Confused about corners...

metalmare

metalmare

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My instructor used to criticise me sometimes when I went around corners saying that I wasn't riding a motorbike. She said that I shouldn't lean with the horse. And yet to me that feels like the horses centre of balance and when you look at jockeys going around the bend or people barrel racing they lean with the horse - in the case of barrel racing I think they would push the horse to the ground if they didn't.

Can anyone clarify this for me please? Normally I don't turn sharply enough for it mo matter but I have had ponies bolt with me in the arena and lean in dramatically!!
 
As someone else who has a tendency to lean if I'm not careful I always felt that it was to do with bending and collection. If a horse is bending and using themselves properly with their hindquarters in underneath as they might in a dressage test then they don't need to bend in because the corner is being accounted for by the spine.

The faster they go the harder it is for them to use themselves in a classical outline and therefore they will need to lean in to compensate.

I'm willing to stand corrected though....
 
I think the instructor had the problem more with my position than the horses. But no the horses weren't highly schooled and it was a tight arena - problems were in canter.
 
Sorry I don't mean to sound funny what's his outline got to do with it? You need to sit centrally and not lean in, if you keep leaning in with him of course he will do the same.
 
I'm with you. I actually sit very straight 99% of the time - when I lean in it is because the horse is leaning (probably cornering too fast) and I go with him. Is there something more appropriate I could do to correct his balance?

What would you do in the case of a pony bolting with you in a very tight circle?
 
No, no - I don't think I have explained myself properly. I NEVER lean in UNLESS the horse leans in - in which case I feel I need to stay over the horses centre of gravity.

But presumably there is a better way of handling the situation?
 
If the horse is leaning in it's usuall a sign of inbalance on their part and or stiffness - and is usually most obvious in canter - hence the 'motorbiking'.

The key is not to continue canterning on and on on a circle, but rather do lots of transitions up and down. This helps the horse become more balanced, bringing their quarters underneath them.

It's important for you to stay as straight as you can and not lean in with the horse, as that can inbalance them more.
 
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Sorry I don't mean to sound funny what's his outline got to do with it? You need to sit centrally and not lean in, if you keep leaning in with him of course he will do the same.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wasn't saying that you don't need to sit centrally, just that a horse that isn't using itself correctly in my, albeit very limited experience, is more likely to lean in on corners. I know that if I'm not careful in these circumstances I lean in but I don't think that its a case of should you lean in or not, more a case of what can you do to stop the horse leaning in in the first place and so avoid the issue of whether you should be going with it
 
OK, thanks - that's what I needed to know
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In fact this guy is sat pretty upright...

http://www.prorodeotour.com/images/event_description_barrel_racing_1.jpg

I have had ponies do similar stunts with me before and be completely impossible to stop!!

I wouldn't be cantering an unbalanced horse in a tight school out of choice - I have just had to trust my instructors judgement on their horses.
 
Yes, I would agree with that - stopping the horse leaning in the first place is the important thing. However, none of the horses that have ever done this to me have been mine and I haven't been in the position for reschooling. And I have on two occasions found myself in a slightly uncomfortable position with a bolting pony leaning badly!!

So I'd like to arm myself for future excitement
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I was always told to sit on the outside seat bone more, slightly to the outside of the saddle, on corners to stop the horse falling in or worse slipping and falling.
 
I couldnt understand why my mare used to become disunited behind in the canter until an instructor told me I was leaning in on the circle. As soon as I became aware of my seat I was able to sit straight and put a little more weight in my outside seat bone - wayhay ... it worked!
 
Thanks guys for all those replies. Can't see me sitting on a horse anywhere in the very near future but it was something I wanted to get sorted in my own head ready for next time
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I'm sure when you're having an involuntary break it's a good time to concentrate on your demons...
 
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