exercises for a horse built naturally downhill...

MandyMoo

MandyMoo

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Monty and Bugsy are both built naturally very uphill, and so when I ride them two I naturally sit straight, and almost feel like I am sat BACK and so I find it very easy to keep my hands up whilst working on the flat and whilst jumping and hacking.

However, Socks is naturally built very downhill, and so I find it VERY hard to get him working correctly on the flat (I am getting more flat work lessons asap but was wondering if people had any exercises/advice to help). He naturally goes a bit 'running' and on the forehand if he becomes unbalanced and can have a tendancy to lean. I always slot in a lot of transitions of varying types and some (naff) lateral work to try and get his hind quarters engaged/underneath him - but it often takes ages, and if I try and bring his front end/poll 'up and under' too soon he fights it and gets very tense through his neck and jaw and it then takes forever to get him settled/relaxed again in his more natural downhill way or in a long/low way.

A previous instructor always told me to work him for the first 10-15 minutes slightly on the forehand (because that is how he is naturally so is where he will be most comfortable), letting him stretch down and ride long and low if he wanted to, just to get him to soften - and THEN ask for his poll to come up and under a bit more once he was relaxed. But I still really struggle to get him going as nicely as I can other horses, and also because he is naturally built downhill, I tend to always tip forwards on him, and become slightly unbalanced myself - which obviously doesn't help the situation!

I lunge him once a week in a pessoa to try and encourage the correct muscles and way of going.

Is this something that can be changed through schooling? Or is it simply a lack of good conformation and his way of going that I'll just have to accept?

I don't mind that he is downhill really, it just makes flat work a lot harder - and also means he is easily unbalanced/left running when we are jumping a course...

Thoughts??
 
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What helps for my big mare (16.3 at the wither, just over 17hh at the back end) is to work long and low until she's very swingy, some fairly serious flexing of the neck side to side and down, pick her up and get in plenty of transitions from trot to walk-but-not-quite and push her on again, then we do variations between that, trot-halt-trot, trot-halt-reinback-trot.

For adjusting your balance, try a couple of circuits with him long and low and you standing in the stirrups, reins on the buckle:) I'm having to adapt the other way from the very downhill mare to an uphill much bigger striding horse.
 
jemima*askin said:
What helps for my big mare (16.3 at the wither, just over 17hh at the back end) is to work long and low until she's very swingy, some fairly serious flexing of the neck side to side and down, pick her up and get in plenty of transitions from trot to walk-but-not-quite and push her on again, then we do variations between that, trot-halt-trot, trot-halt-reinback-trot.

For adjusting your balance, try a couple of circuits with him long and low and you standing in the stirrups, reins on the buckle:) I'm having to adapt the other way from the very downhill mare to an uphill much bigger striding horse.
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thank you :)
 
As said transitions transitions and transitions!!!

Also seems backwards but working long and low really does help to :D
 
Really concentrate on rhythm, keeping it slower than feels right but still moving forwards, so the horse can balance and not turf onto its forehand. Long and low with lots of leg yield in and out of circles, again really coconcentrating on rhythm.
 
KatB said:
Really concentrate on rhythm, keeping it slower than feels right but still moving forwards, so the horse can balance and not turf onto its forehand. Long and low with lots of leg yield in and out of circles, again really coconcentrating on rhythm.
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Thanks Kat :) how's madam?
 
the thing that made the biggest difference for a very downhill mare at work was a change of saddle, it freed up her shoulders more and was less padded at the back therefore preventing the rider from tipping forward. she consistently works more uphill now and this has allowed her muscles around the shoulders and withers to develop and she looks much less downhill even when stood still
 
Jools2345 said:
the thing that made the biggest difference for a very downhill mare at work was a change of saddle, it freed up her shoulders more and was less padded at the back therefore preventing the rider from tipping forward. she consistently works more uphill now and this has allowed her muscles around the shoulders and withers to develop and she looks much less downhill even when stood still
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hmmm...might mention it to my saddle fitter when she next pops over to check the saddle.....I never thought about the saddle, and that the padded back of the saddle might be making me tip....
 
my mare is naturally downhill too and my saddle fitter has recommended a cob saddle as tend to have less padding at the back as cobs are often flatter front to back
 
I was given a good book called 'Dressage for the not so perfect horse'. In the book it says about draught horses being quite downhill and the key is to work them in a contact from the start. If you start them long and low and on their forehand it is then harder to lift the front end. It suggested keeping them in a short but light contact from the start working to keep them uphill all the time. It also suggests tapping them on the top of their haunches to get the back end more active and down under them. I've had an instructor teach me to use my whip that way too and it really does make them more active from behind.
 
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