
Buckskin filly started with hackamore and snaffle bit
Colt Starting with a Hackamore and Snaffle bit
In this video series, I start a good-looking 2-year old buckskin filly.
And the entire training process is shown pretty much in “real time”.
The advantage of seeing it happen in real-time is it gives you a good reference to gauge the progress and what methods it took to get them there.

First time saddled and bucking a little bit
Overall, the video covers a time span equivalent to about three weeks of training sessions. And each session averaging around 20 minutes in length. Some sessions longer. Some shorter.
The important thing is you see everything just how it happened. Starting at the beginning and going all the way through the 1st ride.
You will see the 7th and the 8th ride also.
Here’s an outline of the progressive steps:
The sack-out and gentling process (ropes, flags, blanket and stick).
Teach the filly to respond and move her shoulders, ribcage and hips away from pressure.
Teaching the filly to work on the lunge line correctly.
Advanced lunge line techniques.
Introducing the saddle without having a wreck.
Establishing control with the hackamore. (I can’t stress enough the importance of this step)
A careful introduction to the snaffle bit. (Do this wrong and you’ll have mouth issues for a long time)
Pre-ride ground work with the snaffle.
Special pre-ride preparation. (How to stay out of trouble)
Making a successful first ride.
Suppling the filly laterally and establishing lightness.
Teaching the filly to give to my hands, flex at the poll and drop off the bit.
Teaching the filly to move her hindquarters away from leg pressure.
Teaching to walk, trot and lope quiet and relaxed.
Training technique for picking up the correct lead.
Teaching the preliminary stages for collection and traveling “in-frame”.
Teaching the filly to back up (you’ll learn 4 different methods)
Re-introducing the hackamore and continuing training.
At this point, the filly is going well and I’m riding her in the big outdoor arena.

Filly learning to follow the rider's hands
She will walk, trot, lope… stop and back up.
She’s light and will drop her nose and flex at the poll in both the snaffle bit and hackamore.
From here, it was just a matter of riding her consistently and letting her progress at her own pace.
You’ll pretty much see everything exactly as it happened.
About the only thing I didn’t show on camera was I spent the first week just petting and brushing the filly so she would settle in and get to know me.
The filly went on to become a really good horse.