Turn on forehand - horse rears?

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Chloeap

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So a while ago I had a one-off lesson with a good dressage instructor at a clinic who got us doing some turn on the forehands, although very much helped by her on the ground.

I've tried to do them since but my horse threatens to rear (and has done a couple of small rears too) when I ask! This is quite unusual for him, he has only reared twice with me before, 1 when we first attempted water XC schooling, and 2 when we were in a start box! He does have nappy tendencies too...

He really seems to get stressed about the turn on the forehand :( he starts going backwards and trying to rear, which is really unlike him in the school. He can get a little tense sometimes about new movements but never like this. He can leg yield in walk, trot and canter on both reins very well.
I tried about a month ago and had this bad reaction so left it, then tried again last night and he was awful again :( he can do them in hand.

Is there something wrong or is he just being tricky?? Help! Anyone else experienced this?
Teeth, saddle etc all checked recently and fine. Back was last checked in January so possibly needs this looking at again but he always has a great back and never any issues there.
 
I don't believe he is "just being tricky"not when he does everything else well. I would suspect not in pain either, if he will do it with you on the floor or with you mounted but someone else helping from the floor.

It sounds like he simply does not understand.

When I teach Turn on the Forehand I either do English way, or Western way.

English tends to need someone on the floor, to help the horse make sense of going, but not forwards, but this has to be still, but that does not be still. English way tends to be taught so the horse is fairly straight and 'correct' from the start.

Western way (as I call it) tends to use the horse's body to help him understand that it is the sideways yielding of the hind leg that you are after. The head is brought right round util the horse moves his back end. It is a technique to set the horse up to want to move his bottom to get his head level again. It is about patience and feel, not force. This is then overshadowed with the correct leg aid, and as the horse understands more there is no need for the exaggerated bend.

It sounds like your horse needs further time with help on the floor to understand what you are asking for.
 
I would get a decent instructor to help out for a while. It can be quite difficult for them to learn and it sounds like he's getting a bit frustrated and tense.
 
If he does them correctly in hand and understands the aids I would suspect that is is uncomfortable for him to step under properly or you are giving him confusing aids, it is something I usually don't think about teaching them as such because it is a natural thing to do when turning out, bringing in through gateways, moving in the stable so I can work round them, so they rarely react negatively when asked for it under saddle after all it is just asking them to move away from the pressure for a step or two.
 
Rearing often means energy is being created but blocked. Check you are clearly only using one leg, and not blocking too heavily with your hands. If you get a little forward movement it isn't the end of the world - what you are aiming to teach him is to move away from the pressure of the leg and to step under. Losing any forward movement can come later when he understands that clearly.
 
Thank you all, my initial thought was that he is probably just a bit confused as he does get frustrated easily when he doesn't understand! But then started worrying that it was pain. But as he does other lateral movements well then I thought maybe not! But then he started doing his rearing threats when I halted, not even asking yet :( ahhh horses....

I'll do some more practice with him on the floor I think :) thanks for the reassurance!
 
JillA said:
Rearing often means energy is being created but blocked. Check you are clearly only using one leg, and not blocking too heavily with your hands. If you get a little forward movement it isn't the end of the world - what you are aiming to teach him is to move away from the pressure of the leg and to step under. Losing any forward movement can come later when he understands that clearly.
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Thank you, that is excellent advice too. I will really think about that when I next give it a go!
 
Chloeap said:
Thank you all, my initial thought was that he is probably just a bit confused as he does get frustrated easily when he doesn't understand! But then started worrying that it was pain. But as he does other lateral movements well then I thought maybe not! But then he started doing his rearing threats when I halted, not even asking yet :( ahhh horses....

I'll do some more practice with him on the floor I think :) thanks for the reassurance!
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If he is threatening when you halt then he is confused or frustrated and a bit like when you start teaching rein back if they anticipate going backwards you need to restablish the halts, take a break from tof or rb and start again, once they are halting confidently every time, by breaking it down a bit more into single or half steps then moving forward, it is so easy for them to learn to think backwards and if you are not careful they get stuck with negative thoughts, continue to do it in hand and get him so he moves from the slightest suggestion then goes forward again as soon as you stop asking so not halting as he finishes, allow some forward movement to keep him thinking forward as JillA said.
 
Whereabouts in the school are you trying to do them? My youngster had a similar reaction when we first started. So took it back to basics and taught them on the ground, then when under saddle did them whilst stood along the arena fence - so the horse has space to go forward o start with but then you can use the leg to push them around, as they become more confident you can stop the forward movement and come away from the fence. It usually only takes one or two sessions for them to get the idea :)
 
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