What should I do in this situation?

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E_Lister

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This is very long...sorry!

I am currently looking at a loan horse very locally to me. The lady knows I am a competent (enough) rider for her horse as she often sees me out and about on the share pony or on my friend's five year old.
I rode her for the first time today after spending a lot of time chatting to the lady a few days ago. She is ideal for me (as far as I could see) and her only problem was as soon as she turned for home she started to jog. This in itself was not enough to put me off as it wasn't bad or dangerous however I would like advice on how to cope with it please.

The main horse I ride is exceedingly forward going and is a law unto herself. She regularly jogs and it is a sign she is about to set off so I nip it in the bud with a tightening of the contact on the reins. I then have to maintain this contact because, from experience, I know if I loosen it she bolts with me.

Unfortunately the loan horse rides far better with a loose contact and out of habit when she started to jog I tightened my contact, this made her worse as she is unused to it and as soon as I was instructed to give her the rein and I did she slowed down. This makes me nervous as giving up the rein to my share pony leaves me with a bolting horse (which is why I am looking for something a bit more sensible at the moment).

How can I improve this situation as apart from this she was my perfect horse and I know that the only problem I have with her should be easy to fix apart from my bad habits..

(Large box of Belgian chocolates for getting this far, and another for those who reply!)
 
can you try riding some rides where you dont have to 'turn' for home to get more confient on her to start with and then when you have built some confidence between the 2 of you try rides where you need to 'turn' for home.

Always works well with ours when we havnt been out for a while.

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I can really sympathise because if you have learnt to ride one horse in a particular way and that works, it's really difficult to adjust to another (well, at least I have this kind of problem!!).

Try relaxing, it sounds like the new mare needs to just chill and try to convince yourself to trust her. Try distracting yourself by giving her a pat, or a little scratch on the withers, or get involved in a conversation with the person you are with, or start singing (sounds silly, I know, but it works wonders!).
 
Ok, Unfortunately the position of the horse at the moment means it is impossible to go on a circular ride.

I like the idea of singing but I don't want the lady to think I am insane.

My instructor was with us and said that her owner rode her other horse with a very loose back and swayed with the rhythm of the horse a lot and that I had a straight back. I would love to be able to relax my back more however once again (due to the share mare) I have struggled with this before as I worry about losing control.

I have been advised to steer clear of riding the shared pony for now as my riding is apparently far better if I haven't ridden her for a while. I am also booked in to do some lunge lessons on my instructors school mistress to get me to relax a bit more on different horses as it seems to be the root of the problem.
 
If this is the only thing, then i would not let it put me off, it sounds like a fairly simple situation in the grand scheme of issues.
With time you would be fine with this transition in style, you just have to keep at it.

Ooo, i just fancy some chocolates too
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I dont think it will take you to long to adjust.I had to do the same with loose contact with my new mare she jogged constantly but within a few weeks has learnt to walk on roads at different paces and in the school.She is the type that gets faster if she loses her nerve and I found using one rein at a time really helped her.Im still working on the odd spin but fortunately she only spins and doesnt bolt and will always try and go past with lots of gentle coaxing.You will soon adjust my gelding needed to be pushed and I had to be firm shes the opposite and I like the difference now.
 
[ QUOTE ]
My instructor was with us and said that her owner rode her other horse with a very loose back and swayed with the rhythm of the horse a lot and that I had a straight back. I would love to be able to relax my back more however once again (due to the share mare) I have struggled with this before as I worry about losing control.[ QUOTE ]


You will actually have much better control of any horse if you can ride with a relaxed back which helps you to sit deeper. It might be worth trying something like Pilates or Alexander technique to help you relax your muscles.

Incidentally, your share horse isn't really bolting with you, it is just running away.
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