HHO virtual group clinic week 2

feel free to CC, I think I have figured out where I was going wrong but given that paid input is unavailable at this point I'm open to other thoughts and suggestions ;) :)
Kira is so difficult to do basics with, she really enjoys Hard Things and twiddly bits and gives me the finger with basics, so it's hard to make us both do super simple exercises because she is inclined to overcomplicate things but it was a very useful diagnostic!
 
milliepops said:
feel free to CC, I think I have figured out where I was going wrong but given that paid input is unavailable at this point I'm open to other thoughts and suggestions ;):)
Kira is so difficult to do basics with, she really enjoys Hard Things and twiddly bits and gives me the finger with basics, so it's hard to make us both do super simple exercises because she is inclined to overcomplicate things but it was a very useful diagnostic!
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This is exactly how I feel! My pony isn’t anywhere near as advanced as Kira but he happily tackles elem moves and when we do something basic like this exercise he gets all arsey ? I’m going to give it a go again later in this week. Really enjoying hearing how everyone is getting on.
 
I also tried a bit with Darcy but he had his fingers in his ears for the walk-halts and got quite hot and silly with the trot so I gave up and just tried to ride him forward ?
No video as we were sharing the school *disclaimer- appropriate social distancing etc yada yada he's actually a lot safer in company*
Will try a bit harder tomorrow ?
 
MP, lovely to see Kira back in work and going well. I think you did well, it was obvious how she improved through the exercises, especially in the canter, for cc, I would say watch your shoulders in the walk and trot you are tipping forward, and that wont help anything. Also in the halts in general its the outside hind that is getting left behind, so keep her a little shorter and more connected on the outside. Oh, and if she does a dodgy change, go back and do it again and make it good!
 
Thanks daffy ? I was frustrated by how rubbish I was today but you can't pick the good days so have to just make the best of it ?

Yes I have got in an awful habit of tipping forward, I can see how that's hindering us. she's been so challenging lately I think I've gone into foetal position as a by product of just tryingto keep her travelling ?. Thank you, will definitely think about that next time. It'll help me with Darcy dingbat too, when I think I'm sitting up on him I'm still tipping forward, argh!

Oh and good point about the halts. I couldn't understand why I kept letting my outside rein disappear and that really wouldn't have helped. I have now missed 4 lessons, these kinds of exercises are good for helping figure stuff out in the meantime. Thanks again
 
Its no problem, I hope I was helpful, I know how easier it is to let these little minor bad habits run away with us when we dont have regular eyes on the ground. I also know how hard I have worked and for how long to make myself sit up, so I am always very aware of that one.
 
daffy44 said:
Its no problem, I hope I was helpful, I know how easier it is to let these little minor bad habits run away with us when we dont have regular eyes on the ground. I also know how hard I have worked and for how long to make myself sit up, so I am always very aware of that one.
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Very helpful, yes ? I've ridden other horses in the past that seemed easier to stay in better control of my own bad habits, but the current ones are definitely not in that category so I need reminding as often as possible ?
 
Those videos are great MP - it's really helpful to see someone else ride them, and brave of you to open yourself to CC.

I wouldn't presume to offer advice, but it is interesting to see your coping strategies with a hot but not forward horse - a difficult combination!
 
No worries :) yeah she's a tricky ride and I'm just an amateur having a go ? I know how useful not-perfect videos are to me so I dont mind sharing ? plus I find people in C&T are generally helpful and genuine so very happy to receive CC in that spirit.
its great having top riders doing training vids at the moment but hard to relate to on your average horse. Hopefully some others will feel able to share so we can all learn from each other while there are no lessons :)
 
Has anyone got any ideas how to stop my pony falling straight out of canter as soon as I half halt? She can do Hat/trot/halt and also understands half halt in the walk and trot but but canter is all or nothing!
At the moment I’ve been just letting her find her own balance but I would love to figure out how to collect and control the canter speed a bit more but half halt in canter seems to mean trot no matter how subtle?
 
More leg is the answer with mine, I put my leg on before giving the woah aid. So the canter is more engaged and a bit punchier to start with.
 
Laura2408 said:
Has anyone got any ideas how to stop my pony falling straight out of canter as soon as I half halt? She can do Hat/trot/halt and also understands half halt in the walk and trot but but canter is all or nothing!
At the moment I’ve been just letting her find her own balance but I would love to figure out how to collect and control the canter speed a bit more but half halt in canter seems to mean trot no matter how subtle?
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Your pony probably needs to develop more strength, its quite hard work for the horse in canter. Try not to use your hands to control the speed, just keep them the same, and think of half halting through your seat and upper body, and at the same time put your leg on, so your horse understands to stay in canter.
 
Well I was going to do the exercise on the big horse and do a little video tonight, but I dozed off on the sofa when I got home from work and woke up to find my OH in the school with him...ah well, maybe tomorrow!

So I hopped on Arty instead and had another go with her. Fast tracked to transitions within the pace to try and get her to engage that brain a bit. I found I had to alternate between going large and doing circles to keep her engaged and straight, but I was really chuffed with how much stronger and more adjustable she feels. I played around doing a few steps of leg yield in collected trot and she held herself together really beautifully :cool:. Moved onto some transitions within the pace in canter, which is a completely new concept for her. It took a lot of leg (even if only for a couple of strides collected at a time), but she did get the concept, and most importantly for her, didn't panic and rush off when she broke to trot on a couple of attempts. Her taking off in trot like roadrunner after canter has been a bit of a sticking point, so it's lovely that I can actually train the canter a bit now without her getting her fizzy little noodle in a twist :D
 
My footage isn’t as pro as I’ve had to split lots out as my phone doesn’t get the whole school in. Mute the first it’s ended up with some tinny music over it and sorry they’re a bit long...! We’re very new back to this riding thing but I think the videos do show improvement. He needs to be off the leg enough I can prepare better so I’m not chasing right until the last moment. That’s just his effective greenness and me being consistent and fair I think. No matter how many times I chant leg before hand I can’t help being a bit backwards not helped by the fact he’s not off the leg yet so we end up in a cycle...! It is that he’s genuinely forgotten exactly what to do with what aid. He’s about 11 but has probably been ridden 8 times this year- long reined and driven the rest of the time due to rider confidence issues (and extreme feeding making him quite a lot of 15.2!). Any CC is welcome as long as it’s kind though/ we’re at the point in normal times we’d be looking for a lesson or clinic to give us some input. His walk is a long term nemesis both ridden and driven so any tips how to strike a forwards, straight yet not FWLR walk would be appreciated! We did week 1 exercises 1/2 a week late as we were too nervous to trot that far..! We’re away now- now we’re looking forwards to next weeks!



 
He's such a smart horse rara :) I think you can definitely see where the exercise is helping him and he's starting to let you influence him more.

What happens with the walk if you keep the contact and ask him to march into it? I'm sort of guessing maybe he gets tight, as he seems a bit inclined to peacock his neck and stiffen his back a bit? He's got a lovely big walk, I think it may be something you need to chip away at for a while if he's anything like Millie, she had such a huge walk it took me a while to be brave enough to try and compress it a bit. Lateral work in walk was great for her, but I had to be strict with myself about holding the contact even when it felt horrible, until she accepted the idea of stepping underneath herself without pushing out away from me.
 
Topaz actually found this quite hard because she was very determined that 'something' more exciting was being asked for and couldn't understand/ wait to see, it really was just stop and go. I also probably should have been wearing proper riding attire but as this is the first time I've been motivated to ride in about a week, so I'm just impressed I got on.

If you want to see how to confuse your advanced horse here you go :p
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=247639806361777

Though she did settle once she accepted she could trot bigger and it was good for getting her hind legs engaged. Once Skylla has stopped being all scabby from fly bites she can have a go at this too as I'm hoping it will be good for her.
 
Laura2408 said:
Has anyone got any ideas how to stop my pony falling straight out of canter as soon as I half halt? She can do Hat/trot/halt and also understands half halt in the walk and trot but but canter is all or nothing!
At the moment I’ve been just letting her find her own balance but I would love to figure out how to collect and control the canter speed a bit more but half halt in canter seems to mean trot no matter how subtle?
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1 - make sure your canter is sufficiently forward that you can ask for it to be a little slower
2 - make sure your forward driving aid comes immediately after your ask for slower tempo
3 - if your horse makes a mistake that is ok, just pop straight back up into canter and try again
 
Wheels said:
3 - if your horse makes a mistake that is ok, just pop straight back up into canter and try again
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really good point, it's OK for them to make mistakes, the rider's job is to make sure the correction is clear to the horse so they can learn what you meant :)
 
Wheels said:
Soooooo... who has got ideas for tomorrow's new exercise?
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I saw talland posted an exercise similar to one I quite like the other day.
They called it 6 circles. Basically on the right rein, 2 10m circles right at K, straight line to X 2 10m circles left at X, straight line to H 2 10m circles at H, straight line to M and same up the long side. Same on the other rein but in reverse.
I like it because it works bend and straightness, you can ride in any gait and if you want to make it harder you can use lateral work instead of straight lines
 
Roxylola said:
I saw talland posted an exercise similar to one I quite like the other day.
They called it 6 circles. Basically on the right rein, 2 10m circles right at K, straight line to X 2 10m circles left at X, straight line to H 2 10m circles at H, straight line to M and same up the long side. Same on the other rein but in reverse.
I like it because it works bend and straightness, you can ride in any gait and if you want to make it harder you can use lateral work instead of straight lines
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Aw I love this exercise! Have done it with Pammy and there are lots of variations you can do as you say using lateral work
 
milliepops said:
What happens with the walk if you keep the contact and ask him to march into it? I'm sort of guessing maybe he gets tight, as he seems a bit inclined to peacock his neck and stiffen his back a bit
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Yup! We get short-Long behind, extreme lateral work most usually some form of haunches in leading to full pass, accurate camel impressions- any form of evasion he can manage politely. He’s the same driven (alarming between shafts I’m sure you can imagine...!) but frustratingly walks for an 8 or 9 right at the start of warming up! We’ll get there I hope but he’s very established in nope, I can’t walk over my back into a normal contact. I’m not sure how correct our walk lateral work is but he lets you do anything with it to avoid pure straight...! I’m not sure if it’s saddle related- we got a new much better one at Xmas he’s only getting to trust now, but as it’s driven too it’s clearly very ‘in’ his brain as some of his evasions are only driven but not ridden! I’m going to try to find him out a drop or grackle noseband I think- this one really is a bit of a ‘nothing’ unless you do it super tight. I know that won’t fix it but will help remove a few of his evasions! His new found canterwork shows he’s more than strong enough to manage it for short periods.
 
Sounds very familiar but yeah I can imagine that being , um, unhelpful in a driven horse!
Millie had one of those big elastic rangy walks that was always an 8 or 9 for extended or FWLR but when I tried to make it something approaching collected, would get ugly and tight.
I finally got it organised one winter when the school was frozen for weeks so all we could do was walk ;)
I think it would be worth persevering with the lateral work, and not letting him dictate how he does it (e.g. offering too much sideways as an escape mechanism). smaller better quality stuff rather than big losing control sideways. Control of each step, not running away (I found when she started to run is when I got rhythm problems).

This is what I did which may work for you: I played with very easy shoulder-in, small angle, then maybe some small angle travers being strict that it stayed on the angle I asked for rather than getting antsy and just taking over, and alternating between the 2 asking for rideability. putting in small circles (10m ish) being clear about staying straight on the line and not pushing shoulders or quarters out, accepting both reins equally. all the time asking to stay into the contact politely, it felt horrible for a while until she agreed to just *try* what I was asking for, and then the penny dropped and it started to get better.
With her, she naturally had that big walk, and I don't think she understood that she could make it smaller so she got tight because she was anxious/cross about what I was asking! we ended up with a good collected walk and she could then do nice small walk piris too.

As you say his canter work was starting to look super so I think I'd alternate between getting him through in the canter & understanding the concept of collecting a bit without getting tight, and then work on what is basically the same concept in walk. the paces with suspension are so much easier to work on :)

Just my 2p, maybe others will have more ideas too :)
 
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