CC please?

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thinkitwasjune

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Could I have some constructive criticism please? This is my six-year-old ex-racehorse; I love him to bits but he is certainly a challenge, so any advice would be appreciated!

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Thanks in advance :)
 
From the picture I would say lift your hands up off your leg and more bend in your elbow, your reins look different lengths too. Roll your shoulders backwards. Perhaps drop your stirrups a hole or two, and get your leg underneath you more as your knee is almost over the front of the saddle.

Lovely horse, I like your saddle cloth too!
 
Nice horse, im useless @ CC but one thing that stands out to me are your arms. They are fixed and no bend inthe elbow. He is resiting against your resitence and therefore becoming tight. Thing of your connection to his mouth like a pully, if you are always pulling back, he will become backwards and downhill and not forward thinkng.
 
RiderLizzie said:
From the picture I would say lift your hands up off your leg and more bend in your elbow, your reins look different lengths too. Roll your shoulders backwards. Perhaps drop your stirrups a hole or two, and get your leg underneath you more as your knee is almost over the front of the saddle.

Lovely horse, I like your saddle cloth too!
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Definitely guilty of all this :o I can't seem to stop that left hand from wandering!

Thank you, the saddle cloth was a present, I just think it suits him perfectly though :D
 
thinkitwasjune said:
Could I have some constructive criticism please? This is my six-year-old ex-racehorse; I love him to bits but he is certainly a challenge, so any advice would be appreciated!
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I have no ability to judge other than he looks lovely :).

But I am feeling rather ranty today and wanted to say I see you use a snaffle and a cavesson noseband and so I love you :D
 
From a classical dressage pov - the stirrup bars on your saddle are sooo far forward they arent helping your position. It means your legs are pulled forwards, rather than being able to hang straight down, so that if the horse was taken away from you you should land on your feet not your ass :p
This puts you behind the movement and out of balance - so not helpful.

Try and be aware of your head, limbs, trunk, seat bones as separate entities and separate left to right . In the pic you are looking inwards, and you can see that with you this means you've twisted as you can see in the outside hand coming slightly forwards and inwards.

Your hands need to be higher and over the horses shoulders, not twice the width 'tractor driving'. You shouldnt be pulling back or down as this puts pressure on the bars and tongue rather than up into the corners of the mouth which is what happens when you lift the hands. It also stops the horse being able to brace against you which is what he is doing - shown through the tension in his mouth and neck.

Ex racers are known for being horrors with their mouths, mainly because they just do not get properly bitted. Stationary flexions are your friend, as is in hand work :)

Tip for wandering hands - balance a crop on your forearms ;) Do not however do this if when it drops off its likely to send the horse into orbit lol

PPS second the use of a cavesson yay, id go one step further and lose the martingale :D
 
TigerTail said:
From a classical dressage pov - the stirrup bars on your saddle are sooo far forward they arent helping your position. It means your legs are pulled forwards, rather than being able to hang straight down, so that if the horse was taken away from you you should land on your feet not your ass :p
This puts you behind the movement and out of balance - so not helpful.

Try and be aware of your head, limbs, trunk, seat bones as separate entities and separate left to right . In the pic you are looking inwards, and you can see that with you this means you've twisted as you can see in the outside hand coming slightly forwards and inwards.

Your hands need to be higher and over the horses shoulders, not twice the width 'tractor driving'. You shouldnt be pulling back or down as this puts pressure on the bars and tongue rather than up into the corners of the mouth which is what happens when you lift the hands. It also stops the horse being able to brace against you which is what he is doing - shown through the tension in his mouth and neck.

Ex racers are known for being horrors with their mouths, mainly because they just do not get properly bitted. Stationary flexions are your friend, as is in hand work :)

Tip for wandering hands - balance a crop on your forearms ;) Do not however do this if when it drops off its likely to send the horse into orbit lol

PPS second the use of a cavesson yay, id go one step further and lose the martingale :D
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Interesting point about the saddle, I must have a proper look at it tomorrow...I love it as it's really comfy but I had noticed that in those pics my legs are very far forward :confused:

The martingale is just there for me rather than the horse, he really doesn't need it but I'm working through some confidence issues and it makes me feel safe :o

Thank you!
 
A lovely horse!
Sit up, shoulders back 'dazzle don't dip' and lift your hands.
You look to be sitting almost on the pommel, instead of at the lowest point of the saddle's set. This could well be because the stirrup bars are too near the front of the saddle.
 
Hows about a balance strap instead? If not no worries but def something to work towards :)

If I could draw on here Id try and show u more what I mean about the leg position and how it effects your ability to ride. Bear in mind Im talking from a flatwork / dressage p.o.v not jumping :)
 
TigerTail said:
Hows about a balance strap instead? If not no worries but def something to work towards :)

If I could draw on here Id try and show u more what I mean about the leg position and how it effects your ability to ride. Bear in mind Im talking from a flatwork / dressage p.o.v not jumping :)
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The confidence issues stem from a rearer, hence feeling safer with something up the neck a bit - trying to work myself up to getting rid of the martingale though but I'm just not there yet!

I should probably say that my stirrups are at jumping length in that pic as pony was being a bit fresh :rolleyes: But I get what you're saying about my legs, he isn't the most forward horse in the world and I seem to be in front of the movement far too often...
 
thinkitwasjune said:
Definitely guilty of all this :o I can't seem to stop that left hand from wandering!

Thank you, the saddle cloth was a present, I just think it suits him perfectly though :D
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Must be something about left hands, mine likes to go AWOL too :D
I have found a combination of shorter reins, holding a whip between my two hands, imagining I am carrying a tray full of vodka and champagne and being shouted at by my instructor have helped. Sometimes do one, other times it's everything at the same time.

Holding a whip hooked under your thumbs really helps show up how much your hands usually move around as you can't move them nearly half as much when holding the whip.
 
RiderLizzie said:
Holding a whip hooked under your thumbs really helps show up how much your hands usually move around as you can't move them nearly half as much when holding the whip.
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^^^^ This :)
It has helped me no end! Also as others have said, your stirrups are a tad too short.

Your horse is a bit of a cutie though. What are you planning on doing with him?
 
no CC from me as i am still trying to get my horse anywhere near a nice outline as you have with yours, but waited to say he is absolutly stunning!!

i to have an Exracer, and find him the laziest horse in the world, how do you keep him forward?

i can keep mine forward for a lenght of time but then he falls behind and needs a big sqeeze and a tap with the whip.
 
RiderLizzie said:
Holding a whip hooked under your thumbs really helps show up how much your hands usually move around as you can't move them nearly half as much when holding the whip.
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I remember doing that as a child, will have to have another go! Thank you.

NaeNae87 said:
Your horse is a bit of a cutie though. What are you planning on doing with him?
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His previous owner (a friend of mine) bought him straight out of racing with the intention to event him but he has no brave over a fence! I'm working hard on bringing on his jumping, aiming mostly for low level riding club stuff and hopefully a lot of dressage once we get our act together!

marley and danni said:
no CC from me as i am still trying to get my horse anywhere near a nice outline as you have with yours, but waited to say he is absolutly stunning!!

i to have an Exracer, and find him the laziest horse in the world, how do you keep him forward?

i can keep mine forward for a lenght of time but then he falls behind and needs a big sqeeze and a tap with the whip.
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A really long schooling whip and tiny spurs (as you can see in the pic) :p He is very hard work and I have to try really hard not to nag at him as that's only going to make him dead to my leg. I'm riding in spurs at the moment just for a couple of weeks, doing loads of transitions and trying to get him to move off my leg more. It's working well - thank goodness, because previously he chucked me off if I kicked too hard!
 
thinkitwasjune said:
I should probably say that my stirrups are at jumping length in that pic as pony was being a bit fresh :rolleyes: But I get what you're saying about my legs, he isn't the most forward horse in the world and I seem to be in front of the movement far too often...
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The longer your stirrups are the lower your centre of gravity so the less likely you should fall off from a physics point of view! You also dont have your knees bent like perfect little ejector springs :D

From that position you'd end up behind the movement, not in front, which would also explain the horse not wanting to go forwards, as you're blocking his back being able to move. Try hitting your boot with your stick and / swishing it in the air near him, or hitting the railing for a forward stimulus, and make sure you release your fingers to allow him to go.

Have a look on here and see if you have an instructor near you, even one lesson can give you loads of pointers :)

http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/teacher_find.htm
 
TigerTail said:
The longer your stirrups are the lower your centre of gravity so the less likely you should fall off from a physics point of view! You also dont have your knees bent like perfect little ejector springs :D

From that position you'd end up behind the movement, not in front, which would also explain the horse not wanting to go forwards, as you're blocking his back being able to move. Try hitting your boot with your stick and / swishing it in the air near him, or hitting the railing for a forward stimulus, and make sure you release your fingers to allow him to go.

Have a look on here and see if you have an instructor near you, even one lesson can give you loads of pointers :)

http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/teacher_find.htm
Click to expand...

I'm in NI and sadly a long way from the only EE instructor!

I know that from a physics point of view longer stirrups would be better but I've always felt more secure on a fresh horse with short stirrups :confused: But anyway, I've popped them down a hole and will go down another one once I've adjusted to that.

Thanks for the advice :)
 
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