Ideas for schooling exercises to get horse sharp off the leg please?

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lyndsayberesford

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As per title, need ideas to get my horse sharp off the leg. Thought we had managed to crack his backwardness but Saturday at Kingswood was a disaster from warm up and in the ring!

Not listening at all to my leg, completely dead to some of the jumps.

I dont think it is energy related at all as in an open field / farm ride he is almost too sharp to the leg!

Its all resistance with him, and then as soon as he has one kick he virtually switches off to my leg completely!

At wits end with him as he is fit (nice weight now having been quite overweight before), walks out well on hacks, as i say on a farm ride / open field he goes when i ask him to, but in an arena (show or schooling environment at home) he just goes dead! Shame as he is quite capable of jumping clear round a british novice by jumping every jump (including 2 doubles) from a standstill!

Please help!!!!
 
The key to this is consistency, and a million transitions, both between paces and within the pace. It will take time but you will get there. Don't keep nagging with your leg, but when you do use it, make sure you get a reaction. Back up with a schooling whip if need be, and when he does go, lots of praise and repeat. It takes time but is well worth it. Good luck!
 
Yep schooling whip when i can (obviously not in comp's)

Use the roller ball spurs when in comps and for working on the flat at home too.

Just to add, back is fine, teeth are fine (both checked regularly), saddle recently fitted.

He used to resist forward requests by bucking, which seems to have stopped (timed with stopping the energy rich feeds as they seemed to give him more energy to resist rather than energy to go forward - nutrition course helped me understand)
 
scheherazade said:
The key to this is consistency, and a million transitions, both between paces and within the pace. It will take time but you will get there. Don't keep nagging with your leg, but when you do use it, make sure you get a reaction. Back up with a schooling whip if need be, and when he does go, lots of praise and repeat. It takes time but is well worth it. Good luck!
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Yes this is advice been given, which once i find motivation to ride him again will do!

The arena we ride in is huge, so no shortage of space to do lots of transitions. Such a hard habit of mine to get rid of kicking/nagging all the time as soon as my leg is off he is backwards, but then constant kicking/nagging is also not working!

He does enough variety of tasks also, schooling, jumping, hacking, farm rides, ride in open field, shows, lunging etc
 
I know this might not be suitable for all horses but when my boy became totally dead to the leg and was ignoring a flick with the whip, my instructor told me to just give him 2 sharp hard hits behind my leg. Boy did it wake him up and he has so much more respect for leg and stick now! It may seem harsh but personally I would rather do that on the odd occasion than just nag nag nag with my leg and tickle with my stick. (He didn't half buck though when I did it!)
 
Love said:
I know this might not be suitable for all horses but when my boy became totally dead to the leg and was ignoring a flick with the whip, my instructor told me to just give him 2 sharp hard hits behind my leg. Boy did it wake him up and he has so much more respect for leg and stick now! It may seem harsh but personally I would rather do that on the odd occasion than just nag nag nag with my leg and tickle with my stick. (He didn't half buck though when I did it!)
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Yes me too! it must be quite painful/irritating to have a leg each side constantly kicking at your ribs!

I will persevere! Just lost motivation as felt like we had taken a couple of steps forward and was getting there and this weekend just went a million paces backwards again (back to how he was 12 months ago before his injury)
 
I know exactly how you feel though and it can be so frustrating! I'm sure you'll get there don't worry! It was like flicking a switch with mine. Once you find the button to press you won't look back! Good luck!
 
Love said:
I know exactly how you feel though and it can be so frustrating! I'm sure you'll get there don't worry! It was like flicking a switch with mine. Once you find the button to press you won't look back! Good luck!
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Hope so! He is such a talented horse (for what i want to do) and so genuine and a trier! But makes life so hard for himself!

Love said:
Forgot to say, mine was exactly the same - totally forward and sharp off the leg out hacking but total donkey in the school!
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Dont think it helps that neither of us enjoy schooling! He prob hates me nagging and i hate that i nag! makes it an unenjoyable experience for us both!
 
I have an arab that can ignore leg aids when he feels like it, he can also be quite spooky and silly which does not always make sense i think its concentration with some horses it is with him anyway he is worse at a show this is what makes me think its concentration, I get him to concentrate by doing lots of walk to trot then leg yeild i then do trot to canter transitions loads of them i find this helps to get him listening to me rather than looking at what is going on.

I do back up the leg with a schooling whip and find sometimes one fairly big tap is all i need rather than lots of small taps.
 
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Same! Mine can be spooky and switch on "sharpness" when he needs to! i.e. saturday spooking at banners around the arena, which nearly ended up with me over his head before the start timers of the class we were in!

I dont mind spooky and sharp if we had forward 99% of the time too!
 
lyndsayberesford said:
Yep schooling whip when i can (obviously not in comp's)

Use the roller ball spurs when in comps and for working on the flat at home too.

Just to add, back is fine, teeth are fine (both checked regularly), saddle recently fitted.

He used to resist forward requests by bucking, which seems to have stopped (timed with stopping the energy rich feeds as they seemed to give him more energy to resist rather than energy to go forward - nutrition course helped me understand)
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Yes, i've got one of those too! So frustrating. Adding to the suggestions you already have which are excellent, my boy stops moving through the back in canter, if I keep my weight forward and my seat light, he'll work through it and then his canter is lovely, balanced and forward, if I sit down into him, he'll hump and then drop back to trot. (nothing wrong with his back, it's a learned evasion) He will also tighten his neck to stop forwardness, I've gradually got him to let go but still have to ask him to work long and low (but still with shoulders up) when we warm up to encourage him to soften at the poll. As soon as he's given, you can feel the rush of energy coming through from behind. When i first took this horse on I tried using the whip and lots of leg to get him forward but frankly he just switched off to both but transitions between and in the gaits did work to some extent but it was unlocking his resistance in the neck and back which has really turned him into a different horse. Before anyone rushes in to say he was tightening because of pain etc, on a hack i could do anything with him, it was only in the school that he stopped up. He's an advanced dressage schoolmaster and frankly I didn't ride as well as his previous owner and I think initially I got him confused and we went down hill from there! Sorrry if this is a bit of an essay but i got so depressed in the first year with this horse, I nearly sold him but he has taught me so much, I just needed to be a lot more analytical about why things were going wrong and in particular, look at my own riding. I also got help from an excellent trainer who had a good eye.
 
that makes sense.

Mine used to be very tight in his neck, overbending and hiding behind the bridle. He has been taught over the past 6 months to work and lengthen his neck, which is a big improvement.

I try to canter in a lightened seat in the arena but it just doesnt work the same as it does in an open field for me. I think this is my issue but because he doesnt feel "forward" it feels harder to lighten my seat

I have a terrible habit also of throwing the contact at him to get him forward which i know does not help! Its almost an instinct as legs fail to make him go forward!

Have been working on getting him just to walk straight! Sounds basic but even from halt to walk he manages to evade and not walk in a straight line! Lots of transitions from halt to walk and back again just to engage him to walk straight!
 
yep could try that although he is bone idle to lunge so not sure the lunge whip will do much for ridden work but worth a try!

gonna watch some carl hester vids tonight! as my attempts at "forward" are rushed
 
Transitions, transitions, transitions. Using minimal 'pressure' each time you can eventually reduce it to the point where you are brushing over the hairs to get a reaction.
 
OK great plans!

So on average on a 7 yr old horse, if he is worked 6 times a week, what sort of plan would you have with him for working. I dont want to school him too often but often enough to get it into his pea sized brain that leg means forward. i only jump him once a week/fortnight.
 
lyndsayberesford said:
OK great plans!

So on average on a 7 yr old horse, if he is worked 6 times a week, what sort of plan would you have with him for working. I dont want to school him too often but often enough to get it into his pea sized brain that leg means forward. i only jump him once a week/fortnight.
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Good question. I have a 7yr old who I've been hacking out lots to build up muscle and fitness as he was a scawny under weight thing two months ago when I got him who couldnt hold an outline for more than a few moments. He stuggles to understand whats being ask of him in the couple of schooling sessions we have had and has the attention span of a nat!! :rolleyes:
He is ridden pretty much every day like yours but I am very aware that I need to be getting in the school to jazz things up a bit but not sure how many times a week or for how long? :confused:
 
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