Accepting a contact...

[Sarah1]

Hi guys

Any tips on how to get yor horse to accept the contact?

We can master it in walk & even canter isn't bad but in trot Bailey gets very tense & hollow & fights against my hands. My instructor says I need to exert as much pressure as he is & soften when he does. I also try flexing & keeping my hands quiet but firm but we're still very inconsistent.

If I work him on a slightly longer rein he's much happier but shouldn't I be making him 'come to me' more?

I don't think he has any physical issues - his teeth, saddle & back were checked about 6 months ago but there wasn't anything amiss & there're no other signs that he's not happy.

I know it won't happen overnight - is it just a case of being firm & keeping at it?

Sorry should have said he's 8yrs now & we've been without a schooling area for over a year so his schooling is very rusty - he's quite green in his schooling anyway as he had 9 months off work with a back issue when he was almost 5 years but that's all sorted now & he's been back in work for about 2-3 years.

Thanks

 

[kerilli]

trying to exert as much pressure as he is is just going to start a tug of war, and i bet i can guess who'll give that one up first.
i'd just concentrate on sending him happily forward in balance, not rushing, and then gently establish a soft contact. keep your elbows soft and relaxed so that your hands don't go up and down in trot, just keep your hands as still and gentle as possible. he'll accept a soft contact a LOT sooner than he'll accept a strong one, i'd lay money on that! when he accepts the soft contact, you can gradually ask for more, but it has to be in this order imho.
also, you should NEVER use more hand than leg, at any point, this has been drummed into me so many times. i've been told to ride the horse forward into the soft, absorbing hand.
hope that helps a bit.

 

[Sarah1]

That's great thank you - so by riding him on a slightly longer rein & just concentrating on riding him forwards I can gradually pick him up & take more of a 'correct' contact over a period of time?
This is what I did last night and he seemd much happier altho he was more on his forehand - will this be corrected as I start to pick him up more?

 

[emmaln]

Totally agree with Kerilli... If you think about it trying to pull a horse into a contact is never going to work as the whole point of trying to get the horse to work in an outline is to get them to use their hind quarters as a powerhouse. Maybe your instructor is trying to say that you need to balance your leg with your hand ??

Naturally a horse carries roughly 2/3 of their weight in front and 1/3 behind, what we are asking them to do is swap this around so they carry 2/3 behind and 1/3 in front. This takes time because we are asking the horses muscles to work ina different way and just like us when we start to do something a different way it hurts to begin with!

It sounds like you know your horse well and that you can feel he is happier when you work him on a slightly longer rein, i would be tempted to do this and control his pace with your seat think of working him upwards rather than forwards and suddenly your reins will feel too long thats when you can afford to shorten them keeping soft in the elbow with elastic ring finger. It should be hard work for you but you should feel no tension.

Try doing lots of transitions each time making sure that you decide exactly where to perform the transition and never let him fall into a downwards transition. You could also try lots of bending, spirals, serpentines just make sure you are working him square into the bend no motorbiking!

Keep going it sounds like you are doing well don't worry about "getting his head down" get him square, supple, balanced and working upwards and it will come naturally!

Sorry for the essay i am obsessed with this subject sad i know!!! Let us know how you get on! xxx

 

[Sarah1]

Thanks so much for taking the time to make such an informative reply!
I try not to use my hands much at all other than to guide him - I try to always ride him forwards but I seem to be riding him into the ground if that make sense? I can lift him into my hands in walk but in rising trot I find it much more difficult!
He'll work soft & round in front with a very light feel on the reins and he doesn't lean on my hands even when he's working on his forehand. He's built very much on his forehand to begin with tho - his front end is huge, his shoulders are massive! This may not do them justice...

He does forge slightly due to being very compact, quite active behind & obv on his forehand!
I've tried spiralling & transitions and they do help some - I suppose it's something I'm just going to have to keep at & hopefully gradually correct all these issues one at a time...!
This is how we're doing at the mo working on a longer rein...

 

[posie_honey]

sounds v similar to my mare - 11yrs and no schooling! just hunting in ireland and over here. i consider asking her to work correctly similar to asking me to start advanced yoga

i'm going for the v light contact and pushing from behind - lots of transitions to engage hind quarters and get her listening (she ignores leg too given half a chance!)

we're getting there - although someone tried her recently who sounds like a similar way of riding to your instructor... cue horse getting v v upset and tense... didn't acheive anything.

i can get nice relaxed work from behind and working long and low - and the beginning of accepting the bit and and v v occasionally the hints of self carriage - i am just waiting for the front end to come in it's own time so to speak! def seeing improvements though

 

[Sarah1]

Thanks! They do sound similar!
My instructor isn't of the 'holding them down in front' school to be honest but he said my contact was 'quite pathetic'! He says my horse takes advantage of me being such a big lad & knowing he can get away with it and I have to let him know I'm in charge!
When he rides him he doesn't touch his head - he only works on getting him forwards, sharp off his leg and gets him working laterally to engage back end. He says get him going forwards then get him straight & everything else will drop into place but he sees me struggling with a horse that will happily set his neck & try to take the easy way out!
I feel like I've slated Bailey - he's not a bad lad, he's very trainable but he does have an awful temper if he's feeling that way out...

 

[emmaln]

It sounds and looks like you are doing well, just takes time. Maybe some pole work would help? It may be just the pics but it looks like you are slightly pitching forwards and rounding you shoulders i would try,without getting tense,rolling up from your belly button (cue me sitting at the computer trying to work out how to descibe what i mean!) You need to pull your belly button towards your spine then roll up imagine you are stacking each vertebrae on top of the other once in that position you will need to raise your hands slightly to keep a natural bend in your elbow!

Might help a bit??

 

[Sarah1]

Thanks! We haven't done any polework since we lost the school but Bailey used to love it! I'm terrible for looking down which does put me slightly in front of the vertical (& puts him more on the forehand) and I roll my right shoulder on the right rein so my shoulders don't mirror his - I am working on these things but it's sooooo hard!!!!!!
I'll try to think of stacking my spine and sitting up more (boobs like headlights on full beam not dipped as it was once explained to me!) - thanks for your advice!

 

[Annagain]

While I agree with the others about not starting a fight, he sounds very much like my boy. I spent ages with one instructor telling me to send him forwards and then worry about the contact but every time I tried to take it up he would lean as hard as he could until he pulled me off balance and then go faster and faster.

I tried a different instructor and didn't get out of walk for three lessons but boy was it worth it. She had me working on a circle (5m to begin with and then 10, 15 and 20) and bending him to the inside and just holding my hand and rein in the same place until he gave in and softened and then I gave as well and gave a bit of a pat (I can still hear her saying don't change a thing stay like that over and over to me!) To begin with as soon as I gave he'd take every inch of it and more but having worked on it for ages he'll now keep his head there when I give in all paces and in straight line as well, not just on a circle. I wasn't pulling on him just saying "that's where my hand is going to be, get used to it" He's got to learn that the contact is something that is always going to be there and he just has to accept it. Mine's come on in leaps and bounds since I started doing this.