Resisting contact!

[daretobdiferent]

Hi guys
OK my friend has a gorgeous mare with masses of potential, the only problem being she avoids what you want her to do and likes to take the easy way out. She is really resistant on her right rein and dosent bend, normally ends up spinning round, napping and generally being a t*t. Shes had her back massaged by a specialist which she looooved! and shes having her teeth done, but still she avoids the right rein all the time. are there any good schooling excersizes or usful hints tips you could all share, and has any one had this problem before?
thankies
Shellx

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

My friend (who has her BHS Stg4) recommend that i try this exercise to encourage my horse to accept the left contact as she would resist.

Starting at A ride a 10m circle to the left, then shoulder in up the long side to B, the ride anouther 10m circle to the left, then shoulder in to the corner before C then 10m circle again.

She also said to do the same exercise up the centre line around cones and then to progress to circling and shoulder-in in different directions so she was soft to both the left and the right.

It was really really hard, but I did find that it helped my horse.

 

[Tierra]

Avoidance of one rein contact = use more of the opposite leg.

So avoidance of the right rein means a lack of left leg. Is your friend weaker on one side?

 

[Lill]

My mare seems to be constantly looking to the left when i ride her and is very very very stiff as in can't bend at all. She used to motorbike BADLY but as her canter is slower and steadier she doesn't so much now. Will be interested to see replies to this - don't think i ride one sided as my other horse is fairly equal in his way of going and much more flexible.

 

[the watcher]

I am sure she did love the massage, but if that is all they did it might not have had any lasting effect and probably a back specialist might be the way to go (a look at teeth will also be worthwhile)

all horses are one sided, as are nearly all riders so it takes somebody good on the ground to identify a problem which could be in any of the legs and anywhere along the spine from poll to pelvis..please don't assume the horse is just being a t*t - they actually don't reason that way

 

[4whitesocks]

I am no expert but from my own experience my boy was very one-sided when we got him - we reckon it was down to some damage he did to a hind leg as a foal so he always favoured the left rein & wouldn't canter on the right leg on the right rein and was generally very stiff.

It took about three months to get him straighter - lots of circles, serpentines (so he had the nice rein & the 'bad' rein in the same excercise), and initially a lot of lunge work on the bad rein so that he could start to use those muscles without a rider on board (not long lunge sessions but little & often). We also had an equine touch person out to him a few times because we were aware that it was the first time he was using those muscles properly so was likely to be a bit sore.

Oh and finally I did a lot of work from the ground with him, stretches aided by a carrot - stood to the side and got him to stretch back around to take the food from my hand, gradually moved further back away from his head as his suppleness improved....this is actually a really useful test to see the difference in suppleness on both sides
Hope that helps!

 

[Lill]

Thats the stupid thing though with my mare she can quite happily do the carrot stretch thing and will be MORE than happy to look from side to side as she is hacking out but as soon as i actually want her to do it in the school its like the most impossible thing in the world!