Contact - any tips?

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Fiorano

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My little mare has won me some lovely rosettes over the past two years and I'm very proud of her :). However, we have always had a slight issue with contact and I just wondered if anyone has any top tips on creating and maintaining a steady contact. She is built uphill but can come above the bit and hollow especially in the downward transitions which can be very frustrating. All tack, back and teeth checks done so I know it's probably something I'm doing or not doing! I'm starting to let this become a bit of an issue as I'm keen to move up the levels in dressage and want to affiliate this year so any tips gratefully received. :)
 
HI,
my horse had a major issue with contact, he is now 6. He is a LOT better now than he was, but he still throws his head up on some downward transitions (not as much as before though).

How to fix it?

1) I switched to a hanging cheek snaffle - A mullen comfort hanging cheek - it made an improvement from day one

2) Pessoa - I put him on the Pessoa a couple of times per week - they can't fight the contact in it - they work properly over their backs, and accept the contact. He feels fantastic the day after being on the pessoa and is a lot easier in the contact. I still do this once per week.

3) Consistent but "a giving" contact when riding.

4) Have an advanced rider with quiet hands ride your horse for a couple of days for schooling - this can help a lot as well.

5) When warming up, ensure that you achieve a good quality flexion on both reins in walk, with a long and low contact (if possible). Someone told me that if you can't get submission, flexion and contact in the walk, then you shouldn't go into trot until you have it. It will make the trot much better quality at the beginning of the session. I'm a fan of this approach, and can say that it does work.

If they are working properly on the contact, it is a positive self-fulfilling prophecy - the more they do it, the more developed their topline gets, and the more able they are to hold themselves in self carriage on the bit.

My horse still has a few niggling issues, but I would say that now he is consistently on the contact in a 45min session for about 85% of the time.
It used to be about 20% of the time about 12 months ago :eek:

So, you can see it takes time, consistency, training and patience.

Good luck, oh, and buy yourself a pessoa!! (if you don't have one) - and ask someone to help you set it up for your mare, and show you how to use it (if you don't know already).
 
Without actually watching you its hard to know what you aren't/are both doing. But on the whole i'd say making sure you prepare for the transistion yourself & riding forward into it. Improving the upward transistion helps with the downward too. Half halts help most things as well. I'd also lunge her once a week as well so you can see how much is you & how much is her, & improve her with plenty of transistions on the lunge, with no margin for rider error. If she has a tendency to come above the bit, I'd lunge in a chambon myself.
 
Pessoas are fab-u-lous. My mare arrives with zilch topline and it has helped to muscle her up, which has improved her balance no end.

I'll be keeping up with this thread. I have dreadful contact problems - I have just had a chiro treat my mare and find some issues which we can hopefully iron out. But the main problem I have is that she's very buzzy and quite spooky (already on a calmer!) and uses the spooking and buzziness as an evasion - when I put my legs on she either falls on her forehand or sticks her ears up my nostrils... I can spend 40 mins in walk and be no further forward...

I feel your pain, OP, it's really tough and frustrating!
 
Agree with the pessoa.....also how do you ride your downward transitions?.....alot of people tend to drop the leg contact when asking for a downward transition and it leaves the horse without instruction....you need to ride them how you ride your upward transitions, with leg, to keep the power and stability of the horse.

Hope that makes sense :)

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