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A few questions

1K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  ThatNinjaHorse 
#1 ·
First off, i dont ride in an arena, i have a small paddock-ish area with trees surrounding it, tree stumps, a bit of uneven ground and sometimes cattle. I can do, maybe..2 ish 15-20 (i think) metre circles...and theyre uneven sized..a bit like this Oo
So i have a few problems, im hoping to take shad to a training day the local dressage club is holding next month, ill get to use an arena and have either a 30 min lesson with a club instructor, or ride a test, get feedback from the judge then ride it again..

But untill then:
I've been working on leg yeilding lately, but im having trouble keeping him straight. He wont bring his hind over as much as his front, so he kinda pops his shoulder out a little, if that makes sense? I straightern him up then try again (which sometimes doesnt happen due to running out of room)
What can i do get him to move over more?
The way i was taught was to use inside leg, keeping bend to the inside and ask him to move over with the outside rein, however i read on another forum that you ask with the inside rein? So perhaps im asking him wrong and encouraging him to pop his shoulder out...
I havnt had a chance to try this inside rein thing yet as he's lame.

Long and low at trot: He needs to learn this better as its asked in a dressage test. He does it ok in walk, but up until recently id never asked it in trot, even when i used to have regular lessons in the most basic flatwork it was never mentioned.
Ive tried it once last week, was a bit of an experiment since ive never done it as i mentioned before. So i'd give him a bit of a longer rein, still with contact though, push him foward and use my outside (i think i was using outside) rein. Eventually he kind of got the idea and would lower his head, just for a coupld of strides. I was carrying my hands quite low also as it seemed to help him get the idea. However, even though he would lower his neck he'd come behind the verticle a little, even though i was really soft. Is this just because he is new to it? Or am i doing it wrong? Because to me it felt like he was stretching into the contact a little but apparently on the ground it looked like he was coming under it...

Simple changes: He anticipates it quite badly. I will ask him to trot and he will pull into me, slow his canter down to the point where he's almost doing it on the spot, and then ill have to make him trot. Then he just tries to canter again and we have this skipping thing going on because im saying trot and hes saying canter. Its so hard to get those 3 trot strides out of him. A couple of times hes just been one step ahead of me and done a fly...
So, ill do lots of transitions and figure eights where one circle is canter the other trot and ill mix and match that up a bit, and ask for the transitions in different places (i can kinda do a another circle thats out the side of where i ride, have to dodge tree and small shrubs though)
Is there anything else i can do? Or is it just more transitions and patience?
He knows what im asking, and can do simple changes fine he just doesnt want to. :lol:

Sorry if that was kinda long. I've gotten to the stage where i cant really go much further without lessons, just work on what i do know. And i wont be able to have lessons for quite a while..
 
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#2 ·
The way i was taught was to use inside leg, keeping bend to the inside and ask him to move over with the outside rein, however i read on another forum that you ask with the inside rein? So perhaps im asking him wrong and encouraging him to pop his shoulder out...
I havnt had a chance to try this inside rein thing yet as he's lame.

Wrong in both cases.

Most people think a leg yield should result in a large step over to the side but nothing is farther from the truth. Going forward with less side ways movement is more correct.

In your case go back to the very beginning and work from the ground getting him to move his hindquarters over with the whip. When you get on try not to expect too much. The inside leg at the girth or just a touch back should move the whole side at once. If the front is moving too much (a common reaction) then slow down the front end and keep the front and rear aligned.

The inside rein simply HOLDS on to the bend the horse offers, it should not be used to aquire the bend. The outside rein remains at the neck and accepts the horse moving into it as a result of the driving inside leg. If the horse is popping the outside shoulder, then too much bend is being asked for and the outside rein needs to be more effective/active but not by opening it (this can be effective but you MUST work with both reins to do so and know what you are doing).
 
#3 ·
Yep. Thanks Spyder!

About the stretchy circle and the simple changes, not having a video I can't say what's going on but they are what, 2-3 movements in the test? I would just go and see what the club instructor says.
The thing with the stretchy circle is that it is actually used to test the connection, if your horse isn't stretching for the bit all the time, he isn't just going to do it for a 20m circle. This makes me think you are holding him in a frame and not riding him into one. On a horse going well with correct basics, the stretchy circle is a shoe in.

Good luck!
 
#4 ·
For the leg yield thing, my horse does the same thing. I find that when I slow him down a bit more he seems to be able understand and do it more easily. If he keeps doing it well I try to speed him up only a little bit though.
With him going beyond the vertical he could be curling up a little. My horse does it every once in a while, I'm having difficulties fixing it sometimes.
I'm not sure what to tell you for the canter though... I hope everything works out well!
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the replies!

The thing with the stretchy circle is that it is actually used to test the connection, if your horse isn't stretching for the bit all the time, he isn't just going to do it for a 20m circle. This makes me think you are holding him in a frame and not riding him into one.
hmm yes i see what you mean...Ive never really thought ive been 'holding' him but ill definatly pay more attention to what im doing, maybe i am a bit...
Also, i ride him 'out' a fair bit, along the sides of roads, travelling stock routes etc, walk, trot, canter mostly on quite a soft rein/no contact at all. Maybe because of this he's just thinking when i give him a bit of rein he can just go along like we're out on a trail...i guess thats related to what you said above though...


Somethings come up and i can no longer get to the training day next month, however they will be having more throughout the year and im hoping to organise a lesson once a month or so.
 
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