i wish i could take it all back! help with schooling pls

jenbleep

jenbleep

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evening all

k well i was schooling tonight and the horse i ride (Frankie) was quite tense, he had his head in the air looking around at stuff and the other horse in the school, while his trot was getting faster and faster. i slowed my rising, lowered my hands slightly and sometimes he did relax, but not a lot. i got more and more cross with him, i don't normally but he goes so well in my lessons and only a bit when im on my own! i feel bad because i got mad with him and pulled his mouth a little bit, i know i shouldn't have and i feel really bad now! the last thing i want is for him to have an upside down neck and a hard mouth. what can i do to to make him stretch his neck down, and gain a decent rhythm rather then getting him to go faster.

what exercises can i do, and what about my position? i have been working on it on my lessons so maybe im thinking about it too much? Frankie is quite green and 8 years old. he's not naughty, i just think i'm giving him conflicting signals and it makes me feel bad to think that i'm confusing him! sorry it's long, thanks in advance xxxx
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My daughter is having similar problems when riding my horse, she's having half hour lessons twice a week and then riding him for 10 minutes or so on his own.

My horse did the same as Frankie does, he stuck his head up and rushes. She now spends quite a while in walk with a long rein at the beginning and end, and they both relax. When he's rushing at trot she's to circle, and do tear drop shapes at the long end of the school with leg yeild back to the track. When he's relaxed and not rushing they walk again. They are just taking it slowly. Hope this helps.
 
I forgot to say she's also to talk to him loads and pat his neck to reward him and let him know he's doing the right thing when he relaxes.

She's only been riding him for about 6 weeks now and is desperate to jump but that's not going to happen until they are both calm and going well on the flat. With her and Syd it is taking time, but there is no rush so I'm very happy with how they are doing.
 
I used to ride a very tense horse. Did plenty of walking and trotting over poles to make him lower his head and stretch. This also varied his work so he kept more interested as he enjoyed it aswell. I did lots of circles etc. so he didn't get bored and had to concentrate on what i was asking him to do and stop him being nosey and lots of long rein work.
 
do you think the more i pull on his reins the more tense he will be be? it's just hard for me to relax when he's getting faster and faster! i know i have to though xxx
 
Some things to try are when he goes soft in trot keep it for a few strides (literally 2 or 3) and then walk, this will make him relax into being soft and without him realising he will automatically slow down and become more relaxed. Also as bess said the leg yield is good ( as long as it doesnt make you get tense). Try lots of walk trot transitions, 3 steps walk 3 steps trot etc.
It will take time so you really must be prepared to wait until the penny drops with him!
 
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Some things to try are when he goes soft in trot keep it for a few strides (literally 2 or 3) and then walk, this will make him relax into being soft and without him realising he will automatically slow down and become more relaxed. Also as bess said the leg yield is good ( as long as it doesnt make you get tense). Try lots of walk trot transitions, 3 steps walk 3 steps trot etc.
It will take time so you really must be prepared to wait until the penny drops with him!

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Yes that's absolutely what they are doing, the leg yield part is to make him accept her leg without rushing, and as they are then going back to the track it seems to work.

Jen, reins don't work when he's gone into 'giraffe' mode, it makes it all worse. She pulls on the reins, he sticks his head up and rushes, daughter is then frightened and that transmits to him. Its been very interesting watching from the ground.

Lots of things to keep the horse interested but not rushing have worked best, some poles on the ground, lots of circles, serpentines and the tear drop things I mentioned. No pulling on the reins, just talking 'steady' or 'woah', etc. to let him know what you want. And lots of praise and pats when he does what you want, even if its a calm walk on a long rein. Its taking time but we can see a lot of progress, hope you will too.
 
i find that plenty of lunging helps, it builds a bond witht he horse and gets them responding to the voice as an aid so when you're onboard you have an extra help. Using the pessoa system is fab it really helps with the outline and the horse can't fight against it as they only fight themselves on the low setting it teaches a low carriage and really builds the top line so they become much more able to carry themselves
 
thanks for all your advice. i know what im suppose to do - and thats not to pull on the reins! i dont like doing it! i know it takes time i just have to keep telling myself that xxx
 
sounds like mine - I get cross too sometimes, it is hard not to I think cos you get so frustrated thinking 'if you would only be nice we wouldn't have to fight all the time' - so I know how you feel

With mine I spent a long time just trotting 20m circles in over and over in a slooooooow trot rhythm until she settled down - it could take an hour at first but now takes just a minute or two. Also try to hold the reins really lightly so you can't tense your fingers and hang onto the front end. If you need to slow down with the rein, move the rein from you bicep and elbow rather than wrist and forearm so there is no resistence for the horse to lean on and argue with.

Just a few things that helped me - good luck and stay calm!!
 
The first thing I picked up from your post is that the horse was tense and you were getting cross with him. It is a very easy thing to do, but one will make the other worse! The crosser you get the more tense Frankie will be which will make you crosser! (I know...I have been there many an occassion!!)

Relax, take time to concentrate on your breathing and try not to try too hard! Slowing your rising is an excellent thing to do to slow the trot without hanging on to his mouth - which will only make the problem worse! Lowering you hands and moving them further apart is a good trick.

Try lots of transitions and circles, changes of rein etc etc to give the horse something to focus on (rather then the other horse!) Also, if you ignore the other horse in the school and really focus on what you are doing you may find that Frankie will concentrate more too.

As others have suggested leg yielding is an excellent schooling movement to perform. Just don't get too hung up on it and over ride it.

Good luck!
 
My little bit of wisdom is to work on the walk and getting a longer stride, that way he can go slower but still cover the same amount of ground. To slow the walk, make sure your upper body posture is correct and you are stretching up through your rib cage, slow the movement of your hips as the horse walks and then take your upper body back slowly behind the verticle and that should allow him to slow down, once you've mastered it in walk you can practise it in sitting trot. If the horse is ignoring you, a sharp movement of your upper body way back and then back to verticle again very quickly should allow him to feel your weight movement and respond. This way you are using your body weight and not your hands so although your hands will follow your upper body you are not jabbing in the mouth. You can practise different speeds of walk almost to halt by slowing your hips and eventually he will start to get the message within a few sessions.

Hope that makes sense, have a go and let me know if it works - hope it does!
 
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