horse isnt turning properly

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I have 2 teenagers so I can understand your frustration when you just want to have some fun but everything seems hard- keep going though you will get there with the proper support. I am only going by your description of your riding ability here but if you can find an instructor that cab come to your yard and do a mix of lessons for you and also some schooling on your horse themselves I have found this works really well for my teens. The instructor can then get a really good feel for the horse so when you are in your lessons they can help you more.
I could suggest lots of things but if your budget allows the key to all of this will be lessons and schooling- good luck and remember to enjoy yourself and not get too stuck on your difficulties.
 
It does sound like what a typical novice rider does on corners, as you approach a corner try doing a slight inside bend using your outside rein and inside leg, slightly turn your shoulders so your inside shoulder is slightly further back and keep practicing. Sometimes doing a leg yield before a corner can help set up the correct bend using the same concept.

A short crop used on the inside shoulder can also help just before a corner just tap on the shoulder to stop Jim falling in.
 
Goldie's mum said:
Looking at your other posts it seems you are a teenager getting to know your first horse, that isn't a youngster himself & that you have owned him a few weeks. Did you ride him at the viewing, or did your parents/instructor ride him? Do you know how much schooling he has had with previous owners?
You must have people around you to have got this far - instructor, people to drive you to lessons & viewings etc etc? There will be a lot of little adjustments to make & help from real people who watch you ride will be needed. It can take quite a few months and a lot of help, to get to know a new horse.

In the short term AND NOT IN PLACE OF GETTING REGULAR HELP IN THE REAL WORLD it sounds like he is carrying his weight too much on the forehand and leaning on the bit.

This will affect his balance and make cornering hard work for him. If you practice getting his weight onto his hind legs, he will be generally lighter to ride, more mobile and "steerable". You could practice half-halts and transitions. (But don't get up-tight or bored with it, relax together & do some hacking while help arrives!:):) )

Like this

howtodressage.com

How to Stop Your Horse From Leaning on the Bit ⋆ How To Dressage

Leaning on the bit is the common description for any horse that puts an undue amount of his own weight on the bit whilst being ridden.
howtodressage.com howtodressage.com

But don't keep going round and round in circles trying to get something right that neither of you is enjoying. It can help to do something else for a while & then both of you can come back to it fresh.
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i rode him at the viewing and he wasnt like it at all. the phsyio did say he uses his front end more than hi back end. she said to do lots of bending exercises, but im really loosing enjoyment in riding him. i try bending him, and he turns, but wont bend
 
Pinkvboots said:
It does sound like what a typical novice rider does on corners, as you approach a corner try doing a slight inside bend using your outside rein and inside leg, slightly turn your shoulders so your inside shoulder is slightly further back and keep practicing. Sometimes doing a leg yield before a corner can help set up the correct bend using the same concept.

A short crop used on the inside shoulder can also help just before a corner just tap on the shoulder to stop Jim falling in.
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i try to bend him around it, and he just turns in, and if i turn him into it, he falls in. its like i cant win. ill try the crop on his shoulder, and small circles in corners, and the objects and stuff. and i have a lesson in 6 days. so hopefuly it will help. someone else is riding his tomorrow, so i can see if its me or him. id rather it be him, as i dont think i can improve any more. im not capable of it. maybe i just wasnt designed for riding, and a pet is better
 
sounds like your pony is not straight, or relaxed

and your contact may not be ideal if you are feeling frustrated and not sure what to do.

you could try 3 trotting poles on the ground, first walk around for a while to warm up, then walk around the pole like a bending race, come serpentine, on a longish contact, making sure you allow him to turn with the outside rein, and that your hands are soft and following the movement and not blocking his forwardness, and use your legs to guide him, and drop your weight into the turn and look where you are going as a guide for him, try to be relaxed, if he wants to stretch forwards on a longer rein that is your signal he is starting to straighten.

until he is straight you are going nowhere

learn to see when he is crooked or straight

hacking is a good straightener, because the pony get to be fully loosened up and becomes relaxed and lets go of the tense crookedness

if you can ride him quietly every day for a short period without forcing him to be straight it will come in time, i promise, there are no short cuts.

when he improves, nice big circles, at first 1 circle then forwards, building up to several will establish his true bend, because he will have to step under further with his inside leg on the circle, it is on a different, shorter track, and riding quietly into your corners, in a big gentle curve so he `gets` the message without being confused

hope your instructor can help
 
axe1312 said:
i try to bend him around it, and he just turns in, and if i turn him into it, he falls in. its like i cant win. ill try the crop on his shoulder, and small circles in corners, and the objects and stuff. and i have a lesson in 6 days. so hopefuly it will help. someone else is riding his tomorrow, so i can see if its me or him. id rather it be him, as i dont think i can improve any more. im not capable of it. maybe i just wasnt designed for riding, and a pet is better
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Oh, it's frustrating. I get it. Mine is still a work in progress, I thought we were doing ok then as we developed it uncovered the flaws in our basic training and I had to go back to basics (yes, just walking circles and yes, it's boring and frustrating and you need endless patience to keep kindly correcting him)
We still haven't 100% fixed it, my boy will always want to fall through the right shoulder when he finds something tricky. But with work he is getting better.
Can you say what area you are in? we might be able to suggest people who are good at this sort of training.
 
axe1312 said:
id rather it be him, as i dont think i can improve any more. im not capable of it. maybe i just wasnt designed for riding, and a pet is better
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You can learn new things , don't put yourself down. I'm still learning stuff after having ponies for 50 years.
Talk with your instructor and if she is not supportive see if your parents can find you someone else.
Depending on where you are and how old you are you may be able to go to pony club rallys and learn things there too.
 
horses ARE hard work-we ask them to do all kinds of crazy unnatural stuff its no wonder they get confused and find it hard so first off he isnt doing this on purpose.

you need a different trainer as the one you have seems to have no plan to improve this issue-in order to be straighter he needs to be more supple. in order to be more supple he needs to start with turn on the forehand, then leg yield, then shoulder in etc and use this in various ways to be able to be straight.

and we can ALWAYS be better, each and every single one of us. If you feel like this you absolutely need a new trainer as you shouldnt be feeling that way either.
 
It's really common for young or uneducated horses to fall on, turn randomly and generally have no idea what they are doing. You need someone on the ground to teach you both regularly or you are going to struggle. In a kind way it's a bit like a blind leading the blind.

It's all about controlling the shoulder really and heavy contact will not help but it's easy to fall into that trap.
 
axe1312 said:
i rode him at the viewing and he wasnt like it at all. the phsyio did say he uses his front end more than hi back end. she said to do lots of bending exercises, but im really loosing enjoyment in riding him. i try bending him, and he turns, but wont bend
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In that case and as it doesn't happen on other horses, I would get his saddle and other tack checked then have his teeth and back checked. It may be that when he tur s something becomes uncomfortable
 
Welcome to the world of horse ownership!

You get one and realise you can’t really ride! FWIW nearly 30 years on and it’s still similar 😆

You now have the long journey ahead of really learning to ride. One step at a time. Decent instruction is crucial and it sounds like it would be best to find a trainer that will ride a bit and train you a bit.
 
axe1312 said:
i try to bend him around it, and he just turns in, and if i turn him into it, he falls in. its like i cant win. ill try the crop on his shoulder, and small circles in corners, and the objects and stuff. and i have a lesson in 6 days. so hopefuly it will help. someone else is riding his tomorrow, so i can see if its me or him. id rather it be him, as i dont think i can improve any more. im not capable of it. maybe i just wasnt designed for riding, and a pet is better
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I'm short & a bit dumpy so definitely not designed for riding but I get by. You can always improve and a decent set of eyes on the ground is what you need. Sometimes a charge of instructor is in order.
 
I think you would do well to get off your pony and do some exercises in hand. Get him listening to you. Back up a few steps, walk on, halt, move over, side step either infront or over a pole. turn carefully in a small square. You can really sharpen a pony up this way. I think yours has just become a bit lazy and found an easy way out. Things won't change over night so be prepared to spend the summer thinking of it as a project. /try to get a few friends involved making handy Pony courses, things to make your pony look and listen.
 
J&S said:
I think you would do well to get off your pony and do some exercises in hand. Get him listening to you. Back up a few steps, walk on, halt, move over, side step either infront or over a pole. turn carefully in a small square. You can really sharpen a pony up this way. I think yours has just become a bit lazy and found an easy way out. Things won't change over night so be prepared to spend the summer thinking of it as a project. /try to get a few friends involved making handy Pony courses, things to make your pony look and listen.
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Agreed but horses become lazy for a reason, they're not actually lazy. His balance is clearly off, he's almost certainly rotated in the ribcage and generally this isn't the sort of thing that can be fixed by a more novice rider especially in a RS setting. OP, if you can play with some ground work and want to learn more, you'll find a ton of info on Equitopiacenter.com, it has a very cheap monthly membership that you can cancel anytime, see what you can learn in a month!

Riding is super complex, riding is the tip of the iceberg in keeping horses sound and happy (how we train them is a MASSIVE part of keeping them sound, if they're not moving well then they're harming themselves), but these are big animals, not at all designed to be ridden and in fact are very badly designed to be ridden. We owe it to them to help them find their balance, so improve and strengthen their posture so they can carry us without compromise. Problems going round corners, with brakes, with heavy contact etc, all go back to balance and posture in the main.
 
I hope that you learn to enjoy the learning process too! I really think that finding the right trainer will be the making of you and your partnership with your pony.
It has taken me 18 months to get to the point where I can walk and trot on my pony that I bought unbacked (though I am sure lots of people could have got there sooner) and I am really surprised (a) how much I have enjoyed all the ground work preparation I have done to get here and (b) how I haven't missed the fact I haven't been able to do the miles and hours in the saddle as much as I thought I would. It has all been a bit of an eye-opener to me.
 
Ouch05 said:
I know the previous owner has spoken to you and she told you that he need regular physio as in every 6 weeks as he has an issue with his back. Have you been keeping up the treatments? He is not lacking in education or young and know his stuff.
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Ah, that puts a whole new complexion on things.
 
Ouch05 said:
I know the previous owner has spoken to you and she told you that he need regular physio as in every 6 weeks as he has an issue with his back. Have you been keeping up the treatments? He is not lacking in education or young and know his stuff.
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I'd be wanting to look a bit deeper, so often having to have bodywork that often can indicate unresolved posture/movement/balance issues. But absolutely, need to get the treatments in the absence of fixing what's underlying.
 
Ouch05 said:
I know the previous owner has spoken to you and she told you that he need regular physio as in every 6 weeks as he has an issue with his back. Have you been keeping up the treatments? He is not lacking in education or young and know his stuff.
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Owner sold a horse with issues with its back to a novice, and worse, to be kept in a place no trainer could come to teach her at? Mmmm.
 
little_critter said:
Oh, it's frustrating. I get it. Mine is still a work in progress, I thought we were doing ok then as we developed it uncovered the flaws in our basic training and I had to go back to basics (yes, just walking circles and yes, it's boring and frustrating and you need endless patience to keep kindly correcting him)
We still haven't 100% fixed it, my boy will always want to fall through the right shoulder when he finds something tricky. But with work he is getting better.
Can you say what area you are in? we might be able to suggest people who are good at this sort of training.
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norfolk, kings lynn
 
Pearlsasinger said:
In that case and as it doesn't happen on other horses, I would get his saddle and other tack checked then have his teeth and back checked. It may be that when he tur s something becomes uncomfortable
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hes had the vet, physio and farrier, hes getting his teeth checked next month. i watched someone else ride him, and he only does it with me
 
Ouch05 said:
I know the previous owner has spoken to you and she told you that he need regular physio as in every 6 weeks as he has an issue with his back. Have you been keeping up the treatments? He is not lacking in education or young and know his stuff.
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yes he had the physio 2 weeks ago
 
axe1312 said:
hes had the vet, physio and farrier, hes getting his teeth checked next month. i watched someone else ride him, and he only does it with me
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If you are absolutely certain that there is nothing wrong with horse/tack, (I wouldn't be any horse that *needs* 6 weekly physio has a problem imo), then you need a good instructor who can see what is happening and explain clearly how to correct it.
 
ycbm said:
Owner sold a horse with issues with its back to a novice, and worse, to be kept in a place no trainer could come to teach her at? Mmmm.
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they didnt even tell us, and worst of all, the saddle they rode him in, was ill fitted, infact not even fitted to him at all. he has a new saddle now, that we got for him asap, but it took 3 weeks. we was never told he needed physio every 6 weeks, out physio said 3 months
 
Pearlsasinger said:
If you are absolutely certain that there is nothing wrong with horse/tack, (I wouldn't be any horse that *needs* 6 weekly physio has a problem imo), then you need a good instructor who can see what is happening and explain clearly how to correct it.
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the physio said he needs it again in 3 months, then hopefully can go to 6 months. no one told me he has to have it every 6 weeks
 
Pearlsasinger said:
If you are absolutely certain that there is nothing wrong with horse/tack, (I wouldn't be any horse that *needs* 6 weekly physio has a problem imo), then you need a good instructor who can see what is happening and explain clearly how to correct it.
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in fact i was actually told 6 months
 
ycbm said:
Owner sold a horse with issues with its back to a novice, and worse, to be kept in a place no trainer could come to teach her at? Mmmm.
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No she didn't sell the horse with back issue to a novice at all. The horse was sold to a knowledgeable owner who was aware and has been passed on since
 
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