and going forward
Learning manners
Familiarising with blankets etc

Weeks 4

Progression – moving out to the field
Direction & balance – learning straight lines and large circles
Control -  direction , speed and stopping

Weeks 5 & 6

Exposure – out rides including hill work
Motion – learning forward movement and direction in large open spaces
Response – developing response to all aids