Jogging

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bex1984

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Pony-monster has decided he likes going FAST! For the past few months he has been full of beans, has started to love jumping and and has the most fun charging round the school at 90mph leaping over thepole i put in the corner to get him cantering on the correct leg!

Now, I'll admit I find this all great fun. And i like going fast, so it is probably my fault.

Murphy now has no interest whatsoever in walking round the school (he's fine on hacks, we go at the back, he walks along fine). He'll be OK when I first go in there, but as soon as we trot/canter, that's all he wants to do.

If I ask for walk, he walks for about two strides, then engages tanking off muscle, and starts jogging. i can get him to come back to walk (just about), and then two strides later he's back to jogging again
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Any tips for how to slow the little monster down?! (without spending hours walking round the school, because I have to ride in there a lot and we'd both die of boredom)...

Thanksies
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This is the only way-"Any tips for how to slow the little monster down?! (without spending hours walking round the school, because I have to ride in there a lot and we'd both die of boredom)..."

Cos every time u pick him up and fight him he is taking the mick. Hours doesnt work just pesist until he'll walk on a long rein with praise, how about practising after you have worked him hard?
 
Practice practice practice,
Yes its boring but do it gradul and keep on at it. Soon as he jogs tho just go soft and loosen the reins. even marginal contact then drop really slow build up
 
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he will walk on a very long rein (e.g, cooling off at the end) but as soon as I pick up any sort of contact on the reins he thinks ooo fast, and jogs.

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Have you hit the nail on the head there bex? He's anicipating you're going to get after him and make him go fast, I'm guessing you don't do much walking with a contact - normally just pick up the reins and 'off we go...'?

You just need to get him used to it - once you've got him walking, when you are asking him to walk a bit faster, make sure you allow him to stretch his neck, but if he trys to jog, correct him with your outside rein, then let him stretch again (stretch into the contact, don't drop it).

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Little devil
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Don't know if this is the right advice, but I had a lesson the other week and the horse I was riding was in fast mode, so we did some trotting over poles and this soon slowed her down. I might be talking crap here, someone tell me if I am lol.
 
last time we did trotting poles he jumped two at once! He thinks they mean jumping (or at least cantering). would probably work on a normal horse...just not my daft pony!!

jumpthemoon - you may be right, remember how much trouble I used to have even getting him in to canter?! I guess to get past that I over exagerated the aids, including shortening my reins.

how do I encourage him to stretch in to the contact (and disengage that tanking off muscle!)? I seem to have no contact, or strongish contact, and nothing in between...
 
One word....RELAX!!! lol!

Think of relaxing your arms and the reins feeling like elastic bands, gently following the bit, but with a consistant contact. Try offering the reins to him slightly and putting your leg on (God only knows if it will work on Murphy - he seems to have his own idea of aids lol!). It's not very easy with him!

Just try to remember that if you are walking and you want him to walk faster, and you have too tight a contact, he will think you want to move up a pace as opposed to just speeding up a bit, so you have to relax your contact and let him go forward.
 
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(God only knows if it will work on Murphy - he seems to have his own idea of aids lol!). It's not very easy with him!


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PMSL, I think you summed him up quite well there!!
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I will try and relax my arms..but if we go disapearing off at 90mph it's your fault
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I totally agree with those who said to practise, practise, and practise some more! One horse I ride has taken to jogging and tanking off with her owner, who as a novice doesn't know how to cope or what she's doing wrong. While attmepting to persuade said owner to take lessons as if she doesn't improve the horse can't, I've also taken on the task of doing all the practising with her. Admittedly she is FAR too much fun and sometimes I get too tempted and have to go out for a blast, but 100% of the time we go at MY speed (and then when we go for a blast we're still going at my speed but it happens to be Kit's as well!). If she jogs, I block her with my seat and try not to use too much contact. If she trots off, I get her to halt. Only yesterday we had a breakthrough with our halting - I could canter up a field, walk back down, turn around and stop without fidgeting. We also did some reverse psychology - Kit is very unfit so I had her cantering for longer than she would like. She soon stopped tanking as she knew it would turn out to be hard work, and by the fourth time up the field she went very nicely as far and as fast as I wanted. On the way home we again practised our walk, halting every time she trotted off.
Repetition is the key, and yes you will get very bored but it WILL be worth it in the end!!
 
When you have him walking on a long rein, take up a contact very gradually, a little bit at a time, instead of gathering the reins up very quickly so he goes from no contact to a strong contact. Also try to remember to allow with your hands in the walk. Horses naturally move their heads more in walk (and canter) than in trot so you have to be free in your elbow and allow your hands to follow the movement. If you restrict or block this movement too much they can become resistant and will jog as they can't walk forward. Another thing to try is lots of small circles and shapes in walk and introducing some lateral work. This will get him listening to you and also make it a bit more interesting than just plodding around the arena!
 
It sounds to me like every time you want to pick up the pace you shorten your reins first. He then assumes that when you do shorten your reins you are about to ask him to move up a gear. When I think back (many years ago) when I learned to ride I remember the instructors shouting 'shorten your reins' before you went from walk to trot or trot to canter.
I guess you need to work on consistency in the contact. Now, I saw a girl using these odd reins at a show once. They have loops in them and are designed to take tension out of your arms and keep an even contact. They are made by Ernest Dillon. I asked her why she used them and it was a similar reason to what you have said!! She said they really helped. Another thing you can do is practice lengthening and shortening the reins untill he doesn't associate it with a pace change.
 
I think you're all right. I do shorten my reins before going in to canter, mainly because it was the only way I could get him into canter - but he is a lot less lazy these days
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And I probably tense up too and hang on to him a bit. He used to tank off in the school quite a bit but really doesn't do that any more, but I guess I tense up in case he does.

suzysparkle - are these the reins? I googles and that's what I found! They look interesting, but expensive!!
 
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