EquiiNat
Member
Hi all, looking for some advise on improving my mare's schooling! She is a very 'fizzy' type of horse, incredible jumper but we really struggle with the dressage. She is very tense and tends to hold all this tension in her front end. Her natural head carriage is high with her neck short and tight. Because of this I really struggle to get her on any kind of soft outline...she works in an outline when she is calm enough but has her neck still very short and tight instead of stretching her nose forward into a loose frame. This makes her trot work very short and choppy and she just doesn't 'swing' or track up well.
I have been working on getting her reaching down on a long rein in walk and trot (as naturally she still carries her head high on a loose rein) and this has been improving, yet as soon as I pick up the reins you feel her back and neck muscles clench and her stride shortens and she just fights you constantly. She often works well in the first 5 minutes of a session and then starts to lose it. Also she stops working as soon as I give her a break to stretch her neck. Like as soon as I pick up the reins again she is uncooperative even if she was working well a minute before.
It's not an issue of her not understanding as on a good day she can work beautifully, and she works really well in her Pelham as well but when I put on a snaffle and take off the martingale she just stops trying.
So really looking for training exercises/different ways of riding/anything to try and get her in a better frame and not throwing her head in the air and going tense! We're doing a BE100 in 3 weeks and I'm determined not to finish at the bottom in the dressage!!
Oh and before anyone asks, she's had her saddle/teeth/back done etc they're all perfect. She has physio every 3 months to help loosen her muscles and the physio says she makes herself very tight by the way she holds herself, but I never really feel any improvement after shes had physio.
And I've had her 3 years so don't answer saying she will improve with time as progress has been very slow the last few years!
I've just bought a pessoa too do you think that will hep her?
Thanks in advance
I have been working on getting her reaching down on a long rein in walk and trot (as naturally she still carries her head high on a loose rein) and this has been improving, yet as soon as I pick up the reins you feel her back and neck muscles clench and her stride shortens and she just fights you constantly. She often works well in the first 5 minutes of a session and then starts to lose it. Also she stops working as soon as I give her a break to stretch her neck. Like as soon as I pick up the reins again she is uncooperative even if she was working well a minute before.
It's not an issue of her not understanding as on a good day she can work beautifully, and she works really well in her Pelham as well but when I put on a snaffle and take off the martingale she just stops trying.
So really looking for training exercises/different ways of riding/anything to try and get her in a better frame and not throwing her head in the air and going tense! We're doing a BE100 in 3 weeks and I'm determined not to finish at the bottom in the dressage!!
Oh and before anyone asks, she's had her saddle/teeth/back done etc they're all perfect. She has physio every 3 months to help loosen her muscles and the physio says she makes herself very tight by the way she holds herself, but I never really feel any improvement after shes had physio.
And I've had her 3 years so don't answer saying she will improve with time as progress has been very slow the last few years!
I've just bought a pessoa too do you think that will hep her?
Thanks in advance