Some riding advice please

DiablosGold

DiablosGold

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Hi all

Need some advice regarding riding my cob.

He has obviously been ridden in draw reins in the past (or some other gadget) and he prefers to work over-bent and doesn't relax his head down, but 'breaks' a few inches back from his poll. He is more often than not heavily on the forehand, which is most noticeable in canter.

In my lessons (which are few and far between atm due to my finances not being that great) I can get his bum working properly and he goes nice and light in my hands. We've yet to achieve a true 'outline' in trot or canter. He does go better in spurs but I only use them in my lessons. They allow me to stop nagging and start working on getting him off the forehand.

But when schooling without my instructor there it just all goes to pot
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and I give up and start jumping or go for a hack!

He has got a lot better, as I don't lunge often and when I do lunge I don't use side reins. Before I got him he was lunged 5-6 days a week with tight side reins. I just seem to have reached a point where that's all it's ever going to be, and he'll never work properly
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Cookies if you got this far, any advice greatly appreciated!

PS - this post does sound really whingey - I do enjoy riding my horse, honest!!
 
I sympathise. Went to a very interesting long reining demo last week when the chap used a horse he had just bought and which had been ridden in side reins. The horse was totally overbent and couldn't see where he was going. Man said it was going to take some time to correct this head carriage and could only be achieved by getting the horse to go forward freely and work correctly from behind so that it came off the forehand.

Sorry, I am no expert, but I hope you perservere with your boy.
 
You'll get there in the end - it just takes time. With your schooling when your instructor isn't there, don't over do it and just do a bit at a time, maybe before you go for a hack etc or even afterwards. Also, take plenty of time to warm up - it's easy to get straight in the school and think 'right...we were doing this in our lesson' and trying to go straight into it. It's going to take you longer to achieve on your own. Also...relax! Think to yourself when you are riding 'am I relaxed' and consciously relax your shoulders/arms etc. I'm sure you'll get there in the end - don't give up
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If he goes well in lessons then you're both capable of it, so don't get too despondent! I would try and think very carefully, step by step, about exactly what you do in lessons to get him going so nicely. Get your instructor to talk you through it if necessary. Then try and reproduce that when you school on your own. But at the same time think about what goes wrong when you're on your own. Again talk to your instructor and see if you can work out a strategy of what to do to counter whatever it is that is going wrong. So you're clear in your mind 'when he does X I do Y'...
And I know it's easier said than done but try and keep your sessions short, have a simple goal and be happy and stop when you've achieved what you wanted, even if it's not perfect yet. Some horses are better when you hack them out first, as they've had chance to relax and loosen up and you can just do a quick 10 minutes at the end of your ride rather than plugging away for hours!
Hope that helps...
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Why don't you just pop on your spurs when you're schooling on your own as well as using them in lessons
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[/ QUOTE ]

I don't trust my legs!!
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I'm sure that if your RI is happy for you to use spurs, then your legs will be fine! If you start having problems you can always take them off again
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i think i'd totally ignore his outline, work on keeping him in front of the leg most of all, and not leaning. light in front and forward, basically. if he will accept a schooling whip, i would always carry one, and if he ignores a light leg aid, flick with the whip lightly, just behind the leg. he must respond to a light leg aid to make your life easier! you're right not to want to work in spurs all the time - anyway, they aren't a goad to make the horse go forward more, they are to refine the leg aid and give pin-point accuracy to the aids, so your instincts are right.
freely forwards, totally obeying the lightest leg aid, will make him even more of a pleasure to ride, and the outline will come in time - especially when he realises he's not being cranked in any more.
best of luck!
 
That sounds like a fairly typical cob trick!

I agree with Kerrilli you need to forget about his head when you ride and concentrate on getting him working from behind, then the front end will work itself out on its own.

Try transitions, simple, direct and within the pace if he is up to it. That should encourage him to push off the back legs rather than pull with the front legs. Do lots of half halts too, to get him back in balance. Don't try anything fancy with your hands just let his head carriage improve naturally as he begins to step under and swing through his back.

If he starts to get overbent just push on with your legs to keep him moving forward actively rather than bouncing. If he doesn't move off your leg easily don't be afraid to flick him with a schooling whip. You need to stop him dropping behind your leg and the bit - it is an evasion he needs educating out of.

Good luck!
 
my horse is the same!!! Dont panic if you di some sitting trot the back whoudl come up and them release the hands a bit foward and try to get him to look for the contact
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That is what Beau does, and he HATES draw reins - we tried them once to see and he would not work so we do not think he was ridden in them. But he really really overbends some times - usually in walk and a bit in canter. But he is a LOT better since we changed bit to a Loose ring snaffle.
He does take a lot of riding up into your hand, and it is not consistent at all, but we are working on it. We jsut need to get him forward and up!

Easier said than done with a cob unfortunately!
 
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