your opinions on training aids please!

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alfirules

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hi,
i'm considering trying a training aid on one of the horses i ride who is six, as he is being very stubborn about working in an outline and my instructors have also ridden him and find it very difficult to get him round as well.

i have been long reining him which works very well but recently i have had issues with lunging and long reining him as he just spins around and as there is no one around to help i cannot long rein him properly!

so, i have been having a look at some training aids as they sound good, but i am not sure if they are as good as they make them out to be.

so, has anyone seen any sorts of training aids being used or used them themselves and if you have can you give me your views on them.

i want something that is going to encourage rather than force him to work in an outline, and i have seen draw reins in action and dont want to use them.

i was considering the harbridge training aid as it says it 'encourages the horse to work in correct, classical lines and enhances lightness and self carriage.' it also says, 'it encourages the horse to step up and under and creates greater softness over the back and creates lighter hands'

i also thought the Flexi rein sounded good for this horse, has anyone used that??

thanks for reading, i greatly appreciate any comments on this subject!
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Hi - I ordered a Harbridge training aid off the internet but unfortunately it didn't arrive! so I made my own using webbing and elastic! I used it on my daughters pony who is very lazy in the school and a bit big for her anyway to collect. What is nice is that it is totally adjustable so you can start light and increase or decrease the tightenness also it is not dependent on the riders hands. It certainly helped my daughter but would point out that although it put pony's head into the correct position she still had to work like hell to get her backend going! Perhaps you could borrow one to see if it helps.
 
Until your horse is working properly from behind then he isn't going to be able to work in an outline. To help build him up, how about using a Pessoa for lungeing. That way if he chooses to soften he is more comfortable, but if he wants to go round with his head up in the air he can. It is a nice way of encouraging them to drop without forcing them. But obviously that is for groundwork only, not ridden.

It could be that he simply isn't fit enough or developed enough to work in an outline, as it is very hard work for them.

IMHO schooling, more schooling and schooling again is the answer, rather than aids. You may get a quick fix using artificial aids but far better to have your horse working naturally with you in a soft manner.
 
ISH_Mad is right , working to the bridle in connection GIVES an 'outline.
If you are not getting it then there are issues with his understanding of the basics in the scales of training. He is obviously, from the lunging problems not really going forward to the connection to use a devise will 'shut the door' in front futher and may give the appearance of working but once the training aid is removed you will have the problem again.
Lunging our young horses and advanced ones we use the pessoa as it can guide the horse to work in a correct way keeping them relaxed and therefore of benifit to the muscles.
You need to go back to basics and look at his ability to react to your legs by stepping forward and taking his time to reach forward with each step making sure that you stay in balance and that you have an even elastic connection to the bridle not trying to hold his head in or down but having an even connection in both reins aiming to have the head and neck in the middle between the reins and keeping a straight line from the bit rings to the elbows. this means he has a contact but he is not being 'forced'. Remember the law of physics? 'Action and reaction are equal and opposite'... this means if his head goes up you should not force your hand down and vice versa .
The main point is that he needs to understand the contact and that it guides him and it is the leg that generates the desire to follow the contact forward and holds his hind quarters into the balance.
By developing this he will have a carrying hindleg and it will enable him to lighten and open his shoulder leading to and acceptance of the contact and therefore an 'outline' will be developed.
Just like that!!!
Bottom line.....Say no to gadgets!!!!
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i have used training aids but wouldnt recommend them especially if you have never used them before maybe with someone else's help or on an older horse !! a training aid can very easily ruin a good horse and take a lot longer to get them back if you never used them in the first place !!
 
I agree with the coments above. I would not use a training aid on an inexperienced horse. Try not to focus so much on where his head is and think more about getting him working through from behind to start with, encouraging flexion by doing lots of circles and serpentines etc. Also lateral work will help.
 
Ask your instrucot but I ride mine and lunge her in a bungee, which encourages them to use there back. YOu do have to make sure that they are working from behind to achieve the desired results
 
thanks everyone, your comments have all been very helpful. i had a very frustrating ride today with him, he was throwing his head up and all over the place so i have booked another lesson with my instructor to ask for help!

ideally he needs to be sent away to a professional i think, but as he is not mine i cannot do this and i have told his owner and she wont do it!!

its hard for us to do much schooling as we dont have a school or a flat field so we can only school when another school is free and we have to hack to it!!
 
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