Helping an 11yo to understand how to bend her pony

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Spangles

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Are there any good simple video's or articles aimed at juniors to help them understand the theory and give practical instruction ? My daughter has a habit of turning her new pony's head to the outside to much and she's starting to feel very inadequte as she just finds it hard.
 
A good instructor that can teach her to ride from her legs and seat rather than rely on the hand would probably be better than videos or written articles, it can be hard for a child to grasp but having someone explain and give pointers while while they are riding will make it so much easier to develop the feel she is struggling with at the moment.
There should be no reason for her to be feeling inadequate as it takes time to get going on a new pony and many older more experienced riders take time to get the basics properly established, if her current instructor is not helping then maybe look for someone who can make things clearer but still keep it fun, it should be fun when you are 11 not all hard work.
 
Thank you, I totally agree but she had experience of an instructor (not her regular coach) who 'lost it' with frustration recently and I don't want the experience to be a sticking point.
 
Her instructor lost it with her? That sounds awful...

I was watching this thread because I'm trying to teach an adult male how to properly bend and experiencing the same challenge :p No matter how I state it, it's obviously unclear. What we agreed was that I would demonstrate one little bit at a time on the same horse so he can see what I'm doing...

Obviously if she's on a little pony that may not be possible. But as a variation on that, could someone experienced ride another horse in front and have her "copy" what she sees? She may not get it right away but if she has a little experience and someone to shout pointers to her from the ground, she might be able to achieve something she can actually see better than if she doesn't know what she's looking for. It should also feel considerably more fulfilling when she does manage it cause she'll be able to see that she's doing as well as the adult... And the trial and error she'll probably need to go through isn't a bad thing for learning either.
 
Thank you, yes, she's very visual which is why I wondered if there was a simplistic video. But, I am going to ask her regular coach in the morning if she'll show my dd, a little bit at a time. I think what's happening also is that although it's become a habit on anything she rides I think why it happens is two fold.
a) psychologically if the ponies head is pointing to the outside ie an arena wall or fence, in her head she feels safer as the pony can't go anywhere ie if dd feels the pony is getting a bit fast or she feels insecure.

b) A bit of half halting is going on with the outside rein and it's over exaggerated AND it's become a habit or a natural way of riding for her.

Does that make sense ? I'm trying to see it from a child's point of view. She's a nice little rider, competes and jumping is her first love so the flat work is more of a necessary evil at the moment. I will let you know how goes after her lesson tomorrow but I am confident her coach will help her.
 
Spangles said:
Thank you, I totally agree but she had experience of an instructor (not her regular coach) who 'lost it' with frustration recently and I don't want the experience to be a sticking point.
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That sounds dreadful, I know teaching kids can be frustrating at times but to lose it in a lesson is unforgivable.
I think there are plenty of exercises that can help her that a good instructor can teach so she has some more tools to use to stay in control as well as start to ride the pony more correctly, if the instructor has become frustrated they probably have limited knowledge and not enough tools themselves, it may make your daughter feel better to know that the frustration showed more about the instructors limitations than her own.

One exercise I use a lot is to ride on an inside track with just a little inside bend then leg yield back to the track, it doesn't have to be a perfect leg yield just enough that the pony moves from the inside leg but remains on the correct bend just as they are about on the track ride forward onto a 10m circle, this can be done in walk and trot with as many circles as you can fit in on the way round the school, it really helps them stay bending, in control and gets both pony and rider really focused. A variation is to ride the straight/ leg yield at trot with a transition to walk as you start the circle and trot on just as you come off it, this can be done in canter with trot on the 10m, it can help to put a pole or jump stand to ride around if they have trouble steering, they also need to ride the circle as true as possible to remain in control of the outside shoulder so the pony does not fall in or out.
Spiraling in and leg yielding out from 20m to 10m is another useful exercise that helps with leg/ hand coordination and maintaining correct bend through the whole body.
Riding a straight centre line with circles left and right on the way down, making sure they bend correctly at the turn on and off the centre, by using more circles and doing very little going round the outside track the rider should start to use the movements as a half halt rather than the hand allowing the pony to move more freely while remaining in control of the pace, the feeling of insecurity will be reduced once she is really focusing on each movement rather than thinking about what the pony may do she will be taking charge in a slightly different more positive way.
 
perhaps explaining that the bend must be the same from nose to tail and like if the pony is a part of the circle (I found that drawing for example: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/uploads/images/4-HandYouth/articles/horse_-_circles.png)?
is the pony leaning on the inside shoulder and she feels she has to prevent him from falling in (it can happen if the pony is ignoring her inside leg)? I would try telling her to drop the reins and try to turn the pony with her body (hips, legs and seat) by looking and turning toward the direction she wants to go.
 
does she ride a bike?

explain that like a bike the engine is in the back end of the pony, and and the brake is her hands, if she want to go forward or bend she must not have the brake on, does she relax her legs, if not her seat will not be effective, the horse goes forward from the legs and seat into a soft hand, and I mean SOFT.

I would never try to get any bend until the pony is completely warmed up you could go for a gentle half hour hack before schooling to loosen the pony`s body and lunge, then start to use the school and do it all in walk, so she has time to think about and feel every movement underneath her, no pressure, go in a 20 meter circle and back onto the track get straight do it again, one good circle is going to show the pony and the child the way to understand and absorb what they are trying to achieve, when they can do this, then is the time to try to introduce other school movements.

I think it must very hard for such as a child who has never trained a pony from scratch to imagine what they are aiming for, not to mention the pony who must get very confused.
 
I used to do exactly what your daughter is doing and I am just getting the hang of the inside bend now. I get PONY MAG and I found some useful tips in that.

My instructor got me riding circles with my outside hand on my thigh. This meant that I couldn't pull my pony out but just use my legs and the inside hand. Just wondered if you have tried that.
 
NO instructor should ever 'lose it' with a pupil, and even more so not with a child.

As for learning about bend, could you (or someone) put objects e.g. cones on the ground, in either a circle or a straight line, put pony on a lunge-line, take away the rider's reins and ask rider to bend the pony around the objects using only legs and seat.

Once the rider has got the idea of using legs and seat, adding in the idea of merely guiding the pony's front end with the hands/reins is much easier.
 
Try getting her to ride one handed as an exercise and thinking about the horse shortening body and bringing ribs together on inside and lengthening and spreading ribs on the out side? Demo the idea with a paper fan. I'd also introduce shoulder in and shoulder fore to help supple her and the pony and break the habit.
 
My youngster makes me have outside bend on one rein because she has an aversion to the A end of the school and will cut it completely if I let her. I do a lot of 20m circles spiralling in and back out with her to get me focussing on giving aids for the correct bend without worrying if she leaves the track, and after the tight circling I think she is glad to be going back on the bigger circle that it is easy to ride with the correct bend for a bit.
I suspect your daughter does understand that the horse should be bent to the inside but when faced with a choice of staying in the correct location or keeping the correct bend she is choosing location. You need to get her spending part of every time she rides paying more attention to bend than direction so she can start to build this skill set seperately, then stick them together when she had more confidence with it.

I would suspect she is used to riding a horse that will fall in through the inside shoulder and accelerate on corners. If her response to this becomes turning a 10m circle wherever it happens rather than half halting and turning the horse's head to the wall it may help her to get out of her bad habits and replace them with a more attentive pony and better bending skills for your daughter.

As a final thought, the only way to keep a horse out without the rein is through effective leg and weight aids. Can your daughter currently make this pony listen to those aids in other areas such as leg yields? If not then she can do exercises to counteract the bad habits and get the pony more willing, but will still ultimately struggle to ride with correct bend. If she isn't already doing them I would also get her doing basic lateral work (leg yields both ways, turn on forehand/haunches to give her a greater awareness of the impact of her full set of aids). Also shoulder in May help her understand that bend and direction are completely seperate concepts.

Final final thought, kids can struggle with the non-rein aids due to lightness and little legs. This will all get easier as she gets older.
 
Try and get hold of a copy of 'Improve Your Riding' by Christine Pullein Thompson.

Its an old book, written in the 70's, but I got bough a copy when I was that age and it describes lots of schooling movements really well (a few things are a little old fashioned, but the majority is still valid). Its aimed at the 11-15 age group. I've still got my copy its great and I still refer to it from time to time!

There are some 1p copies on Amazon. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/372/dp/0727811290)
 
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