Is this some sort of evasion?

[bellaboo]

I have always struggled to find a bit my horse is happy in, but now am using a sprenger dynamic RS and she seems to go really well in it.
I have also struggled to get her off her forehand and not to lean which we are slowly cracking, but the past couple of times i have schooled her, i have managed to get her off her forehand, she's not leaning on my hands at all, in fact she is incredibly light in the hand but is opening her mouth like a baby horse would do to another as a sign of submission.
She isn't pulling on the reins, not leaning, infact i'm quite happy with the way she is going but why does she open her mouth like this? It's only when she is carrying herself, so there isn't any resistance on the contact, i'm confused!!! can anyone enlighten me?

 

[Oldred]

So hard to help when you can't see the whole horse going. I'd be interested to see what the hindquarters, back and legs were doing. What immediately springs to mind is, has the horse learned to just hold itself behind the contact? Does the horse feel too light in that it is not coming through from behind, over its back and you can't 'connect' it all together with the rein? Mouth opening tends to suggest a reason connected with discomfort in the mouth of some degree. Could you try and ride in a bitless bridle just to test this? Can you post a vid?? Might just be a little phase the horse is going through as you are re-balancing and retraining.

PS What a lovely coloured horse in your signature! Any more pics and details? I've got a mare and her daughter that look a bit similar but your horse is stunning. (And its not often I drool over other people's horses!)

 

[bellaboo]

The contact dosen't feel so light that there is nothing there but if i give the contact away she holds herself. When she feels like this she is so easy to bend, change the tempo within the pace and is very responsive to tranisitions which is why i am happy with how she 'feels'. When she's not like this she is a complete baggage, tends to run in the pace and is quite tense through her neck.
She has quite a bad parrot mouth hence why i have had the bitting problems and i hack and jump her in the hackamore, she does feel happier in this but of course you can't enter a dressage test in one!
I will try and get my friend to video me so you can see what's going on.

All three of my horses in my sig are coloureds!!! Although my blue and white is rapidly turning grey

I guess your asking about the piebald, she is a rising 3 dutch warmblood x Friesian, i've had her from 3 months (still with mum) and adore her

 

[jumptoit]

[ QUOTE ]
Mouth opening tends to suggest a reason connected with discomfort in the mouth of some degree. Could you try and ride in a bitless bridle just to test this?

[/ QUOTE ]

Has she had her teeth checked recently, if yes you could try a flash or a grackle not to restrict the movement of the jaw but more to discourage it.

 

[bellaboo]

Her teeth were done near the end of last year so should be ok, i could put a flash or grackle on but would really like to work out why she may be doing this, she dosen't usually open her mouth so she's trying to tell me something, just got to work out what it is!!

 

[Oldred]

So love struck I didn't notice the other coloureds in your siggie! Yes, the piebald. Scrummy. You mention the parrot mouth which of course could be related. I do know that when a horse holds itself in carriage, i.e. the poll is the highest point and there is flexion at this joint, it makes the teeth/jaw sit in a different way. This is obvious if you think about it I suppose and she may not be in discomfort if she can open her mouth to accommodate the alteration to the angle of upper and lower teeth. Not very helpful but an explanation that may warrant further research.

 

[bellaboo]

Thanks you wouldn't think she is scrummy at the moment, looks like she has been dragged through a hedge backwards!

That is the reason i didn't want to clamp her jaw shut as i don't see how she could comfortably move her jaw/teeth when i am asking her to work, was aware she needed to move her jaw, but not that it could be uncomfortable for her! That is a very good point which i will look into further, her teeth aren't as bad at the back but still out of line, thanks alot for that