Softening arms and loosening neck

[malibu211211]

When schooling it has always taken a long time to get my boy to loosen through his neck. He has got a little better and will start to stretch down when working in but it still takes a good 15 mins for him to really loosen. I find this really difficult as the more resistant he is, the stronger I tend to get and we end up in a battle with me losing as he is far stronger than me.

I wondered if anyone had any tips on helping me relax and stay soft through my arms please?

During a lesson I manage to do this and the feeling he gives is just amazing so I would love to be able to achieve this when schooling by myself.

Health wise he is fine. Regular teeth and saddle checks. He has Bowen Therapy regularly too

I feel it is probably more to do with me not staying soft than anything to do with him (maybe the odd bit of cheekyness on his part occasionally

)

Any suggestions greatly recieved

 

[flips]

Maybe try to concentrate on you and not him to begin with. Also while thinking about you do lots of circles, serpintines etc

 

[mrgoop]

I am so much better in a lesson
I relax and my horse goes better
When it is just us 2 i think i expect tooo much and there is no one on the ground to say otherwise

If i concentrate on me, it is worse, if i concentrate on him we get better results

 

[Gingerwitch]

How do you hold your hands? - Daft i know but if you fix in your wrist with the thumb on top and the hand in a directly straight line, holding the reins really tight - you will fix the whole of your arm and shoulder.

Try turning your knuckles in slightly to to each other, almost like showing the back of your hand to your horses ears and you will find that you are much more relaxed through the whole of your arm.

If you have a good horse you can feed a schooling whip behind you and through your elbows this can help to "show you" where your arm needs to be.

Also remember to do chicken wings -

good luck and if you dont understand any of the above i will try and explain more

 

[Booboos]

I have the same problem, only it takes me a lot longer than 15 minutes!!!

The only thing I find works is to concentrate on having him in front of the leg to start off (forgetting about the neck outline), and then ride him into a really steady, soft contact, waiting for him to relax. It can be really frustrating though!

Those elasticated reins seem to help as well but they can't be used in BD tests.

 

[malibu211211]

[ QUOTE ]
I am so much better in a lesson
I relax and my horse goes better
When it is just us 2 i think i expect tooo much and there is no one on the ground to say otherwise

If i concentrate on me, it is worse, if i concentrate on him we get better results

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep thats what I do too

I expect far too much far too quickly. My instructor says just to stay there, being soft and he does give but it is really difficult not to be strong back. He tends to try every trick in the book, falling in and out through his shoulders, being gobby and strong so that you'll kind of hold him up and if you do as my instructor says he is amazing, it's just learning to do it without her there

 

[malibu211211]

[ QUOTE ]
How do you hold your hands? - Daft i know but if you fix in your wrist with the thumb on top and the hand in a directly straight line, holding the reins really tight - you will fix the whole of your arm and shoulder.

Try turning your knuckles in slightly to to each other, almost like showing the back of your hand to your horses ears and you will find that you are much more relaxed through the whole of your arm.

If you have a good horse you can feed a schooling whip behind you and through your elbows this can help to "show you" where your arm needs to be.

Also remember to do chicken wings -

good luck and if you dont understand any of the above i will try and explain more

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope this might give the general idea of how my hands are.
The tightness is through my wrists and forearms

if that makes any sense

I have a tendency to not keep my fingers closed too

Any ideas?

I would like to find out a bit more on the elasticated reins?
Which ones did you use?
Thanks for your comments everyone

 

[Booboos]

I tend to keep my fingers loose and my arms tight as well!!! Totally wrong, but I have to think about it to get it right!

Carl Hester has the original Fantastic Elastic reins, I'm afraid I bought a cheaper knock-off by Rhinegold as they were a lot cheaper. I don't think there is a difference (it is just a piece of elastic after all) but I may be wrong. They are not BD legal though (can't remember if I mentioned this before, but worth saying again!).

 

[ester]

another person with loose fingers! I think we have loose fingers to compensate for the lack of softness we feel due to our tight arms but it then doesnt give them a nice contact to go into.

I have to think bend elbows and lift my hands a bit (I fix them) all the time. I think I have gotten better though.

it is always easier in lessons though

 

[malibu211211]

[ QUOTE ]
another person with loose fingers! I think we have loose fingers to compensate for the lack of softness we feel due to our tight arms but it then doesnt give them a nice contact to go into.

I have to think bend elbows and lift my hands a bit (I fix them) all the time. I think I have gotten better though.

it is always easier in lessons though

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the info on reins will look into them

Yep I think thats my way in thinking too. If only I could get it in my head that it needs to be loose arms and closed fingers

For carrying hands higher I always think of carrying a tray of my favourite drink (wine, vodka, baileys) Got to carry it higher to avoid spilling it