getting a horse to work from behind

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xoxstacexox

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honeys had alot of time off recently and im just bringing her back into work properly now i have an arena, schooled her tonight she was lovely and behaved but when we are walking or trotting she looks to the outside and cant baend at all around the corners, how can i get her to flex and ben round the corners and circles any ideas ??

also how can i get her to work from behind
 
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honeys had alot of time off recently and im just bringing her back into work properly now i have an arena, schooled her tonight she was lovely and behaved but when we are walking or trotting she looks to the outside and cant baend at all around the corners, how can i get her to flex and ben round the corners and circles any ideas ??

also how can i get her to work from behind

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First, forget about the front end and circles! She is stiff and one sided and first - she needs to be straight. To achieve straightness, you need to encourage her to work long and low (nose in FRONT of the vertical!) so she can stretch through her back.

This doesn't mean throwing the contact away - it means encouraging her to take rein you give. DON'T use the reins to try and flex her - use your legs to encourage her to step up under you. Once you have her understanding the 'taking the rein' and lowering her head and stretching - then introduce some shallow loops down the long side (only about 5 metres deep) and ensure you're not drawing back with your hand for the gentle changes of direction - instead 'open' the rein.

Once she can work consistently in a long, low outline you can start gathering her up a little and you'll find the flexion and bends much easier. But until she CAN stretch through her spine, circles are too much like hard work and will create further stiffness and resistance.
 
oo thank you for that will try that, so how can i encourage her to wokr long and low with out letting go of the reins she naturally carries her head up ??
 
See I think all horses are different.....alot of horses don't know how to 'move forward' and 'track up' and I'd say that's your starting point. Some horses take longer than others to learn how to work long and low - my TB couldn't get long and low until he learnt how to work into the bridle....

Do you have a good instructor?
 
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oo thank you for that will try that, so how can i encourage her to wokr long and low with out letting go of the reins she naturally carries her head up ??

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It's actually HORRIBLY difficult to explain! It's all about feel - I keep a contact with the outside rein and 'offer' the inside rein while using the inside leg. If the horse 'takes' the rein (lowering the head a little) I give a little more of my outside rein. Get THAT level established and then 'offer' the outside rein (while using inside leg). Some horses 'get it' in 20 minutes or less - others that are VERY stiff can take two weeks! A BRILLIANT dressage trainer I used to work with called it 'showing the horse the way to the ground' and he said you should think of your reins as two poles that gently PUSHED the horse's head down.
 
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