Pony seems to be over bending..?

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Ahrena

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Okay well basically tonight towards the end of my schooling session, Lacey felt like she was overbending a bit very now and again. Not certain as no one was watching but she certainly felt like she was. When I got her about 15 months ago, it felt and looks like she just had her strapped in to go into an outline, and we've done a lot of work getting her to lower her head and come into an outline using her back...

Then
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Nowish
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I don't want her to go back to her old habits! I generally ride her on an elasticy contact - enough so she knows I'm there but not pulling at all as then she gets very upset, (unless when she tried to bugger off with me
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), and I don't see-saw and hardly even play with her mouth unless she's not concentrating, which she was today.

When she started overbending, I made sure I wasn't pulling her mouth and really rode her into the contact, which seemed to help, just wondering if thats the way to go about it?

Thanks
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Yep, my mare can tend to shorten and overbend, what you are doing is correct, raise your hands a little and push her forward into the contact... she looks lovely well done, all your hard work has paid off!
 
Thanks
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Just wanted to check that my inital thoughts were right.

She's a good girl, we've had our problems but today she actually went on the bit without tanking off in canter, and she didn't rush OR pull once which is unheard of for her
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i dont want to sound rude but is there a reason you ride her in a martingale... im just thinking that if you want her to stretch more down and round and dont want to 'pin' her in... there is prob a reason as i jump my mare in a breastplate as she can throw her head about comming into jumps (MUCH fun) but i make sure i take it off when doing flatwork to help encourage her...?
Bx
 
Erm yeah haha, when she gets excited she puts her head right up and sticks her ears up my nose. You can't see on those pictures but she still has a lot of muscle underneath which she uses when she gets excited.

We're working on taking it off for flatwork but last time I took it off to school we had..an interesting time when cantering.
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If this new, calm behaviour continues in her cantering then in a few weeks I'll try her without again, as I would ultamatly like to ride without, the thing is she can switch from chilled to majorly excited like a light.

I get where you're coming, especially as it looks really tight in that picture of me schooling actually, but its not that tight in RL.
 
My welshie was just the same, Pictures in the Pg or how he is now, but before he used to really over bend(more exteme than yours). The only advice I have been given is make sure hands are well up, and you push foward into as much of a long outline as the pony will. Well done.
 
Sounds like your doing the right sort of stuff with the light contact and riding forward, I would add in some transitions quite frequently in your schooling sessions to help get her on her hocks and riding uphill so she doesn't try to bear down on you and onverbend quite so much,
 
Okay thank you, I do try and remind myself to keep my hands up, its a silly habit I've gotten into. I'll add some more transitions too, that sounds good.

Thanks
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You say it was towards the end of the session - could she have just been a bit bit tired by then and reverting back to old ingrained habits?
 
Thats what I thought, except I've ridden her for longer before without her doing it (though every time she has done it has been near the end of a session), but maybe because she was actually cantering at a normal pace and therefore using her back she was more tired than usual?
 
Could well be, if she's now cantering using her hind end more and working into the contact it would be quite tiring until she's used to it and the muscles are well developed. I know my youngster will do a similar thing towards the end of a session (sometimes curl up a bit, sometimes get a little heavy on the hands) when he's getting tired and i will then work him long and low so he can have a stretch
 
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