Advice needed to help get off the forehand

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Jojo_Ire

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Wondering if there is some advice from similar experiences. I have been reschooling a hunter to do dressage who had no mouth after years of people hanging off her, and after 18 months of going back to the drawing board we are finally taking a contact and softening. Have tried her in about 10 bits before finally getting her to soften to a loose ring hollow mouth snaffle. She has been improving, and is going well, but she can be stubborn and strong (typical mare!). Now we are doing a bit more advanced work, and her old habit of leaning on the forehand is coming back. She is active behind, there's plenty of leg, but I need to get her more 'up' and carrying herself without losing impulsion. Any similar stories, or advice. Am thinking about changing her bit to get her to listen to the hand a bit more, as if I take a hold, she leans more. All advice appreciated. Thanks.
 
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I have a similar type I think... plenty active from behind but not really built or inclined to lift the shoulder. She's getting better and after several different options, I found Neue Schule Team Up bit - the transformation is quite significant:)
Also, the usual - tons of transitions, keep it sharp off the leg, rein back to trot/reinback to canter does wonders. Plenty of pole work helps too.
 
Thanks, was thinking about trying a Neue Schule Verbindend or Sprenger Dynamic RS bit. She'd been going really well until last week, but I am asking her to do more lateral work, and engage more from behind. Still need to teach her rein back, but sound like it would be very useful - cheers for advice!
 
Sounds like the lighter you are the lighter she is?

I'll join the club!

Walk pirrouettes are good, as are just not tolerating her leaning on your hands at all. I found that bringing my shoulders slightly back made F bring his up and be lighter. I also found that working off his sticky side (aka worse rein) by lots of turns, circles & loops helped enormously. More recently he has been even better again with working on collecting and extending within walk and trot.
 
I too could use some help in this area so will be watching this thread.

My boy is very light in the hand and not on his forehand but not really off it either, he isnt built very uphill and it would be great to know of some things i could try to get him more uphill, even just slightly. Only thing i have been doing recently is transitions and this has helped but seem to have hit a sticky patch now
 
I found a great tip in a schooling book, walk five, trot five, walk five etc. Can also be brightened up, stop the horse anticipating, by lengthening stride for 5 shorten for 5, if that iis too short a duration, try 10 strides. It does help to lighten the forehand.
 
I don’t know how your riding is but it is so easy to follow a horse that is on the forehand. What i mean by this is as they drop you tilt forward and lower your hands and your lower leg lifts etc etc etc.

Make sure your horse is always in front of your leg and that you are sat up straight all the time keep your hands slightly higher and don’t think about the front end ride the horse from the back so that they can work from behind over the back and eventually drop into a nice contact.

Transitions are really good and also it helps my horse if i ride for about 10 mins and don’t complete a circle so forget about dressage moves and just move the horse around the school constantly changing direction and size of circles like serpentines but up the center line in about 10m half circles then when you get to the top come back done again. I find all this constant moving about really gets the hind leg underneath them and carrying the weight behind thus lightening the forehand.

This might be a load of tosh but it work for my big lad and i still have to do it every now and then just to sit him up again.

Good luck and keep up the good work it sounds like you have already achieved so much.:D
 
Thanks BFG. With her, I tend to try to get her to listen and stretch in walk first, before working her in. This is a recent problem, as she really has been improving vastly. I think because I know have her off the leg and truely forward she's finding it all a bit of an effort. When I first got her, she was very on the forehand, and there was no back engine. Now, the paces are coming together, but its difficult to get her to carry herself consistently, and in truth I can be a bit 'handy' trying to keep her up, but I ride from a pretty classical independent seat and use my back and shoulders to keep her engaged, but if I release contact her nose is on the floor. The 5 steps trot/walk sound like it could be helpful to get her to engage. I feel that I just need her to listen to the contact a little more, and not take such a hold. As I said, this is just this week, and I'm really hoping its just a bit of a tantrum, as she's also tending to tank off and use speed, but I'm presuming this is her way of evading having to 'work harder'. Oh the joys....but I am having a blast with her - we've been doing well in affiliated dressage, despite being pitched against typical warmbloods. Thanks for all the advice.
 
Transition work usually helps - also try doing trot, bring down to walk but just as your horse is about to make the transition to walk push the trot foward again so you don't actually make the transition and keep repeating this.
 
I've struggled with this with my 8 year old. I have eventually found that stretching at the beginning of a session is counter productive as it just puts him further on his forehand. I start every session with lots of walk work, doing "squares" - half halting and then making his forehand walk around his quarters to engage his hind leg. Once I feel that I've got control of all four corners of him (legs, shoulders, quarters) then I start to put some halt/walk transitions into the straight sides of my squares, all the time thinking of lightening his shoulder to allow his hind leg room to step underneath. Then the transitions might become little walk pirouettes, asking his quarters to make a slightly smaller circle than his shoulders. Once I feel he is lighter in front then I move into trot for a little while, but go quite quickly to canter where I go back to squares, transitions to walk with a pirouette and back to canter. And after all this he's light in my hand, up in front and really using his hind legs and I get on with some trotting - providing I've still got some energy left!
 
Now that sounds like it could help. I also find it better to get her listening while warming up, long and low doesn't really help. But probably don't do as much as I should to lighten her shoulder, and get it all engaged before moving to trot work. Will definitely work it in to our warm up starting in the morning - but might be too tired to go to work!
 
Not recently. Had the back doctor out about 6 months ago, and she has some tension at her 3/4 vertabrae, so I massage her which she likes. Will get her checked over just in case.
 
one word. Transitions :) as many as you can fit in a schooling session :D and lots of cicle, serpentine work. i tend to do trot and canter transitions on a circle so you almost get the feeling the horse is sitting on its inside hind. and for harder work, make the circle smaller and larger for easier
 
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