Introducing travers/controlling the quarters

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BeckyD

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Right, please would someone give me some help? I'm feeling really despondent at the moment, all these posts about novices just making me feel like no way am I capable of bringing on a young horse...

Anyway, back to point in hand. Background: Ronnie's now 5, working nicely in all paces, transitions getting there (except canter-trot still iffy), understands inside leg aids/activating inside hind and can thus do shoulder fore nicely - even down 3/4 line. Well-balanced and rhythmical in all paces. Leg-yield is near-perfect on the whole in all paces providing I ride it correctly and not lazily! Wide turn about the haunches sorted plus half-halts.

I'm trying to introduce basic turn on the forehand and quarters in. Am I doing this too soon? I'm really struggling to manage gates out hacking as we can't seem to communicate "move your d*mn butt" between ourselves. I can get him to do them from the ground, but can't seem to translate to when on board. I've ridden these movements more times than I can count on schoolmasters, and I've even been the first person to ride travers on several horses - BUT, they understood the aid already somehow - so for me it was a case of perfecting it rather than teaching it.

When I try to move my leg back and squeeze and say "over" (which is what I do from the ground) Ronnie goes into confused/nervy mode and suddenly hollows and goes very tense and steps INTO the pressure.

Does this mean I've missed a step somewhere? Is he too young? Am I incapable and should I stand back and ask someone more experienced to teach it to him?

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Please help me solve this one way or the other. At least if I know I shouldn't be doing it (controlling his quarters) yet then I can forget about it for a while.
 
I tried using my stick but still couldn't seem to get it to work. I think he's interpreting that as a "move hind leg forwards" not "move hind leg over". It really is the most basic side of it that we're struggling with. Which is what is so new to me and makes me worry that somewhere I've missed something in his education.
 
When I was teaching my young horse, I used to ride a square with a 1/4 turn on each corner, just half halt, slide your inside leg back and on and he should take a few steps over. Keep the outside rein.
Or ride him on a circle in walk just pushing his 1/4's over like you're on fifty pence piece.

Halfpass was doing this with her 4 yr old yesterday so I'm sure you're not rushing a 5 yr old.

What if you try and do a full turn around the forehand? Sorry if i'm not being much help, it's difficult without seeing him!
 
Thank you I appreciate your help and that it's difficult without seeing us. I started out by trying the 1/4 turn on a square, but can't seem to budge the quarters. He just parks, hollows and then panics by which I mean going tense and lifting any/all feet to see what might help. I'll try again as I had given up on that exercise and had moved onto halting and trying to get him to step away from inside leg into a turn on the forehand, but that didn't work either. I'll go back to the square exercise, as it worked beautifully when teaching turn about the haunches so maybe I need to persevere longer.

The circle and pushing quarters over isn't working either - he either utterly ignores my leg or gets nervous and tense and stuffy. He is normally very willing and tries so hard. It's like this one thing is utterly beyond him!

OK I'm glad to know that I'm not rushing him - I'm a bit paranoid about that... he's so willing that it's easy to ask too much of him - my instructor said that with a horse like him it's a real danger.
 
Not bend, but flexion - I use counter flexion quite often to correct his tendency to fall out through his right shoulder - doing this in all paces to improve shoulder control but particularly canter.

Do you mean full-body bend - yes of course you must do... Hmmm. That may be a good starting place - perhaps if I can banana him the wrong way using inside leg and seat, and outside leg, if I keep on with that outside leg maybe it'll sink in. I've always thought that was the more difficult movement, but I guess if we can't crack the "easy" ones, then maybe that's what it needs.

He can be a bit wrong-headed about things at times - he was so lazy jumping last year and we kept the jumps/grids small and tried to make him pick his feet up, but no joy. In the end out of frustration I put the grids up a few holes and he realised how to jump and use his shoulders, and it's improved his jumping over little fences
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There's more than one way to skin a cat it appears! (if you know what I mean!)

You might have cracked it! Will update after the weekend
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Thank you!
 
Quick update - the counterbend on a circle worked a treat - I started off really exaggerating it so he got the message and then was able to all the normal things with the quarters once he'd realised why my leg was where it was
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Thank you! We even managed some turn about the forehands at the end at the points of a square (I wanted to still keep his front end walking very small circle just to keep the inside hind stepping through and under rather than outside hind making room for it which is his failing when doing groundwork). Will progress to proper turn on the forehand in due course.

Thanks for all your help. This is why HHO is so good, there's usually someone who can help
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