schooling issues question, green unbalanced horse

Achinghips

Achinghips

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 December 2009
Messages
3,741
Visit site
I have a very green Tb, she's seen dentist and vet is checking her back soon, but she has the following problems
1. Vertical imbalance
2. Crookedness
3. Difficulty in going straight
4. Heavy on the forehand

She motorbikes around corners and stumbles quite often, she also has a very short pace. I'm riding her in a loose ring french link and currently lunging in side reins which improves her balance. Also she is receiving additional schooling from bhs qualified instructor, doing lots of shoulder in and leg yielding and transitions.

What's my next priority for my own time with her please? Any thoughts from all you great knowledgeable people muchly appreciated ......
 
I have had a few unbalanced horses in the past and in my opinion the best thing is hacking. Hill work etc, but especially cantering out hacking! Hacking has greatly helped my horses schooling. I used to loan a horse that sounded like yours. I gave up the schooling for a bit and hacked her out until she felt very comfortable and balanced in her canter out on a hack. When we did go back in the school she was more balanced, easier transitions and did not tank it around the corners so much. Young/green horses need to establish a natural balance and lots of hacking is the way forward.

If she stumbles a lot then hacking out on uneven/undulating ground can also help.

How much do you hack out and what do you do when you are out? If you do school all of the time then do you stick to the outside track? As they can hug the fence and rely on it too much.
 
Is the saddle comfortable and placed behind the shoulder blades?
Are you straight and balanced?

Ideas from me would be to make sure you are using your weight to steer and balance and not your hands. Transitions to keep horse on hindquarters. Hacking to build stength. Riding on inner track to help with straightness. Shallow loops for straightness. Making sure she is on 2 tracks, even on a circle. Lots and lots of polework.
 
I'd second the hacking for balance and strength, then just time and lots of varied schooling (which it sounds like she's getting) and more time. :)
 
Am another hacking fan. You know the old school approach - walk for 4 weeks or so (first week on gentle rein, next with contact and marching out, next beginning to ask to work down and onto the bit), building up to 2 hrs (appropriate to age so may be 1.5 hrs - and walking only until can walk out confidently, on the bit), then slowly build in trot (same sort of programme - gentle rein, then into contact, then on bit etc), increasing it gently for another 3 weeks, then begin canter. Once been cantering a week or two begin walk-trot work in the school a couple of times a week, keep building the canter work out hacking. It really, really works. You won't believe how much just walking for weeks can improve the trot, and how much walk and trot will improve the canter. It also makes SO much difference to muscle tone and therefore balance.
 
Thanks everyone, I have been doing quite a bit of this already, so it would seem I'm on the right track, thank goodness.
She is so unbalanced though that I can't canter her in the menage yet for fear of damaging her in case she slips onto the ground,or bashes us against the menage fence around the corners as she falls out at the shoulder so badly. She really isn't ready for canter in a corner, so I'll keep to trot, using leg aids.
My instructor also has me raising my inside hand slightly to encourage her to move her jaw inwards as she slants her head in this shape \ The jaw then comes around and straightens her head.
She is SERIOUSLY off vertical balance - so getting dispirited with her lately:(
 
I agree with other posters. Loads of hacking! Straight lines. Dont bring her onto circle work in the school till she has more muscle. My ex-hurdler had exactly the same issues - might be worth getting a chiropracter out because my boy's pelvis is always out of line and the currently (need to get physio/chiro out) tense along one side which means he often cannot bend correctly and work over his back in a straight line. Good luck!
 
Also, forgot to say, falling out is also a major issue for my boy. If she is long in the back aswell it will be even harder because you have to control the shoulder and then the hindend and they feel like a bendy bus and you need an extra pair of legs to kick them through! If you go in the school I would suggest walk work, transitions to halt and the odd bit of trot. A good idea for an exercise to help her falling out:

Make an imaginary square in the school or field - E to B, B to F, F to K, K back to E - and get those turns straight and keep her going forward through them so she has to use her hind end to come through and turn. Good in walk or sitting trot. When I did this first time properly my boy (in trot) just drifted out at the corners, fell out with shoulder and then fell in with hindquarters. He always tries to turn his hindquarters in aswell and this exercise was good for it. Half halt, think about the shoulders and then imagine the hind legs walking round the turn, whilst still keeping the impulsion! If it helps put some markers out (I used sticks on wood left outside the school!) to mark the corners as a visual aid for yourself.
Hope this helps!
 
Unfortunately it's one of those things where until you keep going with the exercises you will not see the results straight away!

I would also highly consider ditching the side reins and lunging will two reins instead, this would would help you more in the school (and plus, you can move her all over the place and change rein etc) really as if you were riding her but not.. lol possible put some very loose side reins on though actually, to help you initially with the two lines if you are not used to using them.

Another thing which might help, is doing daily stretches (i.e carrot stretches) and I would also recommend doing pole work, especially to help her find her rhythm and gain some balance there.

x
 
Agree with everyone about the hacking, absolutely.
You can't expect her to be balanced in the school with you on board if she can't even balance herself alone. That has to come first, it is most important to get that right so for me it would be good sensible hacking with long low lunging (but walking large, not keeping to a circle) and long reining on the same principle. Many horses, if you long rein with too much contact will always expect you to carry them which is why I like to vary it to help them carry themselves; if they can't carry themselves, they certainly can't carry you with any degree of balance. It's slow but very rewarding to get it right.
 
Oh ..... you understanding lot, I'm not alone. Thankyou so much for all your suggestions. I shall make up a timetable for myself now, with the following (oh and yes, Pete she has a VERY long back - lol):

1. Daily carrot stretches
2. hacking for one hour 3 x per week (working on straightness, traffic experiences), menage for one hour 3x per week doing pole work and squares, half halts and transitions.
3. Instructor lesson once a week to keep me on the right track as above
4. Instructor lesson once a week (she rides so my girl doesn't get any pilot error from me - lol) for my girl to practise half halts, transitions etc.


Teddyt - her saddle isn't ideal, but it's a "good enough" fit according to my instructor, but truth be told, it could be better, though cash is short at mo, it's on my list. I have lessons with her to keep me straight and keep my hands low and wide.
No hills in Cambs I'm afraid, so can't do hill work at all - but we have the beautiful nature reserve near us for hacking and a bridleway in a straight line alongside the guided bus route that stretches for about 15 miles, so I can do that.

I'll get to grips with long reining next week too, as she has her freezemark on saturday and can't be ridden for a few days.

Could I improve on the timetable above - or does it look like a good plan to you all? xx
 
Personally, the only thing I'd change is that I'd keep my schooling sessions shorter whilst she's building muscle. An hour in the school would probably be quite hard for her at the moment by the sounds of it - I'd be more concerned about getting a small amount of decent work and leaving it at that. The more tired/bored she is in the school, the harder she'll find it. Don't expect too much too soon.
 
Thanks Fiona, that hour in the school is hard on me too, shall go for half hour to three quarters instead and increase chance of ending on positive note:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top