Please help! Need advice on transitions

C

chestnut cob

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Please help as I'm getting to the end of my tether! Still not sure who told me it was a good idea to get a mare!
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Horse works quite nicely most of the time now. Walk needs a bit more impulsion but it's better than a month ago, when she was just shuffling along. 95% of the time she's nice off the leg (again, that's really improved). Responsive to the seat generally. 100% in all upwards transitions, nice basic lateral work. Trot work is forward and in a nice enough outline, needs to shorten up but she's relaxed and swinging along. Canter is probably the best pace, does lovely walk to canter, leg yield in canter, bit of counter canter, pretty soft and round (again a bit flat but it's getting better and she's picking up).

So.....we're having trouble with downward transistions. When I first got her it could take half a 20m circle in walk to stop. Now have responsive transistions in walk and she stops when asked, but is hollow. Regardless of what I do and how I ride, she hollows as soon as asked to stop. Downward trot transistions are pretty awful - as soon as I ask her to stop, she throws her head up, hollows, grabs the bit and it can take a quarter to a half a 20m circle to get her to even walk, let alone a direct transistion. She wants to run off but I can't work out why. Been doing some work on transistion within the pace - working trot to medium is fine as she's happy to extend...she just doesn't want to come back to working! She will collect up reasonably well down from working trot, but again wants to hollow.

Final point...in canter, she will canter along all day in a nice, bouncy canter. I could spend hours leg yielding in and out and she loves it, but she does not want to stop! When asked to stop she doesn't do anything I would say was naughty per se (so no running off, bucking, rearing etc), she just refuses to listen to stop signals! Slowly starts to lean on the bit, gets heavy and just ignores me.

So I need help!!! I don't know what to do about it. HAve a lesson on friday but some other ideas would be good too please. She hates her mouth being touched - she is fine with me just playing gently to soften her, but can't use hand at all in anyway in downward transistions.

Any suggestions?
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Hi!
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It sounds to me like she's worried about something -maybe someone has previously ridden her quite harsh - pulling on the reins to stop - so she's hollowing in anticipation of this - and bouncing on her back would cause this reaction too - if someone's previously ridden like this then it can cause a lot of worry for the horse - So... my idea would be to try to ride her off your seat as much as possible teaching her to halt without using the reins... and the best way IMHO to do this is to use a peice of baler twine or an old rein, and tie it around her neck - use this in downward transitions and NOT your reins - she'll soon learn what you want and won't hollow - it's amazing how they stop from this rein - Sounds like a cheat - maybe it is - but I'm all for showing the horse what you want without it hurting/scaring etc - Once she's confident you can start to introduce the reins/bit again!
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Good luck!
Kate x
ETS - Don't forget you need lots of leg on to keep the hind legs engaged for the downward transitions so that she won't hollow when the throws her hind legs out behind - keep everything underneath her!
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Thanks Kate. That's what I've been trying to do and we're 95% of the way there in walk (as in walk to halt) and she will usually now stop without the reins at all. It's just very difficult in trot when she reacts the way she does. We're getting there with the canter but trot is her worst pace and the one that always goes when she gets silly.

I do need to get to the bottom of it. I don't want to go down the route of putting a flash on or changing the bit (did change her into a hanging cheek snaffle half way through tonight I as got so frustrated with having no brakes but it didn't help!) as I think that's just going to mask the symptoms rather than get to the bottom of it.

Also doesn't help that when there's a gelding in the school, all she can think about it sex
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ETA - I agree about using leg and seat, but she really does just ignore it in the downwards transistions.
 
Do you prepare her for the transition by half halting first? Baron used to do this quite a bit so I practiced using my seat more. I went roung on a long rein and tried using my seat to ask him to go into a downward transition, when my seat improved I found I did not need to use the rein as much and it really helped us both. Also make sure you keep your leg on when asking them to go down, if I take it off Baron for a second he raises his head slightly, maily when doing a halt transition.
 
Get yourself an old rein round her neck! She'll stop - they all do - and they tend to lift their shoulders with this too!
It's very frustrating isn't it - she's not on her forehand is she? It's not a case of she loses her balance and wants to go faster as opposed to slowing down? It's a lot harder for a horse to execute downward transitions in a balanced and engaged manner and they tend to use every trick in the book to avoid doing it! LOL!
Ohhhh mares
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hehe!
Kate x
 
Yep, doing all of that.

If I asked for say leg yield, she would do it. If I asked for an upward transistion (either in the pace, or into canter) she will do it every time, instantly. I don't just ride endless circles, I do lots of transistions, changes of rein etc to keep her attention focused, so it's not a case of random transitions coming out of the blue. She is listening out for them and she does react...she just react how I would like her to! She reacts by hollowing against me and switching off.
 
I am never ever having another mare! I want a nice boring gelding next time again
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She's not as up in front as I would like but she is getting better. She's certainly not ploughing along from the front and pulling herself along; she is active behind, she's starting to work properly over her back.
 
Sounds like what the instructor is working on with Oliver on the long reins.

He's come on no end in just 8 half hour sessions.
 
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