Schooling Lusitanos, a question

madhector

madhector

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Ok, I have a client who has 2 Lusitanos, which she pays me to school, now I have no experience with the breed, and have told her this, so am treating them as I would any other horse.

My issue is that the older mare finds it very difficult to work from behind, and likes to go around with her head in the air, so far I have been working on just getting her to move off my leg and use her back end a little, leaving the 'outline' alone, but her owner informs me that Lusitanos dont trot like normal horses, and her working from behind is a sort of jog
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, (which to me feels just like my TB when he doesnt want to trot properly
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So before I ask the horse to work more forwards I guess I just looking for some views on the breed, and if I am doing the right thing.

The other mare likes to stick her nose in and 'jog'
(although the owner says this is her trot and that she is on the bit
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)

Anyone out there feel like sheding some light
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edited to correct spelling
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Hi there,you were right Lusos are like any other horse and your aims of working from behind to the conection are absolutely right. This idea that they have some other kind of trot is rubbish.
I have had and currently have 'Iberians' in training with me and they , by nature like to tighten thier backs and hurry their steps. More you try and 'push' them the more they will run.
This is obviously not 'forward', you need them to take longer more fluent steps not tighter ones, the jogging.
It has often been said that it is a much more difficult thing to release short tight muscles than to strengthen long weaker ones. The Iberians, tend to have the shorter tighter muscles over the back and through their hindquaters which they utilise to give quick responses in their line of work, bullfighting and these quick twitch responses are great to get them out of the way but not always easy to turn off these responses for other aspects of training.
It is necessary to imagine taking more time to complete each step , to squeeze each step more along the floor rather than quick up and down steps. You need to keep the connection in both reins even , in the walk keep your legs in contact with the side of the horse. Keep the body tall and the seat light, you need to allow the horse to feel that it is ok for him to lift his back and step through to the connection. If he rushes stay tall resist the movement by holding your your hips still , keep the elbows bent and a straight line from them to the bit imagine the hand holding the rein but squeezing the rein like it is an orange and you are squeezing the juice out of it. When the walk is slowed then relax a little allowing the hips to alternately follow each hind leg for ward all the time keeping the connection in both reins and pushing the steps longer to the slight release in th rein so that he fills the space with the step.
It takes time to teach them to do this and this work in the walk sets up the 'theme' for the rest of his work. sometimes using halt, everytime they rush , keep the contact allow them to give in the rein and then ask them to walk into the relax with the first step being from the hindlegs rather than raising the head and tightening the back is also a good tool.
Once you have this feeling , working on a square turning the flexion slightly to the inside on the straight sides but keeping them out by applying the inside leg on the girth with the outside leg behind the girth ,slight shoulder-fore. The idea being that you can gain a stretch in the outside body and squeeze the inside hind leg forward in the correct connection to the outside rein.
This is obviously a very basic explanation and i hope it makes sense.
Stick with the work they , due to their conformation do find this concept difficult but they can use their energy and give you some lovely work. Tension will always be the 'way out' but if you can learn to manipulate this connection to get the acceptance of the leg and hand.then they will give you their backs and the steps will be able to flow through. Its very like a hose pipe with a kink in it , no matter how much you turn the tap on little will come out of the end, remove the kink and the water will flow ; this is very like the energy the hind leg creates but that can be constricted in the neck usually at the whithers. It is your job as the rider to keep the constriction open and this is what i mean by keeping the contact with the hand a constant width apart and not to push the hand down as a reaction to the head coming up. Keep a staight line from the bit through the fingers up the forearm to the elbows. Keep the contact here by keeping the hand by slightly sucking back in the elbow so that they cant take it away from you. When they give dont try and find the cotact by pulling back more but by squeezing with the lower leg into the connection.
Ok totally exhausted now!!! I've been doing this a fair bit today!! So i know it works. You just stick to your guns , you are right the 'scales of training' are applicable to each and every horse so ; Relaxation,rhythm,suppleness,contact,impulsion, straightness are your guides to a correct way of working to produce an athletic horse that is capable of collection,or as your post began by asking for a regular rhythmic trot through a swinginging back to a supple connection.
Goodluck
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Partoow is right, peoploe often use the 'oh but he's an iberian so he doesnt work like a normal horse' thing and it just isnt true, the aims and principles are the same!
 
I agree - ive heard so many people make excuses about their horses like 'oh hes such-and-such a breed'. The simple truth of the matter is that all horses should work through from behind in a certain extent and be supple throughout their body, no matter what their breed.
 
Yep agree with the others there is no excuse. Friend has an Andy and she has spent so long getting him working correctly from behind, shes cracked it now and shes hoping to take him all the way to GP.
She also spent a long long time choosing him (she must have seen about 50 Andys) as he doesn't have the choppy action like so many of the Iberians do (lifting there legs upwards instead of forwards).
 
Thankyou so much for that, feel like printing it out and showing it to her
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Pleased to hear I'm on the right tracks, have been mainly working in walk and only moving into trot when I feel the walk is how I want it

Thanks to everyone else for backing up what Partoow said
 
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