jenbleep
Well-Known Member
ok well i'll try not to go off on one with this! but anyway.....
........the horse i ride Frankie has been off for about 6 weeks, due to being slightly lame because his owner had a duff farrier and fitted shoes that were too small and clenches too low down. (i did mention it to her, but she said 'oh yeah' and ti coudnt do much more - he's not my horse!
) anyway we got the back woman out, and she said it was defiantly the shoes causing him to trot up lame and short. i asked her to check out his back/shoulders etc etc and i was particularly worried about the area behind his saddle, because he was finding it difficult to work through from behind. she said that he felt lovely and 'loose' behind, much more of an improvement from when she saw him 6 months ago, where he was very tight behind on his back.
anyway new farrier came and put great new shoes on, said it might take him a week or so to get used to having wider shoes on but said that i can hack him out and light schooling, getting him going forwards off my leg.
have been riding him now for about 2 weeks, he has been going well, really stretching down in walk and trot and being responsive. we still have a few problems, but i am aiming to have lessons in the next few weeks after i get paid! anyway as i said he is stretching down well in trot, however *this is going to make me sound stoopid* how do i tell if he is using his back end properly? i have this exercise that i was told a while ago, where i ask him to slow down on the short ends of the school and then ask him to power on down the long sides but i have noticed that when i lunge him if i ask him to trot on, he will go faster but not track up, and i think that is what he is doing at the moment. i put my leg on, sometimes give him a tap behind my leg to wake him up but i want to know if his is actually sitting more on his hocks or pulling himself along. i am paranoid that i am going to ruin him for life!
tad dramatic i know.
are there any decent exercises that will really get him on his hocks? how about transitions on a circle, perhaps if i always make sure i do at least 30 transitions a schooling session? (i may lose count!!!!)
i school for about 30 minutes, 4 times a week.
thanks in advance
........the horse i ride Frankie has been off for about 6 weeks, due to being slightly lame because his owner had a duff farrier and fitted shoes that were too small and clenches too low down. (i did mention it to her, but she said 'oh yeah' and ti coudnt do much more - he's not my horse!
anyway new farrier came and put great new shoes on, said it might take him a week or so to get used to having wider shoes on but said that i can hack him out and light schooling, getting him going forwards off my leg.
have been riding him now for about 2 weeks, he has been going well, really stretching down in walk and trot and being responsive. we still have a few problems, but i am aiming to have lessons in the next few weeks after i get paid! anyway as i said he is stretching down well in trot, however *this is going to make me sound stoopid* how do i tell if he is using his back end properly? i have this exercise that i was told a while ago, where i ask him to slow down on the short ends of the school and then ask him to power on down the long sides but i have noticed that when i lunge him if i ask him to trot on, he will go faster but not track up, and i think that is what he is doing at the moment. i put my leg on, sometimes give him a tap behind my leg to wake him up but i want to know if his is actually sitting more on his hocks or pulling himself along. i am paranoid that i am going to ruin him for life!
are there any decent exercises that will really get him on his hocks? how about transitions on a circle, perhaps if i always make sure i do at least 30 transitions a schooling session? (i may lose count!!!!)
i school for about 30 minutes, 4 times a week.
thanks in advance
