Please help - hanging on to left rein

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sfward

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Can anyone help me with this problem?
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My 5 year old mare seems to spend most of her time hanging on to my left rein, which can make flatwork and especially jumping very difficult. She is the same both ways, but obviously worse to the left as this way all the weight is in my inside hand - and it's a lot of weight too as she's naturally quite on her forehand at the moment and can get strong too. She seems to load all her weight onto her left shoulder, and can't seem to stretch her right side too well. I've had her teeth checked and a McTimoney therapist is coming out to look at her next week which I hope will help with what is clearly a problem with a physical root, but can anyone offer any advice on exercises, things to do or not do when riding her that might help? I've tried using the left rein sharply then letting go, i've tried squeezing it like a sponge, i've tried give and take, opening the rein, lifting my hand, leg yield, spiralling, etc etc all to seemingly no avail!
Any comments/thoughts very welcome - I'm beginning to feel like a useless rider as nothing I do seems to help and I'm starting to feel quite down about it and blame my position, riding - at the moment I'm feeling like i'm making her worse instead of better
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I thought we were getting better not so long ago but now it's all gone rubbish again so I'm feeling a bit depressed about it all..!
thanks guys
 
Now I'm no expert, but whenever I've had this problem, and all has been checked, it seems that the horse is trying to drop you on the other side i.e. doesn't want a contact on your right rein. As there may yet be a problem, and as a general avoidance of arguments, I've usually found that taking a contact of some sort (usually light) in the other rein, and persevering with pushing the horse into it by leg yield, with as little contact in the heavy rein as poss (i.e. almost dropping it) seems to work. It also saves you fighting / putting pressure on anything that might be hurting.
Hope this makes sense
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good luck
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oh i hate this - mine went through this and i must say i just had to perservere with what your doing above !!!

It will come right - what about getting someone else on her more experienced and seeing if they have the same problem x
 
Hi there, don't be depressed about it, remember your mare is only 5, she's only a baby. Don't feel useless you've put a note up here looking for help, so you're a thinking rider. My advice would be to think leg not hand, she needs to get off her inside shoulder and take more weight on her inside hind leg, your inside leg will get her to do that. So when you feel her lean on your inside hand, give it away to her - completely for the moment, and use lots and lots of inside leg to a firm outside hand. Once she begins to take her weight into your outside hand and supporting outside leg you can begin to take a feel on the inside leg. But remember she can only lean or pull on what you give her to lean or pull on. While in halt you can flex her to get her to give through her jaw but for walk and trot for the moment, think leg leg leg and little inside rein. Because you say she is on her forehand I would suggest lots and lots of trans, all sorts. Walk/trot/walk, trot/halt/trot/. How is she with lateral work, turn on the forehand and leg yield? Does she rein back? Try to work on lateral work, trans and rein back and not focus on the leaning left (or right) hand. As I say she can't lean unless you allow her to lean. Good luck
 
Hi donadea, my 4 year old was doing exactly this but for some bizarre reason has stopped.... she hasn't got a mouth issue that side has she - even a little rub or something? I am sure you will have checked it out though. Mine went through a stage of either leaning on the left rein or being on his forehand. Just a balance issue for him methinks. Lots of turn on the forehand helped mine. I am sure it will pass, you seem to be doing everything right.
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Ive found that if horses are going to lean its usually on the left rein. My mare tries to do it because she isnt though into her outside rein enough. Really think about riding inside leg to outside hand. Ive had loads of problems with my mare on the left rein, I altered my position slightly and kept my right shoulder back as it was too far forward, by doing this I had more of a contact with my outside rein and she has been so much better. Just the tiniest change in my position has had such a big effect.
 
Thanks guys! Everything you've all said makes sense, thanks for the advice. I think where I get stuck is that whenever I try and let go of the left rein she sort of dives to the outside - so while jumping and attempting to steer round a dressage arena I feel I have little choice but to hang on to steer, which of course is what she wants! Vicious circle, grr...! I had this with my last horse in the other direction, it feels so horrendous when you let go that it's easier just to keep the contact...
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The position thing is very interesting, my trainer has mentioned that to me in the past, will have to try and concentrate on putting that into practice a bit more often. She does to rein back (probably too well - ended up with rein back by accident in last halt at dressage last week!), also her lateral work is not too bad, better in walk as she does actually let go of the inside rein then, so will keep working on that too.
I've got a dressage lesson next week so hopefully that will help as well.
thanks again xx
 
PS. I feel much better knowing that at least I'm doing vaguely the right thing!!! I too have a rather overdeveloped left arm lol!
 
give matey --- stop riding as you write

meaning most poeple are right handed and becuase of that a re stronger on the right
so give give give on the right that means you give not the horse
and then it will stop advading you
 
Hi my horse was really left handed and everyone kept saying don't take a hold on that rein - which is really easy to say but a nightmare when the rails of the arena are coming up fast and you are not turning left because your not allowed to touch it! They are all right - keep a light contact on the left and never hang on and keep trying to get the weight into the right rein, I acheived this in walk just doing lots of sprialling and leg yeilding plenty of halts, turns on the forehand are really good - it did take a long time (probably 12 months! sorry) but now he definately takes an even weight in both reins. - Good luck - my you I'm only an average rider so probably would have taken a decent one less than a week to sort out!!
 
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