help - how to stop horsy getting tense

[pootleperkin]

Right people, some help needed.

I'm kind of going back to basics, as my boy has been getting tense on his upwards transitions (specifically walk to trot). It's a downwards spiral as once I put my leg on, he tenses his topline and so then doesn't listen to the leg. Think I have been trying to overide everything....all of this came out of the fact that he wasn't going forward properly ( he can be a lazy young man!), so I have ended up trying to push him too much.

I have realised as soon as I get on, his head will come up and neck stiffen (back has been checked as have teeth and bridle), and so I have been rubbing his neck, relaxing him and lowering his head and then asking him to move off with a light aid, which he has now got the idea of nicely.

So, we have been walking out on a loose rein (i.e. no real contact) and then asking for the upward transition when he is completely relaxed and working through in walk. Great you say.

However, I would like to be able to pick up the reins, even just a teencey weany little bit, and for him to accept an even hand contact, walk into the bridle and then accept the aids for trot. Instead, what we get nine times out of ten, is for me to take up a very long rein contact, him to go 'I'm not walking into that', his head and neck to then come up and stiffen a bit, and then for him to go dead to the leg, so then if I let it, we would spiral into more leg, more head up etc until eventually we would trot, but running into it from the front rather than from behind.

Trot work isn't bad at all, he will accept a nice even contact, relax his back and work forward into the bridle and he does a nice downward transition, but he will not walk into the bridle in walk, his stride just get shorter unless I drop the reins or loosen them massively. Obviously as part of the upward aid, I want to take a shorter rein to prepare for trot and it would be nice if he walked into this 'soft' contact and didn't try and turn himself inside out!

I am trying to keep the work varied by doing lots of transitions and direction changes, but obviously, I don't want to allow him to make tense upwards transitions at the moment, so it can take quite a while to get us to the point that he will relax down and trot on.

I am also paranoid about my arms being too stiff after a lesson on monday when my trainer told me that my shoulders and elbows were really stiff and blocking the horse, so I'm now paranoid about having any feel on the horse's mouth at all and thinking that I'm causing all of the problems (probably am!!)!!

Very frustrating - any ideas for exercises or do I just swallow the frustration and keep working through it all and try to keep us both relaxed until it becomes second nature?

Sorry for the long one.......doughnuts if you got this far!

 

[Laura6544]

I don't know if this will be any help but my mare used to do something similair to what you are describing. I had a few lessons many years ago with an instructor called Nicola Fritter and she told me to get off her back slightly as soon as I got on and lower my hands to encourage her to stretch down to lenghten her stride. I had to ride with practically no contact when I schooled her for quite a few weeks and always without putting too much weight on her back, the only time I was told to touch her mouth was to encourage her to lower her head and lengthen her neck. She also picked up that I would 'niggle' alot with my legs so the shorter and tenser her strides got the more I would squeeze and push so I was told to ask for the walk then leave her to it, if she didn't respond ask again then follow with a flick of the schooling whip, again all this done with no contact. After around a month I started to take contact but still long/low outline even now my hands have to be so soft and still otherwise she will react but when I used to school her regularly (shes 21 now) I always started with warming her up out of my stirrups and long, low outline with no contact.

 

[pootleperkin]

Thanks Angel Air - I seem to have scared everyone off with this topic!

I guess what you describe is essentially what I am doing, but it is frustrating going back what seems like so many steps. I niggle too, and I'm training myself not to, but use my whip every 4 beats until he walks out with head lowered then just sit in balance. I need him to become more alive to the leg, so I am starting to use my leg at the same time as the whip very gently, but briskly too.

I think I am just going to have to be patient and perhaps be satisfied with a good upwards transition from a loose rein, then pick up my reins in trot, when the contact doesn't worry him so much and eventually move on from there. I need to think PATIENCE continually!!

 

[Laura6544]

I would agree, it took me a good year to get consistent transitions especially upwards ones and my mare was so unforgiving if I pushed her too far or asked for too much she would revert right back, she was worse in canter and could shorten her stride so much it was slower than her walk. In the end it paid off though, I don't consider myself a talented rider but I did feel quite smug when someone came to try her to loan many years ago. The lady had competed to medium dressage level and evented to a high standard and she couldn't get her to do a thing! Just shows over time he will learn to trust you and relax but patience is the key.

 

[ISHmad]

Sorry if I am asking the obvious here, but have you had the horse's back, tack and teeth checked? The resistance to contact may possibly come from the mouth or poll. Huge apologies if you have already had these checks carried out.