Bending :(

[Lila]

My horse was going great for a while until i stopped doing as much with him due to work commitments. He was then just used for a few weeks just hacking around the field.

Now the problems is he wont bend on the left rein. its alsways been his weaker rein but its a fight to get him to circle on this rein and he comes in of the track on this rein.
I know hes unbalanced but hes getting better and im starting to work him again everyday.

Any advise on training exercises i can do with him to help him bend easier?

 

[hamish1]

*Bump* (have the same problem with one horse I ride)

things I'm trying are:just encouraging bend in walk-it all goes out the window any faster at the moment.

just doing circles and serpintines even if their not perfect now-they should be helping

also encourage him to bend round and touch my toes-also use treats to encourage bend when not ridng.

I'm not very experienced so any other suggestions would be appriciated

 

[Nocturnal]

When my loan horse gets a bit resistant on the right rein, I start off by asking him to yeild to both reins at halt, then at walk, then trot. When he'll do that, I go on to a circle and do some spiralling in/leg yeilding out. If he becomes resistant again, I'll go large then do a small circle (10-15m), then try again. If nec I'll go back to walk and do more flexions.

Never allow him to fall in/out or resist without being corrected. Also, sometimes resistance like that can be caused by an over dominant hand in the rider - next time you ride, pay special attention to what your hands are doing, especially when you are trying to correct the horse.

Also, it's an oldie but a goodie - have you had his teeth/back/saddle checked? If he's one sided he may need a session with the physio or chiro.

Good luck