one sided horse? any tips please?

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el_Snowflakes

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Hi guys,

my mare is fairly one sided. If for instance i am walking a straight line and drop the reins her natural tendancy is to look out to the left side. She is stiff as a brick on the right rein and does not like to bend and when i ride her on the left rein she drops her shoulder out to the right and her nose comes into the inside of the circle far too much. I am having regular lessons with a fab instructor and we are slowly getting better at doing circles etc. but i would like to hear from anyone who has experience of this. I have noticed also that when im riding my right rein is much shorter than the left just to keep her straight but of course i dont want to hang onto the right rein as im only making this side of her neck stronger! at the minute im doing carrot stretches on both sides but doing an extra set asking her to stretch to the right. Any helpful suggestions??

ps. all tack is fitted and she has everything regularly checked and no probs (teeth, back etc)
 
Practical tips;

continental reins or marking your reins with tape.

Having a session with a Mctimoney practitioner to check your own one sidedness.

Getting someone to video you riding to see if you are leaning.
 
^^^ All of the above!

My horse lets me know when I'm due a visit to the osteopath, I find him difficult to keep straight and out on a circle, my oesteo releases the tension from my shoulder and lower back and things go back to normal.
 
Carrot stretches are helpful as is plenty of long stretchy warming up but most useful is to realise that it is her left side that is stiff as in not wanting to release and stretch rather than her right side, it just shows as stiffness on the right rein iyswim.

I find working on the better, in your case left rein, and asking for counter flexion more help than work on the difficult rein asking for bend, the better the counter flexion becomes the straighter the horse will be.
 
I had the same problem with my boy. Turns out I was slightly dropping my outside rein and so losing the left contact on a bend, and I wasn't using my outside leg enough to get the longer side of the horse moving around a circle. I had no idea I was dropping the contact and only one instructor noticed it, such a slight thing but within an hours lesson it was fixed!
And ditto the counter flexion exercise.
Good luck.
 
first thought would be back
but you say this has been checked

also, once back has been sorted, it can take a good while for horse to 'realise' they can now use both sides

but i agree TOTALLY with continental reins
and aim to learn to feel the tabs/gaps through your finger contact
so you don't have to keep checking visually
(a bit like feeling a canter lead or rising diagonal)

and keep rein lengths equal
but OPEN relevant (opposite to problem) rein to level the horse
as opposed to shortening a rein
(then back to normal instantly the horse responds)

also agree if problem is 'in front of withers' with flexing exercise,
3 strides one way, 3 strides straight, 3 sides the other way,
horse's body STRAIGHT throughout, this is flexion not bend

personally use shoulder fore a lot (a milder form of shoulder in) on long diagonals with change of bend over X
this gives constant feedback as to whether both 'sides' are equal (or getting more equal)
 
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