Falling through the outside shoulder...

It's a sign of stiffness - increase circles, loops, serpentines, changes of rein. Also often as a result of too much inside rein. Carry schooling whip in outside hand and use on the outside shoulder to encourage horse to be straighter.

Also lots of transitions within the pace and between paces to improve the horses balance and engagement.

All these go hand in hand - as one improves the other will start to improve.

Make sure that you are maintaining an even light contact on both reins and are not giving too much with the outside rein.

Also work on shoulder in and demi pirouette to get more control of the shoulders
 
Ditto the above, I used to have this problem with a youngster I had last year.

My advice would be to imagine turning a tank rather than say a bike.
Make sure the horse is in front of you and carrying you forward confidently yet still working while maintaining some sort of contact with leg/rein.
Turn with your body rather than your reins :)

Obviously work on this gradually. He could just be having an error period. Young horses or horses with little proffesional schooling tend to think of pull rein = bend head rather than bending their body.

Let us know how you get on :D
 
can't use schooling whip - she'd have a fit! (dislikes whips!)

It tends to be when i ask her to soften in an outline, she tries to bend her head but the body goes the other direction!!
 
falling out through the shoulder is a sign of weakness or stiffness throughout the body.
Most horses can and will fall out somewhere .. imagine your horse as a balloon, if you squeeze one bit, it will bubble out somewhere else. Horses are clever at adapting.

To have a horse work in a true straight line is a whole lot of hard work, for not just the horse but the rider as well. It is a monumental effort to work straight and will not come overnight.

The rein contact is vital - your reins are your supporting aids, your O/S rein supports the shoulder and must remain a firm contact with the inside rein supporting the inside leg for flexion and bend. To give a little more support to the outside of the horses body, and if they escape through the O/S shoulder then move your O/S leg forward on to the O/S shoulder and make sure the O/S rein is a firm but supporting aid - to give an extra help lift the O/S rein up, never in a backwards motion but in a forward, little lifting movements without ever losing the contact.

Now is the boring bit....... keep on a 20m circle so that you can judge the shape that you are creating. Once you are confident that you can hold the contact with a supporting rein, outside leg and an inside leg that will have to work so hard that it will make your eyes water ! You can then move on to shoulder in - this a fab exercise for suppleness and working the horse in a correct contact and getting the horse to be more supple and flexible.

I would suggest that you invest in a couple of lessons with an instructor that has a good knowledge of how to work a horse correctly so that they can take the time to explain about the supporting aids , your weight aids and how to help your horse work in a correct and effective manner - and be able to explain and train you as well !

It will be money well spent !
 
Indicates a weakness in a joint on the side she is falling out on, if you can't use a schooling whip try asking for the opposite bend on that rein until she is strong enough....or...at the risk of being shot down in flames try a double bridle or draw reins and use a crop [just to hold down, not to hit] on that outside shoulder to bring her straight.

I have this with my big gelding, if she wants to have a fit, let her but be in a position of control to be safe e.g. the stronger bridle aid.

It will only take a few short sessions until she is strong enough on that side to hold herself so its not a prolonged agony.
 
JackDaniels1 said:
can't use schooling whip - she'd have a fit! (dislikes whips!)

It tends to be when i ask her to soften in an outline, she tries to bend her head but the body goes the other direction!!
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The most important thing to consider once your horse is forward off the leg, is that she is level in the rein. Chances are she is heavier/ less yielding on the side that she falls towards, i.e, the horse that falls out to the left is heavier in the left rein and very light in the right. You need to even this up as a priority.
Taking the above as an example, you need to take her large on the right rein. Although the horse feels heavier/ less easy to bend on the left rein, the problem (at this stage anyway) is in the right rein.
Flex the horse to the right by opening the right rein, not taking it backwards. You also need to let go a bit with the left rein. Essentially you are making the contact level. The horse will stick her head to the right, but don't worry, it's not important. eventually she will accept the right rein and she should soften. At this point you can use a little left rein to straighten the neck, but if she pulls, give the left and start again.
Once you are at this point, you can start to focus on how the horse is working though from behind. Any errors here will have given rise to the probelm in the first place.
It's also worth mentioning that you should always assess the horses mouth conformation when choosing bits. In my profession (dressage trainer) I can honestly say at least 80% of the issues horses have when sent to me are to do with contact and the bit.
Good luck.
 
Frumpoon said:
Indicates a weakness in a joint on the side she is falling out on, if you can't use a schooling whip try asking for the opposite bend on that rein until she is strong enough....or...at the risk of being shot down in flames try a double bridle or draw reins and use a crop [just to hold down, not to hit] on that outside shoulder to bring her straight.

I have this with my big gelding, if she wants to have a fit, let her but be in a position of control to be safe e.g. the stronger bridle aid.

It will only take a few short sessions until she is strong enough on that side to hold herself so its not a prolonged agony.
Click to expand...

Even If I agreed with this method - anything so extreme should only be done under expert knowledge and eagle eye. Riding in a double bridle requires hands of silk and a DB must never be used for control but for perfection and refinement of an aid. Draw reins create more problems than they resolve and your leg and weight aids should be used in an effective manner to back up the use of any whip on the offending weak side.

Please invest in some lessons with an instructor that has knowledge of working a horse correctly.

Please take account of what I have said and what Monkers has posted.
 
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I tend to bring both shoulders in to counter this problem... Think shoulder in... Not fully but just a little bit and you should get himstepping under more correctly ,
 
the solution to most evasions is more leg! when falling out through the shoulder more outside leg, outside hand is req. but go back to the beginning and find out why she is evading and falling out of the shoulder. you need to ride into the skid and straighten and re establish where you want/need to go.
 
abina said:
Even If I agreed with this method - anything so extreme should only be done under expert knowledge and eagle eye. Riding in a double bridle requires hands of silk and a DB must never be used for control but for perfection and refinement of an aid. Draw reins create more problems than they resolve and your leg and weight aids should be used in an effective manner to back up the use of any whip on the offending weak side.

Please invest in some lessons with an instructor that has knowledge of working a horse correctly.

Please take account of what I have said and what Monkers has posted.
Click to expand...

Who me?
 
abina said:
falling out through the shoulder is a sign of weakness or stiffness throughout the body.
Most horses can and will fall out somewhere .. imagine your horse as a balloon, if you squeeze one bit, it will bubble out somewhere else. Horses are clever at adapting.

To have a horse work in a true straight line is a whole lot of hard work, for not just the horse but the rider as well. It is a monumental effort to work straight and will not come overnight.

The rein contact is vital - your reins are your supporting aids, your O/S rein supports the shoulder and must remain a firm contact with the inside rein supporting the inside leg for flexion and bend. To give a little more support to the outside of the horses body, and if they escape through the O/S shoulder then move your O/S leg forward on to the O/S shoulder and make sure the O/S rein is a firm but supporting aid - to give an extra help lift the O/S rein up, never in a backwards motion but in a forward, little lifting movements without ever losing the contact.

Now is the boring bit....... keep on a 20m circle so that you can judge the shape that you are creating. Once you are confident that you can hold the contact with a supporting rein, outside leg and an inside leg that will have to work so hard that it will make your eyes water ! You can then move on to shoulder in - this a fab exercise for suppleness and working the horse in a correct contact and getting the horse to be more supple and flexible.

I would suggest that you invest in a couple of lessons with an instructor that has a good knowledge of how to work a horse correctly so that they can take the time to explain about the supporting aids , your weight aids and how to help your horse work in a correct and effective manner - and be able to explain and train you as well !

It will be money well spent !
Click to expand...

This ^^^^

Exactly what i did with my lad and now he's perfectly straight (well most of the time!)

Another exercise I used to do was ride more of a square 20 m circle, helps you keep a stronger os contact.
 
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