I'm blonde again and it seems to have affected my brain - help?!

[Hovis_and_SidsMum]

I had my highlights touched up on fri and it seems to have affected my brain cells!
I always have issues with getting hovis on the correct canter lead on the right rein (left rein we're fine) so can anyone give me some tips?
Now for the dumb bit - which leg should most of my weight be through when i ask him and which way should i slightly flex his head? Two people have told me two different things today and I am completely confused!

One other question - how do you make a horse less strong when you don't think he is that strong? A friend jumped on hovis for me this morning to try to help with my canter problems (shes very expereinced) and after 5 mins was blowing like an out of puff steam train and telling me how strong Hovis is! The thing is because i only ever ride him i don't feel it. Since we've put him in the pelham i think he's much better - her response - "lord knows how you held him in a snaffle"!
She tells me he's not leaning onto the outside rein when we corner so he's diving in through his inside shoulder and pulling hard. His trot apprently is ok but he's pulling really hard in canter. I know he's unbalanced in canter still so can be stronger then as he uses his neck to stablise himself? I'm also apparnelty giving him the rein in canter so he's diving through my hands. I spent this morning working on keeping contact with the outside rein. Is this right and any other tips?
So how do i get him to be less strong?

 

[Paint it Lucky]

With the canter lead thing, I would want him bent slightly to the left around my inside leg (wont work if he's not round inside leg) and working into the outiside hand (shouldn't need to pull left rein to get him to bend left but will probably need to initially until he gets balanced, this will come with time). Also think of asking him for travers, which is haunches in slightly with slight inside flexion at the same time. Practise this in walk first so he understands what you mean, then try it in trot and think of asking for it as you are setting him up to canter.

You are right to that you need a contact in your outside rein, you should think of riding from inside leg to outside rein, especially round corners, this helps the horse balance better by making him have to carry himself more rather than just leaning on you. It takes a lot of work but he will get better. Also transitions are always usefull to stop him being so strong as he will have to back off and listen to you. Try doing some indirect transitions- trot to halt, halt to trot, walk to canter, canter to walk, aswell as transitions within the paces- working trot to medium then back to working and then try a bit of collected etc. There are lots of things you can try. Mainly try to make your schooling sessions very varied with lots going on, avoid the temptation of just riding round in circles. Try some things you find a bit harder and find things to work on. Also to help balance his canter try some polework and do lots of circles of varying sizes (though only as small as he can currently cope with). Hope this helps

 

[Natch]

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I always have issues with getting hovis on the correct canter lead on the right rein (left rein we're fine) so can anyone give me some tips?

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Frankie and I have the same issue, and I'm fresh from horse camp so here goes with what the HC instructor told me (and worked amazingly brilliantly on F):

Frankie leans onto his inside front leg, and so can't get enough lift to get a decent canter transition. Things that have worked in the past:

Popping a small jump in the corner, from trot to land in canter.

or a pole, same thing

Really work at getting him off the inside leg by moving away from your inside leg - lots of leg yields & walk pirrouettes to get him onto his hocks and off his forehand.

You need a decent trot before you attempt the canter transition. And several people now have told me to place your outside leg behind the girth but use your inside leg to ask for the transition - getting him to lift off that insie leg again.

The thing that (almost) always works for Frankie if he is consistently giving me the wrong lead is to do a figure of 8, canter the short end and diagonal on the easy rein, down to trot and straight off in the next corner on the other rein. This change of rein was the thing that made it get through his head, I think

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Now for the dumb bit - which leg should most of my weight be through when i ask him and which way should i slightly flex his head? Two people have told me two different things today and I am completely confused!

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Head flexes to the inside, you are aiming for a true flex through from head to tail, so watch out for him putting his head one way but shoulders or bum the other but as for most of your weight being on either leg - pass, I've always been told to sit centrally.

One other thing about the bend - its a slight one, not too much or you risk his energy going out the outside shoulder!
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One other question - how do you make a horse less strong when you don't think he is that strong? A friend jumped on hovis for me this morning to try to help with my canter problems (shes very expereinced) and after 5 mins was blowing like an out of puff steam train and telling me how strong Hovis is! The thing is because i only ever ride him i don't feel it. Since we've put him in the pelham i think he's much better - her response - "lord knows how you held him in a snaffle"!

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Are you sure friend is right as opposed to you? Answer to your question would be have some lessons I'm afraid - It sounds similar to Frankie, who was strong when on the forehand and is lovely and light when in self carriage - could it be possible that she doesn't ride him like this and you do?

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She tells me he's not leaning onto the outside rein when we corner so he's diving in through his inside shoulder and pulling hard. His trot apprently is ok but he's pulling really hard in canter. I know he's unbalanced in canter still so can be stronger then as he uses his neck to stablise himself? I'm also apparnelty giving him the rein in canter so he's diving through my hands. I spent this morning working on keeping contact with the outside rein. Is this right and any other tips?
So how do i get him to be less strong?

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I'd say lessons again for this - if its any consolation, Frank is/was exactly like this and we had to go through a stage of worse before it got better!

Good luck with it all!