Dustry flatwork video, what do you think?... CC pls **video & pics**

Chloe_GHE

Chloe_GHE

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I know posting cc requests on here can be a bit of a baptism of fire so please be gentle with me. I blagged my mother to film me on little D-Bobs (as he has been nicknamed!) tonight and I'm pleased with him and his progress, but oh my :0 at my riding!!! Why is it that babies show up all your bad habits!!???

From what I can gather I am...

looking down (bad habit brought about by schooling on my own 90% of the time)
inconsistant contact (bad habit due to constant preoccupation with 'soft hands' but there's soft and the inconsitent, blurgh)
hunching my back/rounding shoulders as a result of the looking down, wah :(
lifting my heels to appply leg rather than flappping them like a little kick

How do I get over the last one? it's become a new issue so I'm baffled abotu how to get rid of it...

What do you think he looks like for 4yrs?... I know he's a bit wobbly and our trans are a bit messy still but thats probs my fault not his

Right sorry enough excuses
you can see the vid and stills here - http://www.gifthorseeventing.co.uk/2010/08/horsey-homework-is-always-fun.html

*hold breath and ducks for cover*
 
he sweet :)

dont get drawn in to nagging-every time he ignores your leg,make him GALLOP until he is drawing you forward and not waiting to be shoved along.

he's very stiff in his ribs, as seen by the cornering shoulder first and inclination to come 1/4's in. so...lots of leg yield in walk and trot and some very shallow bits in canter, shoulder fore in walk, turn on the forehands and spiralling in and out of circles in all 3 paces.

get him in to good habits young- vary the neck more, make sure YOU are in control, so work him long and low, then up, then long and low again etc etc and do some flexing and counter flexing. dont let him *hold* his neck-the feeling you want is of him gently sucking the bit out your hands forwards and down.

overall though, really nice neat job :)
 
I'm not going to cc you Chloe, you are astute enough to have picked up your own issues ;)

I'd just like to say that D looks absolutely super. For a 4yo he looks very sweet and relaxed and with ongoing consistent work I think he'll be a little cracker.

I know you bought him to do up and sell but to be quite honest I think I'd be keeping him a bit longer to see how he turns out. :D
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
he sweet :)

dont get drawn in to nagging-every time he ignores your leg,make him GALLOP until he is drawing you forward and not waiting to be shoved along.

he's very stiff in his ribs, as seen by the cornering shoulder first and inclination to come 1/4's in. so...lots of leg yield in walk and trot and some very shallow bits in canter, shoulder fore in walk, turn on the forehands and spiralling in and out of circles in all 3 paces.

get him in to good habits young- vary the neck more, make sure YOU are in control, so work him long and low, then up, then long and low again etc etc and do some flexing and counter flexing. dont let him *hold* his neck-the feeling you want is of him gently sucking the bit out your hands forwards and down.

overall though, really nice neat job :)
Click to expand...

Thank you
I do make him canter on pretty boldly (not quite a gallop don't have that gear yet) in our lessons in the flat 60x60, but in my arena which is just shy of 20x40 and has a 4ft drop from A to C it's a bit of a wall of death! ;)

Just started to teach him leg yield in wallk yesterday so pleased I am thinking on the right lines there...will work on that and those exercises mentioned

am also teaching him long and low he's getting the idea, but will throw in some counter bend too
Thanks for the tips :)
 
meardsall_millie said:
I'm not going to cc you Chloe, you are astute enough to have picked up your own issues ;)

I'd just like to say that D looks absolutely super. For a 4yo he looks very sweet and relaxed and with ongoing consistent work I think he'll be a little cracker.

I know you bought him to do up and sell but to be quite honest I think I'd be keeping him a bit longer to see how he turns out. :D
Click to expand...

Argh MM that's my dilemma, he's so easy and biddable and just picks things up in a flash and I so love riding him, but he's breaking my bank and it means I get to compete Soap even less :( I have a lady looking at him on Sunday (another clinet of my instructor so I would know he had gone to a good home, and was being correctly brough on etc) and if she isn't keen I might have to think about my options...put him on the market? or keep him till spring?... I'm torn ARGH! :) :(
 
i have/had the same problem with looking down/shoulders, and the best thing i found is when you first get on, to loosen up your shoulders, then lift them up and roll them back. Then for the rest of the session, just try and think stick your t*ts out! :p its has worked for me anyway :p and for the looking down.. i am awful for it, the thing that helps me most is just having someone on the ground nagging me, otherwise it takes me longer than it should to realise im doing it!

An he looks really fab for 4! you should be very pleased :) princessparkle has given you really good advice, definatley dont know any more than her to expand on what shes said!! He looks really really sweet :) well done
 
he is lovely, if i was looking id have your arm off, he's so like the captain.

i think, that if soap is your *heart horse*, that you should keep advertising D, and then crack on with competing soapy when D is sold. it would be a shame to lose out on doing what you love with your horse of a lifetime.
 
Hi, what a lovely horse, he moves well and for 4 years old you should be pleased with your work. I think your upper body position could be better. Your body is a C shape, youcan work on this on the horse and it helps if you have some one nagging u to sit up.Think about your posture off the horse, do you sit and stand inthe same way you ride. If you always are like that and then only ride a few hours a day and expect to sit tall its never gonna happen especially when you are concentrating on a youngster.Trust me i've been there too and i'm not perfect now! Have you ever thought about something like pilates. It will help your core stability and this helps your posture and also if your core is strong your hands might stay still improving your contact. hope this helps
 
He's a lovely little horse and you have him going sweetly.
He's going to have a super canter so I wouldnt keep asking him to shorten it at this stage- he'll find that easy later on- therefore I'd ride the canter a little more forward to try to get him a little more balanced first- if you start collecting it at the moment the danger is he doesnt collect onto his hindlegs as he doesnt have the strength there yet and then the canter starts to go 4 time- you can see he struggles a little, hence the 1/4s in and stiffness.
In the trot I agree you look like you have him a little held in one place and, personally, I'd be moving his neck gently into different positions, again so he learns to balance himself and start to understand how to lift his back to support your weight- he has a lovely reach in his neck so the last thing you want to encourage is for him to come any deeper- keep that nose forward and push him towards the contact. Personally I'd never ride this horse deep and low- always low and nose out when you want to stretch him
 
I do a similar thing to you in that I round my shoulders and get straight arms a bit, in my case I know I do it for strength as I have a weak back/core some one suggested to me to take a big breath like I'm going to belt out a show tune, release the breath but keep the chest frame, that idea helps me. Something I discovered when I slipped my disc might also help - two strips of masking/surgical tape down either side of your spine. My Osteo suggested this to help me keep straight as you slump to protect yourself from the pain but it makes things worse in the long run. Get someone to help you, in your under wear stand straight using a mirror to check your position and then stick the tape from under your shoulder blades/bra strap to where your waist band would be (the back of your 'core'). If you slouch the tape pulls on the skin and is uncomfortable so it really helps as a constant reminder to sit up straight.
I know it's not very trendy and can seem a bit of a cash burn when you are struggling to fund competitions etc but I LOVE having lessons on the lunge, if there is somewhere decent near you (like a yard doing training for BHS stages) that will do it I would definitely give that a try. There is nothing like it for forcing you to sit properly and because you are just focused on just yourself I've found it makes a massive difference to my position really quickly.

Edit to say: I mean the kind of lunge lessons with no rein and no stirrups and someone who'll really push you. I've been made to canter round with my feet hooked behind the saddle before not comfortable but effective!
 
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wow he is lovely :) looks like you are doing a great job. the others have given you plenty of advice, the leg yielding sounds like it would help as does working him in different frames. cant imagine how you would have trouble selling him, when i am ready to start to look for another horse i would something just like him! Reminds me of my girl so much :)
 
He is really really lovely! And I normally really dislike TBs, but he is just :D

I do the same as you and round my shoulders, so to help me I think of trying to get my shouder blades as close together as possibe and picture trying to get them to touch......it really works :)
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
he is lovely, if i was looking id have your arm off, he's so like the captain.

i think, that if soap is your *heart horse*, that you should keep advertising D, and then crack on with competing soapy when D is sold. it would be a shame to lose out on doing what you love with your horse of a lifetime.
Click to expand...

I love Soap, but because it was just me bringing him on and he doesn't have the obvious natural talent of D we hit a wall with our sjiing and I started to feel maybe he just didn't have the scope until this year when I found my new instructor and she explained all the things I had done wrong, and the jumping and flatwork he does now is soooooo much more improved, he has reallly given me a great feel jumping a few times now, you know those 'wow this horse really does have scope' moments, so that ray of hope, coupled with all the many years hard work I have ploughed into him, and his lovely consistant nature mean I can't even think about selling him.

Also if I kept D and Soap I would still be stuck at intro due to the costs and time, and if I sold Soap and kept D I would be at intro for another year at least if not more coz he's just a baby, and most of all my aim is to get better eg get to Novice one day on my self produced horse so D has to go, I just wish......lottery maybe?....
 
Farasi said:
Hi, what a lovely horse, he moves well and for 4 years old you should be pleased with your work. I think your upper body position could be better. Your body is a C shape, youcan work on this on the horse and it helps if you have some one nagging u to sit up.Think about your posture off the horse, do you sit and stand inthe same way you ride. If you always are like that and then only ride a few hours a day and expect to sit tall its never gonna happen especially when you are concentrating on a youngster.Trust me i've been there too and i'm not perfect now! Have you ever thought about something like pilates. It will help your core stability and this helps your posture and also if your core is strong your hands might stay still improving your contact. hope this helps
Click to expand...

I stand straight but my sitting posture is not great on account of typing and using mouse so I do round a bit when at work, my lower back is also quite swayed, and at times I find myself 'holding' my shoulders, I'm not sure why! maybe pilates might be worth a try....
 
TheMule said:
He's a lovely little horse and you have him going sweetly.
He's going to have a super canter so I wouldnt keep asking him to shorten it at this stage- he'll find that easy later on- therefore I'd ride the canter a little more forward to try to get him a little more balanced first- if you start collecting it at the moment the danger is he doesnt collect onto his hindlegs as he doesnt have the strength there yet and then the canter starts to go 4 time- you can see he struggles a little, hence the 1/4s in and stiffness.
In the trot I agree you look like you have him a little held in one place and, personally, I'd be moving his neck gently into different positions, again so he learns to balance himself and start to understand how to lift his back to support your weight- he has a lovely reach in his neck so the last thing you want to encourage is for him to come any deeper- keep that nose forward and push him towards the contact. Personally I'd never ride this horse deep and low- always low and nose out when you want to stretch him
Click to expand...

Thank you I do try to push the canter on more in bigger spaces, our arena just seems pretty tight on a baby! He works 'on the stretch' but that's not 'on the bit' it's long and low with sideways neck bend, he likes doing this and really swings round, thank goodness he is not spooky as it's a prime oppportunity to deposit a rider if he felt like it!!!!
 
ajn1610 said:
I do a similar thing to you in that I round my shoulders and get straight arms a bit, in my case I know I do it for strength as I have a weak back/core some one suggested to me to take a big breath like I'm going to belt out a show tune, release the breath but keep the chest frame, that idea helps me. Something I discovered when I slipped my disc might also help - two strips of masking/surgical tape down either side of your spine. My Osteo suggested this to help me keep straight as you slump to protect yourself from the pain but it makes things worse in the long run. Get someone to help you, in your under wear stand straight using a mirror to check your position and then stick the tape from under your shoulder blades/bra strap to where your waist band would be (the back of your 'core'). If you slouch the tape pulls on the skin and is uncomfortable so it really helps as a constant reminder to sit up straight.
I know it's not very trendy and can seem a bit of a cash burn when you are struggling to fund competitions etc but I LOVE having lessons on the lunge, if there is somewhere decent near you (like a yard doing training for BHS stages) that will do it I would definitely give that a try. There is nothing like it for forcing you to sit properly and because you are just focused on just yourself I've found it makes a massive difference to my position really quickly.

Edit to say: I mean the kind of lunge lessons with no rein and no stirrups and someone who'll really push you. I've been made to canter round with my feet hooked behind the saddle before not comfortable but effective!
Click to expand...

Hey that masking tape idea sounds like a great plan, I could even wear it at comps to keep me taller, thansk for the tip I would never have though of that!

Might see if I can have a lunge lesson on Soap...
 
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