long and low any suggestions?

[missmills]

Hi, I'm bringing my horse back into work after 6 months box rest, we are currently upto 45 mins walking out hacking I'm trying to encourage her to be long and low to get her stretching however she's so full of energy and very spooky so finding it difficult to keep her relaxed. I'm only managing 2/3 rides a week at the minute due to having 2 jobs, weather and daylight but will be able to start riding after work soon �� now the nights are drawing out. I have no arena its just awful at the minute so hacking is my only option. I will be starting lessons again once I've paid all the vet bills off. So any tips for the time being would be great

Thankyou x

 

[Cortez]

Can you trot at all? If she's full of energy the last thing she'll be thinking of is relaxing and stretching, burn off the energy and then ask for her attention.

 

[missmills]

No don't want to start trotting yet she is so unfit and has lost all her mucsle, and abit worried I could cause injury by rushing. We will just have to stick with it for now maybe introduce trot in a few more weeks.

 

[nato]

Introducing long and low is very hard to do without a focused horse that has warmed up the muscles,it's actually quite a difficult thing to do if a horse is not accustomed to it.

You need a soft, relaxed horse, so I typically work my horse in, get them warmed up and focus, work off excess energy and then ask for the stretch.

Longitudinal stretch (over the back) is hard to achieve from the get go, so start with lateral stretch by flexing out and down, and encouraging bend through the body - then ride forward and straight into that bend and you should achieve better longitudinal stretch. This may only happen for a few steps.

If you're hacking then use lots of hillwork to encourage the stretch.

 

[missmills]

Thankyou, so not so easy to achieve at our stage then, I'm in no rush so will try your suggestions if I get one or two steps to start with I will happy with that