A decision or just a BIG kick up the......?

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malibu211211

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When looking for a horse 3 years ago, I wanted something a bit different that I could do some dressage with in the hope of maybe affiliating later on.
I found a very green 16.3hh Palomino Saddlebred x who had just turned 6. Admittedly, I could of done with something more experienced and maybe a bit smaller (i'm 5ft 9in with a 34in leg) but we plodded along until he reared up and fell on me 2 months after buying him. We found a great instructor who had him in for schooling and have had weekly lessons ever since.
We have come on alot and have scored 63% and above in all our tests we have done so far. My problem is I find him lazy in the school to the point where I am working so hard and I now use impulse spurs and a schooling whip. In the arena at a competition he is twice as bad!!! All our comments are 'needs to go more forwards off the leg' 'more impulsion needed'
My instructor got on him yesterday for the 1st time in about 6 months and didn't really find him that lazy. My friend also commented that he is not as lazy as he used to be.
My instructor and friend have both said I tend to grip alot with my legs and I try and work too hard. They are right, I do!
I feel like although we have come along way, I still cannot get him motivated unless there is someone on the floor helping me which obviously doesn't help in the the competitions.
My question is do I keep plucking away at the frustration or do I cut my loses and sell?

Sorry for the essay :(
Thanks for reading my moan
 
I would suggest your instructor is failing you! She is right that gripping with your legs and 'working too hard' WILL stop a horse going forward - but what's she doing to help you overcome these habits?? TBH - MOST failings in forwardness are due to people riding with the handbrake on! i.e. worrying about head position and achieving an outline - instead of ALLOWING the horse to go forward.

I would try a couple of lessons with a different instructor - see if that helps!
 
Thanks for your reply.
My instructor says I need to make my legs more loose and we have done exercises and done work without stirrups. Maybe we should do more. I understand it is to do with me and not him and it is fine when she is there but the problem is the forwardness when she isn't there.
As for acheiving the outline, I need the forwardness and the engagement from behind first which is what I am struggling with.
I'm getting so frustrated that it is not enjoyable at all :(
 
I know what u mean, my horse has a tendency to slowly lean on u and before u know it ur carrying him round the arena and almost dead! My RI loves riding him but says it's easier for her as she has no emotional attachment to him whereas I obviously do. She can just get on and ride whereas I try too hard. After watching her I realised I need to be more proactive, not reactive.

I also found going out and doing lots of different things really perks him up in the school. Over winter I got in the habit of just going in the school doing dressage and he's a bit bored. Saturday I took him XC schooling and the difference in him is massive!
 
Do you do a variety of things with him?
Maybe he is getting bored. Is it a possibility to do some schooling while you are out hacking? Lots can be done on the road and if you have a small green or field nearby try there.
 
Although we have heathland close by they are putting livestock out there so we have lots of small gates everywhere. There is no open space nearby. I try to take him over the main road to the coastal path as much as possible to give him a bit of variety hacking wise.
As for schooling and competing, I do not jump and he has never been taught to jump. So we are quite limited, he enjoys some work over trotting poles and I also lunge him.
 
If your horse is OK for lessons on the lunge so that you can just work on your position, and not worry about steering, that might help. Have you thought about having some lessons on a simulator? You then would be able to focus totally on you and not worry about doing anything wrong on a live beast. It will also tell you if you are restricting too much with the hand so, as someone else said, riding with the handbrake on.
 
If he enjoys pole work may be you should look at teaching him how to jump. Even if its tiny it might give him something else to think about. Would you ever do pleasure rides? There seems to be loads of them around. You could go on one of these and see his reaction to that.
I would stick with him for now if it was me.
 
Have you thought about maybe changing his feed? Maybe he just doesn't have the energy to be as forward as you'd like. However, if you're getting bored and it seems you're kinda going off the idea of him altogether I'd cut my losses, sell on and get something that you can be excited about again! He's obviously a lovely boy but it doesn't seem that you are clicking?
 
Down to your instructor, I think.
My horse can be a bit dead to the leg, so I know what you're going through, but you need to be taught to use your legs effectively, and then nagged a bit so you don't get back into your bad habits.
I saw this done very effectively in a lesson recently - the instructor got hold of her pupil's lower leg and showed her how to use a gentle 'tap tap' aid with the heel or a bigger 'bump bump' aid and then keep her legs quiet. If the horse ignores this, the pupil is taught to give him a flick with the whip (But either way you must be prepared for the horse to jump forward and not restrict him with the reins), and this is repeated if and only if, the horse slows down from the required pace. Every time the rider went to use her legs incorrectly, the instructor reminded her what to do.
The change was amazing - the horse went from a crabby, backwards thinking madam to a lovely free moving animal that was happy to go into the contact. Each time they went on to do something different , the rider was gently reminded how to use her legs as it is easy to slip back into the bad habit.
Explain to your instructor that you want to learn how to use your legs more effectively, and if she's not willing or able to help, find someone else. When you're working on your own, it's useful to have someone on the ground to remind you, or say to yourself "tap with the legs and then leave him alone".
It really does work and is worth it - he looks like a lovely horse that you should be enjoying.
 
my horse is like this, hes not as bad after we got his saddle changed, but he will either be a donkey or more recently just try getting you out of the saddle, could there be any physical issues? we are still going through checks to try to find out if hes just mean or there is a problem
 
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