Hello all, schooling help needed

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showjump2003

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Hey all. Not been on here for a while. Been busy with work and playing with the "new" horse who I have now had three months!

On the whole she's turned out to be fantastic and well worth the wait but we are having a few minor issues so I'm back on here asking for ideas!

For those that don't know Milly, she's a 16.2hh 5 year old mare. In the last three months we have been out to several dressage comps and not done too badly!

Pics from a few weekends ago.

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On to the problem.... she's too laid back! Never thought I'd complain about that lol. When schooling I am finding myself constantly having to nag her. So I ask for trot and once in trot I'm always having to kick and nudge to maintain the trot. Teeth, back and saddle have been checked. If I don't use my legs constantly she will slow down and ground to a halt! I started riding lessons a few weeks ago to address this. In the lessons we are working on sharpening up transitions, leaving my legs still and giving her single big kicks every time she slows down instead of constantly nagging. I've been doing this for a few weeks now and still seem to be getting no where! She just lacks impulsion and judges keep commenting on how she isn't working from behind ect.

I don't think it's a feeding issue, just schooling.

She's just so laid back all the time, even when out hacking in the open fields. I'm starting to get a bit annoyed with myself now as it's getting to the point I'm not enjoying riding her and I always feel hopeless! As for jumping, she'll jump small fences no problems but again we struggle getting her going forwards.

Anyone got any schooling ideas? exercises? Best way to approach the problem? Or anyone to just reasure me she will change lol!
 
I think it was a Carl Hester dressage clinic I watched on TV... He was showing you the difference how he rode a green youngster to his advanced neddie.
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When he was on the advanced horse, it was being very lazy, and he said he had a trick for it, especially in a test environment.... he clicked discreetly, only loud enough from the horse to hear... all of a sudden the horse oooooozed impulsion!
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He said at home he rode with a schooling whip, when the horses got lazy he clicked and tapped them with the whip at the same time! Thus making the horse associate a click with a slap!!
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Worth a try?? xx
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Have you tried 'thinking forward' instead of trying to collect her up, just constantly be thinking go forward, push her on down the long side and reward her with your voice/a pat etc everytime she moves forward off your leg. Can you take her to any big fields and school her round? I know its the wrong time of year really, but maybe working in a large open area will encourage her to go forward. Also what about taking her for a fast canter and then doing some schooling, cantering up a hill, schooling, canter up hill, schooling etc etc
 
I'd swap your crop for a schooling whip and back your leg aid up every time she doesn't spring forwards from the leg.

Also, hope I'm not out of line but as you say you aren't always quiet with your legs, it could be that she is switching off a bit? So you might want to work on that too.
 
I have a lazy cob i use the click kick smack method i did use spurs but got used to them and didnt listen after a while and i trained him to voice so now only have to say the word and its there but your horse is still very young she might find dressage boring i took my horse drag hunting just to make him more forward omg i couldnt stop him he loved it most forward going horse on the field
 
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I have a lazy cob.......

i took my horse drag hunting just to make him more forward omg i couldnt stop him he loved it most forward going horse on the field

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Sorry to laugh but HAAAAAA!
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It's always the quiet ones lol! Little monkey!!
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xxxx
 
Well first of all from the pictures she looks like she is going very well for a 5 year old
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I am not sure how much she has done but don't forget a 5 year old is still pretty much a baby in competition terms. She looks to be very well balanced. Dressage judging comments always pick up on where improvements need to be made so by their nature they are critical but try not to get too fixated on them. I think not working from behind would be a comment on the score sheets of alot of 5 year olds. I have a 5 yo who I have just started doing dressage on - and I have never been a dressage person
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and we get comments about not working from behind and too slow. But tbh I am working him with as much "speed" as I can for his age and stage of training to ask for more yet pushes him out of his rhythm and unbalances him but I am confident we will get there in time.

With regard to getting her sharper from the leg I would say what you are doing is right. You want to ensure that when you ask she knows she must respond. If she ignores a sharp kick use a whip and do not niggle constantly - it can be hard to stop yourself if this is an ingrained habit but you must!
 
I saw something in a YH mag, about giving it a real hard boot! Obviously, it would shoot forward but then when you move your leg away the horse moves in front of the leg better then it used to, if not improving greatly!

Don't know if that will help but just something I read
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Hunting? No thanks haha I value my life! lol

Thanks for all the replies. Will try to answer them all!

Feed wise she is on haylage and two feeds aday of sugar beet, alfa A oil and spillers conditioning mix.

With work hours ect now I don't really get time to ride in the light so not much chance to let her go on open fields.

Whip wise I try to use a schooling whip at home but truth is I can't ride with one! Making myself sound like a fab rider haha, I can't keep it still and it upsets her.
 
Practice makes perfect, I never used to ride with a schooling whip until I started riding lazy coblet in London then it became an essential
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One other thing - if you do give her a kick and she shoots forward don't pull her back (which is probably the instinctive thing to do, it is for me anyway) - the aim needs to be to get her forwards first and foremost, then you can refine it over time.

I should have said before, I think she looks lovely
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She's looking so lovely in those pics
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Ester on here suggested I try teaching my pony voice commands - it worked really well and he can be seriously lazy. I started by taking my stirrups away because if I kick kick kick flap flap to get him going as I normally do without stirrups I feel like I'm going to fall off so it stops me doing it!! Teaching him voice commands has been excellent (thank you ester!!
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) - he had a good day today and all I had to do was change the pitch of my voice and he'd go up a gear!!

I've just started riding my pony in spurs, the problem is with your legs is it is a vicious circle - you keep having to move your legs to keep them going, so they don't end up in a secure position, so you feel like you wouldn't be OK with spurs, if that makes sense. I've found the pony and I are both much happier with spurs - we get a lot less frustrated with each other! But I am using them as a last resort as I've tried almost everything else!
 
oh one more thing - when mine is having a really lazy day we do silly things like halt to canter games pony style (as in, totally non-elegant!). Seems to get him a bit excited and get him paying attention.
 
That is a decent score then - try to focus on that fact rather than JUST the negatives which are after all pointers as to where you can improve rather than saying it has all gone wrong. I know this is hard sometimes!!

Plus you have only had her 3 months and are a new partnership so please don't be hard on yourself. I do think dressage comments make you focus on what went wrong rather than what was good. And if she is getting those sort of marks at only 5 and you have only had her 3 months there is alot going well that you should be proud of.

I have found some judges are more critical than others and it is always nicer to have a judge that puts something positive too. I recently got " Much to like about this very nice horse" which is encouraging to read among the could do better bits!
 
Nudge, if nothing take your legs right off her sides and then clap them back down on her, but you have to mean it
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This WILL get her going forwards and she will soon associate taking your legs off a little to what will come next and wise up to the nudge. There is absolutely NOTHING to be gained in nagging, it just makes them numb to it and you get diddly squat impulsion. If you don't want to do this then you ask, and if nothing, you ask with a decent school whip backing up your leg. You need to be firm to be kind as she is only a baby she has to learn as soon as possible to go forwards immediately.
 
my boy used to be like this as he didnt have enough energy to do anything so i changed his feed to competition mix and alfa a oil and he had energy to do everything that i never thought he would as we used to plod around everywhere i had to use my stick more than my legs to get him to listen and he's only 6 not sure what else you could try as that resolved my problem
 
Its already been said, give her a short sharp tap with the schooling whip as you squeeze once. She'll soon pick it up
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Loads of halt to trot/trot to halts really work, they will really get her listening.

Theres nothing worse than a lazy horse, remember not to hold her too tight as she won't be working from behind then. Kepp her together, but really push her from behind
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Good luck.
 
Glad it worked for Murph bex.
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love your description of the PC starts, I wind frank up too, chuck in a few walk to canters etc. best is if there is a jump in the arena to circle and not let him jump it!
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Not sure if these methods just suit cobby pones though.

OP. I really think you need to crack the schooling whip thing, you have to be able to carry one in order to reminder her, I think you perhaps need to have a bit of an experiment on different ways of holding it, mine is normally well out to the side not near the horse.

I also like weezys idea about taking the legs away first, I think that would work particularly with a baby sounds great in theory though i have never tried it
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Whats she like on the lunge? Is she doing plenty of hacking and not just schooling?
 
The above ideas are all great and just what I'd recommend. A couple of other tips, make sure that when you are warming up you are thinking forward and balance NOT outline. There is a terrible temptation to wind the neck in rather than riding the back legs up to the front IYSWIM.

Also pay a bit of attention to your hands and arms from your pictures your hands look a bit *set* wide and low. Lift your hands a bit and bend your elbows so you can allow her forwards more. You can still widen your hand if you need to but keep a very definite bend in your elbow and think about having all the weight in your elbow rather than your wrist or shoulder.
 
Thank you for all the comments, definatly things to try.
BFG, school has a fantastic surface.

Just to prove me wrong I have just got back from a fantastic clinic where she was perfect and responsive lol
 
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