working from behind

Paddy Irish

Paddy Irish

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Please can someone give me some useful tips on getting paddy working from behind. In trot his head goes up and he does mincey little steps , i can never get him to go long and low , except on a free rein on the buckle. He's now in a single joint snaffle as the girl who does a bit of jumping with him says that he backs off even more from the french link?
He's had his teeth recently done and also his back - physio says he's a bit stiffer on one side at the poll but there's nothing physically amiss so to speak.
When you ask for trot he seems to go up and down but not forward much , if you get my meaning. What can i do schooling / bit wise to make him more forward going and happier to stretch down into the bridle , i'm considering jumping on with just a headcollar to see if he's lighter on the forehand without the bit , he's heavy on the fore in canter but makes a slightly better outline but still doesn't cover much ground
alix_paddy_201010_0003a-1.jpg
 
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Are you having any lessons at the moment? The best thing is experienced eyes on the ground.

Off the top of my head, if he is hollow forget about his head position and work on getting a really good reaction to your leg. Before anything else he has to be in front of your leg, so practice a lot of transitions and try to sharpen him up (a set of spurs or whip might help you here). Also stick to circles, serpentines, etc and avoid straight lines. Make sure he bends around your inside leg and try some leg yielding from a smaller to a larger circle. As he starts using his back end more his back will free up and he will start finding it easier to start stretching his neck forward and low.

Bit wise I would experiment with different snaffles to see if he likes any of them more rather than ride on the headcollar.
 
Thanks booboos , i think you're right as i have seen eva ( girl who jumps him ) doing 10m circles in trot and then going large and eventually he does start to lengthen his stride . I used to have lessons and i should go back to them really but the lady who gave me lessons is also giving jumping lessons to eva and i don't want her thinking i'm giving paddy mixed messages , although i know eva finds that he backs off the bit and doesn't lengthen well. She's a much stronger rider than me , and seems to do well jumping , but to me he doesn't seem relaxed in his head at all
alix_paddy_201010_0003a-1.jpg
 
How does he react to being lunged - do you use any gadgets that attach to the bit eg side reins, pessoa?
 
Firstly you needto gethim forwards before you can start asking him to round over his back.
Pleanty of transitions, trotting poles and being firm always helps.
What I mean is if you squeeze with your leg and you get that short up and down type trot really squeeze and send him forward. If he doesn't respond, a tap behind the leg.
Also, lessons will help :)
 
Pessoa is a good piece of kit to get them working from behind. Alternatively side reins put on going between his from legs on the his girth are good too. In both cases start loose and gradually tighten :o Good luck xxx
 
Just looking at the second photograph he seems to have more muscles underneath his neck than on his topline on the neck (does that make sense?). F was the same when I got him and it took over a year of work for him to start changing, so it does take a while. I quite like the lungee-bungee aid for lunging as it is quite mild and adjustable.

The bit looks a bit thin and large as well, although that might just be the photo. What happens if you try something completely different, e.g. a rubber straigh bar? F is much more likely to lengthen and put weight on a thicker than a thinner bit.
 
Booboos said:
Just looking at the second photograph he seems to have more muscles underneath his neck than on his topline on the neck (does that make sense?). F was the same when I got him and it took over a year of work for him to start changing, so it does take a while. I quite like the lungee-bungee aid for lunging as it is quite mild and adjustable.

The bit looks a bit thin and large as well, although that might just be the photo. What happens if you try something completely different, e.g. a rubber straigh bar? F is much more likely to lengthen and put weight on a thicker than a thinner bit.
Click to expand...

In all honesty the pics were taken last year when i first got him , he came with a 6" !!!??? myler bit which to me seemed huge and was always hanging out of his mouth one side or t'other so i binned that and got a NS trans-angle at 5.5" but even that seemed a bit big , eva has got him in a sigle joint plain snaffle as she reckons he backs off it less and goes forward more and for jumping i guess thats ok but i know i'm going to have to put in some real time doing pole work and transistions and believe me i'm not looking for an easy ride here but i was just wondering about a different bit - or no bit? Lunging would be fine if i was any good at it and paddy seems to be a bit afraid , i get the feeling he's been punished in the past on the lunge although my instructor lunged him and he went beautifully after a shaky start and he did equally well on both reins. I will look into a lungee bungee thing or pessoa - thanks for your two pennith worth it's much apprieiated.
 
If you can get him lunging nicely, a few people on here use draw reins clipped on to the sides of a headcollar, going between their legs and across their back just behind the withers. I will try and find a pic :) Have been using a similar thingy, but with a slightly elastic equivalent so it has a bit of give. Really helps to encourage them to work long and low and from behind. I found it works better than (and is far cheaper than :rolleyes:) a pessoa :)

J&C
 
JessandCharlie said:
If you can get him lunging nicely, a few people on here use draw reins clipped on to the sides of a headcollar, going between their legs and across their back just behind the withers. I will try and find a pic :) Have been using a similar thingy, but with a slightly elastic equivalent so it has a bit of give. Really helps to encourage them to work long and low and from behind. I found it works better than (and is far cheaper than :rolleyes:) a pessoa :)

J&C
Click to expand...

If you could find a pic that would be great as i'm not really up on gadgets , also as i'm not confident lunging i will seek out some knowledgable help to get him doing it properly before i let myself loose with the poor chap.
 
Check that your saddle (the points of the tree in particular) are not restricting the movement of the top of his scapula. If in doubt, lunge without a saddle and then put saddle on and check to see if any difference in stride length.

Also, some sensitive horses will restrict their stride length if over-girthed.
 
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