Some advice please =)

4leggedfurries

4leggedfurries

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Feeling slighty hmm not sure at the mo
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, and could do with some advice of you lovely peeps. As some of you may be aware D had been off work for a few weeks recovering from a sore back and waiting for his new saddle to be fitted. Last week started riding him again and he's a lot happier. Now that hes back into it have started asking him to work again and there is some resistance! He's struggled to work in an outline before as i need to build up his muscles but would drop down for a short while before coming back up, now i cant even get him to drop down, we've reverted back to a giraffe. I'm a half decent rider and have been told so, but am doubting myself at the mo and am having a mental block with regards to my abilities, so what can i do to help build these muscles up so that he starts working properly, builds his top line and works in a correct outline? Is it best to be doing work from the ground as well as riding? I have used side reins on him befor while lunging but tbh i'm not entirely convinced by them. Suggestions?? If this what happens after a few weeks off the god help me!! oh btw he's ex polo so is stiff as a board and bending at the moment (was none existant) is sort of there...! Choice of bevarage and nibbles (though i do think i have some choc chip cookies in my draw) for getting this far, thankies
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Personally I wouldnt use any gadgets as I have found that forcing them just impounds problems (I am sure there will be 100's that disagree)

How long to warm up for? What type of things do you do while you are schooling etc.......

My old boy used to be like that and we did lots of serpentines, I had to learn to be light with my hands and allow all the aids to come from my legs.

In my experience if you can get theit body bending correctly and them working properly the outline will soon follow!
 
Ground work can be amazing and having spent a week with some out of this world trainers recently they do a lot of ground work.

Start of by playing 'The carrot game' in his stable. Getting carrots and making him bend round to the side (evenly in both ways) to get them.

Lots and lots of long and low work when ridden - either hacking out or in the arena. Can you lunge him, short periods on the lowest settings of a pessoa if you can.

Also concentrate on getting him really really forward using his backend working through really well from behind. Its very difficult to get them to work in a true outline without them working through.

Raised poles is another good one to get them using themselves. Start with a long line of poles, then raise alternate ends of the poles and go through the middle til you can raise both ends and go through them.

Good luck - having had a ex race horse who was very like you describe it can be very disheartening!!
 
TBH my expolo mare still rides like a giraffe but she is definately improving. She is very inconsistent since it is still (after 18 months) uncomfortable to work properly. One thing that has been really helping recently is long-reining in side reins. Even going up and down the lanes in walk she has started to build muscle and is working better under saddle.

I am also going to invest in one of the imitation pessoas on the advice of a friend.
 
I love the pessoa (or imitations) for building top line - and it isn't about just strapping in the front to get a false outline. Try borrowing one and using it on the long and low setting.
 
We warm up for about 15/20 mins, walk, trot and canter i find he's got to have a bit of a blast before workng him or he doesnt concentrate. We do lots of transitions so that he's forward thinking going off the leg ect. We do sepentines, leg yeilding, coming in on a tighter circle then yeilding back out, the usual stuff i've been taught.
 
If you can safely long line I would put in a couple of sessions a week alongside the pessoa work. I dont recommend gadgets lightly but for short periods to encourage lengthening of the back it should be beneficial.

Id avoid lunging apart from very short sessions say five or ten minutes as its better to work muscles evenly on both sides at a time if you can.

Work in hand is really useful and perhaps after a warm up (kick up heels) on the lunge you could try some work to encourage the horse to step under with the hinds using the shooling whip. Standing at the shoulder ask the horse to walk forwad with you moving crab sideways and gently tounch the inside hind just as it leaves the ground to ask the horse to cross very slightly underneath. Do both sides and then move on to longlining over poles or raised poles.

All of these things should encourage relaxation and felxibility which will set the muscles up nicely for more work like walking out on hacks, using hills etc.
 
I have a coblet who was as stiff as a board through her neck when i got her - could only walk a one loop serpentine when I got her!!
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- but through some hard work and persisitence she can now trot 5 loop serpentines etc. As part of your warm up get him stretching through his neck by walking small circles at every letter as you walk around the school and do it on both reins and then again when you are warming down as it is obviously easier then as the muscles are warm - but it helps with the bend.
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It was only after my mare had been on box rest that I realised how bendy she had got - she was a stiff as a board for a couple of weeks but soon loosened up after doing her circles.
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my old girl was quite stiff towards the end. i found lots of 10-15 meter circles, serpentines and bending helped no end, one exercise i did was ten meter circle in a corner, and then one in the middle of the long side (going in the oposit direction) and then in the corner at the other end to the 1st circle (back on the other direction again). this really helped her to forget about her head and more about moving her back legs right underneath her and eventually she would relax and carry herself - but it takes time - lots and lots of it!
 
I know its going to take time, i understand that, have been there with another horse, its just that i know we've already started getting there and because of his back being sore, we've gone back to square one and i'm just so bl00dy frustrated. Having a confidence crisis i think, i dont know why, i'm capable of getting a horse to work, but... hmph
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but all your opionions and advice are really appreciated, its what i'm thinking, but knowing that you guys are thinking it too makes me feel better and that i'm not being a thicko. I shall be putting the various methods through their paces over the weekend.
 
Hello.
I got a connie youngster over xmas. He had been ridden in a close contact saddle and in draw reins. He had a sore back and was very tense. it was like he just didnt breathe when you trotted - just giraffed, inverted and sped about.

I sorted his saddle and teeth and then had a lady come out and do his back. She spent hours with him as he'd turned himself into a plank of wood due to the back pain and draw reins. Since then I've used the pessoa (loosely) on the setting in between his front legs to encourage him long and low, hacking on the buckle to encourage him to chill, raised trotting poles, and schooling gently encouraging him to bend, flex and generally be movable (leg yield and shoulder fore suggestion).

The difference is amazing - from something horrendous to ride and me getting very dispondent to a connie that is stretching down, engaging from behind and relaxed and swinging along.

This worked for him. Hope you find away to sort out yours. Do you have someone on the ground helping you. My 30mins dressage lesson each week with him has saved me!
 
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