Excercises to help teach horse to relax/stretch

muddy_grey

muddy_grey

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I have a 4yo KWPN mare who I got last year and backed myself. The plan is to SJ, but I quite fancy a little bit of dressage as she has lovely paces, but my flat work could be better. She was quite weak so has done loads of hacking and we have only stepped up her work recently. She is in front of the leg and has started basic lateral work (LY, SI & HI). She is naturally really uphill which is great and her canter is huge, but I am hoping for suggestions to help teach her to stretch down. I have regular lessons, but we mostly focus on jumping. SJ's have said I am being too nice and to use draw reins "to get her under orders", but I would rather work through it. Once I get transport sorted I am hoping to have some flat work lessons, but don't want to be laughed out of the arena!

She can sometimes be a bit sharp and spooky, but the tension is more excitement. She will work in an outline, but not "long and low". How do I help her to relax? I do pole work which does help, though they are soooooo exciting for the first 10mins or so. I am also having a bit of a confidence crisis as think she is too good for me which I am sure doesn't help.

She is currently in a full cheek lozenge with copper centre, but I am open to bit suggestions. I want to do my best by her as I think she is really special and she makes me smile every time I ride. Picture below to demonstrate when she gets "up".

Sorry if this makes no sense, it is quite hard to describe. Nothing to offer as Kiwi OH ate everything watching the rugby yesterday.

lola-06_zpsr9zeskxl.jpg
 
Combing the reins can help the horse to learn to stretch forward, There is a youtube video that shows how to do it - its simple. Start off in halt, then when she's got the idea you can do it in walk or trot. If you do it at the beginning and end of a schooling session it can help build up core muscles. You need some plain reins.
 
Gadgets can help the correct frame, but it won't teach her to relax on command.
NOt sure why your instructor hasn't helped with this, as usually taught quite early? Stretching down to a contact will help her relax and you can use the same aids to lengthen the frame and ask for relaxation any time she gets tense. Hard to describe how to teach it by writing it down though, as the release, timing, and contact amounts need to be shown rather than written in a paragraph or two.
She looks fabulous in the photo -lucky you!. It is probably just the moment the picture was taken, but take care that you aren't tensing your shoulders/arms as you have lost the straight line from elbow to bit and the hands have dropped back and down. This can also cause tension in the horse if it is happening a lot, but as said it was prob just a momentary thing. :)
 
njyr said:
Pessoa? Used correctly it's gentle and will help you teach her long and low.
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Nooooooo don't .
Uphill horses find it harder to stretch down than more on the forehand built horses .
It will take your horse time to learn the balance to do this .
This is a training and development goal for uphill horses it is a very hard thing for them to learn in many cases .
Remember any stretch is beneficial to this type if you feel even a small amount praise her don't be greedy accept that it's going to take time to develop this .
Do lots of hacks on loose and long reins hill work will help as will lots of work over uneven ground all in walk .
In your picture your horse is short and tense in the neck if this is the normal way of going you need to address it ASAP with a good trainer .
 
My pony learned to stretch at 15! We were doing re-hab work following a fetlock injury. The things that made a huge difference to her were these -
Physio - she has always been a tense, wizzy pony who's first instinct was to 'giraffe' when under pressure. Physio helped loosen some of the tension
Walking - lots of it. We spent 8 weeks of walking. Mainly on a loose rein and up as many hills as we could find. This was a huge turning point for her. She turned from a pony that would jog everywhere in a tense fashion to a pony I could hack on the buckle
Long reining. Again, lots of it. My physio suggested it and we both love it. We long rein through mazes, over poles, serpentines and figure of 8's for faster work. Just this morning I was marvelling at how my previously stress tense pony has turned into a stretchy relaxed one. It must be so much more comfortable for her. On the long reins, she has learned the voice command for 'streeaatch' which I can also use while riding.
 
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Exactly as the above post. I've an exracer and it worked on him. Training the stretch command is very handy, my lads relax and stretch once they hear it now. Tons of polework until the excitement went, tons of long reining, specially uphills. In that photo it looks like you are balancing off your hands and trying to lock the head into a shape. I wouldn't touch canter until I'd cracked the trot and walk (i didn't canter my guy with a rider on.board for months). I wouldn't touch her with draw reins, I'd do as your suggested and get dressage lessons with someone who can teach her to go forward and stretch into a contact. She looks lovely though and you look like you will be a great pair.
 
Thanks for the replies. Goldenstar I chose this picture as I think it shows us at our worst, (you may notice the sand on my bum/leg)! Like you said I think she actually finds it hard. I might try more long reining I did quite a lot when I backed her. And will reward even a little stretch. She has no muscle tension or tight spots and I do carrot stretches with her.

It would be hard for her to have done more hacking, but she is one of those that marches through life. She isn't tense out hacking, but on a long rein she will take in the world, rather than stretch. I am moving yards at the end of the week so will have to see what the hacking is like there.

Hopefully I will get my transport sorted and then I can go and have some flat lessons too.
 
I have a dressage bred youngster who is built very uphill and also found long & low work under saddle hard work. They have to soften and relax the back, which being big & gangly he found hard. He was backed as a 4yo then turned away til he was 5 as he is 17.3 The thing that worked for him was lunging in Vienna reins, they run from the girth between legs, up through the bitten back to the girth straps. Then under saddle my trainer got me to put draw reins on him. It just helped the penny drop, and I only used them for 2 or 3 sessions and had them as long as I dared - I am not a fan of gadgets either but it really helped him understand what we were asking. Now he understands low wider hands mean stretch fwds, then when he gives I give. Because of his giraffe like build I work him mostly long and low now without the need for draw reins. I also have him checked by a Physio to make sure he isn't sore and he enjoys a massage.
 
I have a 4yo that finds stretching extremely difficult... mainly because she might miss something important going on in the hedge, or field or in the stream!

From your post it sounds as if you're progressing well already and the relaxation will come as she gets used to being asked to relax.

My mare is weak, she liked to hollow and brace when I go in the school fresh. I have kept up the hacking (for strength and confidence) and I ask for relaxation out on the hack (not slopping along, we are brisk but chilled). For me, I find it much easier if we hack first, then come into the school and wind down. I let her relax in there on a loose rein doing circles and serpentines and ly, si etc all in walk... no pressure just lots of praise and since I've gotten her used to going in the school for a "relaxation session", she is a lot better. Sylvia Loch's DVD on schooling is really good and has helped me recently.

I was told by the physio that using sidereins or pessoa can be counter-productive at this stage as she (my mare) will only brace against the pressure if she already has that "sort" of personality so even though I have given the side reins a "go", I haven't bothered with again as the physio was right! Instead, to build core strength, I use cavaletti (Ingrid Klimke's book is very good). I ride and lunge using cavaletti. In her book, she says that relaxation comes with confidence and strength, and it takes a long time. Especially if you have a young talented horse that may still need some time to develop.
 
I don't worry about long and low - they get enough of this sort of exercise when grazing...

Hillwork and raised poles is great for getting them stretching through their backs, without pulling them onto their forhand.

If I had a horse that was stabled 24/7 I might but if a horse is naturally uphill I don't see the point in pushing it into a novice frame, only to then have to raise it again as training progresses.
 
The stretch asked for when schooling has a number of differences to the putting the head down performed when grazing.
as the BD rulebook states, the horse still needs to be working toward self-carriage and even at Intro level a the walk stretch is given double marks because of its importance to training, while stretching at the trot and canter is not used until higher levels (I think Novice for start at trot??) as it is much harder to do properly.
120.
Work on a long rein
a)
Free walk on a long rein
Free walk on a long rein is a pace in which the horse is allowed complete freedom to lower and
stretch out his head and neck while the rider maintains a light contact through the rein
.
The horse covers as much ground as possible, without haste and without losing the regularity of his steps, the
hind feet touching the ground clearly in front of the foot prints of the forefeet
.
b)
Trot/canter on a long rein
The horse is allowed the freedom to lower and stretch his head and neck forward and down while the rider maintains a light contact through the reins .
The horse should continue to trot/canter in the same rhythm, with suppleness of the back and self carriage
 
EQUIDAE said:
I don't worry about long and low - they get enough of this sort of exercise when grazing...

Hillwork and raised poles is great for getting them stretching through their backs, without pulling them onto their forhand.

If I had a horse that was stabled 24/7 I might but if a horse is naturally uphill I don't see the point in pushing it into a novice frame, only to then have to raise it again as training progresses.
Click to expand...

oh my life, where to even start!

they dont automatically work on the forehand when stretching, moving the horse through different outlines/frames/whatever you want to call it is part of the development gymnastically the horse, making it supple and soft and developing the horses core strength.

to only work in one fixed frame leads to stiffness and resistance and sore muscles.

every rider worth their salt varies the frame of the horse and performs stretching exercises, from 3yo to GP horses.

grazing is in NO WAY similar to correct work under saddle in a stretching frame.

my 3yo is built in a GP frame but is he worked in it.....NO.....hes learning to seek the hand and stretch out and down to contact to enable him to learn to be correctly engaged and confident in the hand.

rant over.....

OP-theres very few specific exercises that will show a horse exactly what you want, its more a state of mind and being aware of it in every stride(for you).

i would avoid gadgets especially a pessoa or anything like that, attaching the mouth to the hind legs teaches them to back off the hand and step short behind to avoid socking them self in the teeth.

lots of walk work in the warm up, LY and shoulder in, keeping hands a little wider and lower than normal and thinking that each time she relaxes and stretches her neck down you follow with your hand so you dont throw the contact away but neither do you fix the hand.

lots of flexing and counter flexing in all paces and always thinking of her taking the nose down and relaxing the topline.

she will quickly start to understand a lower hand=lower neck and that she can follow your hand down without worry.

if she is rushing and bracing bring the trot as slow as you need to, in order to get a confident stretch down, you can always put the power back in with ease on these sorts of horses.
 
Thank you I feel like I have something to go away and try now. Since coming back to horses I have been working on my flat work, but my last horse was built so downhill I learnt a lot about trying to encourage up and through, but nothing about encouraging stretching down.

PS I will definitely try and do more walk work. She can sometimes be spooky in walk and I think I push on too quickly to avoid the antics. I will go back to walk once she has settled. We have an established routine in that if she rushes in trot we do a small circle so she has to slow herself which has worked really well and I rarely need to anymore. I definitely need to be more disciplined and confident in myself.

Hopefully in a few months I will be able to post pics without wanting to duck and cover.
 
yes you can always trot and get the wriggle out and then return to walk and a very buzzy horse can find that mentally much easier :)

once you have the idea in walk and steady trot its much easier to influence the canter as you can always return to trot or walk to re-confirm things in her mind.
 
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