Does This horse look lame??

Haha thanks for the advice guys! I'm sort of on my own when it comes to the horses, and so I need to start working longer and slower, got it. And 2 big reds, I've been doing lateral flexion and As soon as I get on, I tug on the rein on each side so he'll learn to give to the bit., I realize that probly didn't make any sense, but it actually said in the recent HorseadnRider magazine, where you do tight circle work, continually tugging on the inside rein to teach them to tuck their nose in and bend. But I shall start slowing down even more. He really has improved believe it or not. Last spring he was a high strung barrel horse. But thanks again!

I think he's very stiff and again your jumping from task to task without getting him calm and working well at any one task, he is very willing and placid :) I think he is too stiff for many of the sharp turns you ask, I also noted you hands seem very high at time and perhaps too severe. He is certainly a nice chap I hope all comments from us all are constructive and helpful, good luck with him he's a sweetie x

Sorry just seen your last post and what you have read about hand movements on a circle its much gentler than "tugging" if you need to use that method (which can be critisized) its more a very gentle squeeze of your own hand rather than a pull or tug at the horses mouth I know this sounds a bit weird but more like your gently moving a stress ball in your hand to soften the mouth, AND NOT A CONSTANT MOVEMENT (im sure I will be very critisized for this but I know what its like to train on your own, just trying to think of an example in normal terms) anyone who can explain better PLEASE HELP ME HERE :) ) You just cannot beat expert tuition x

Agreed with above.

....What are you trying to accomplish with those tight circles? Heck, even I'm dizzy just watching them.

EDIT* Okay, so I guess I answered my own question about the circles by reading your last post, but I don't agree with it. He is too tense to be giving to anything, sadly. He seems super confused about what you were trying to do.

Ethan here is a good video teaching flexion on a green horse. Hope it helps :))

Yeah maybe its nothing. I think it would be easier to see if you had him at a trot on a straight line, because its symmetrical and you can compare differences in stride length.

But something doesn't look quite right to me. Those hind legs are just dragging...how old is he?

Ethan, to me it looks like a timed event horse with the tie-down taken off. I don't see any lameness, but maybe some short-stepping on slick grass. They'll definitely move different when they feel slipping. Plus a horse with its head up like that isn't going to travel relaxed and fluid. It will look choppy.

There's a hint of lateral flexion (I only watched about 4 min.) and it looks like you're on the right track. And I guarantee that horse will be much better in a month because I see you're taking advice and soaking it in!

Ethan, how much lateral flexion do you usually do? I saw you do it once on each side in the video, but I'm not sure if you usually do it more. I do each side at least 5 times before I ride, then work on flexing his body at a walk or eventually trot and lope if he can handle it at those speeds.

In addition, I teach my horses to drop their head two ways depending on the amount of control necessary. The way I prefer is called "winging out", where I extend my arms out to the sides with little to light contact on the bit until they drop their head then immediately release. It's also easier to relieve the pressure the exact moment he gives with this method.

If you need more speed control, however, inside rein slightly up and outside rein toward the hip works as well. The upside is that you have the option of more contact if you feel you need it but you need to have really good feel to do it correctly so the horse doesn't get confused or frustrated when there's no immediate release for doing the right thing.

When I got Sock, he had no clue what I was asking at first when I winged out on him. What worked for us was a loosely adjusted German martingale for a day. It was just tight enough to put a little downward pressure on the bit to give him the idea. Some horses might take longer to get it, but if Frank is as smart as Sock (and he seems to be) he should get it fairly quickly as well. I would suggest waiting until he's softer in the mouth, though.

I agree with Mood. You can get the same sort of give from larger circles than the ones you're doing here.

How quickly to you give him release when he gives to you? Is it immediate or do you hesitate for a second or two? Also I'd be interested to see what he does if you just gave him his head. Some horses will take blatant advantage of it, but others will thank you immensely!

Sorry for being long-winded, just trying to explain the best I can. :) Keep reading H&R. Lots of good stuff in those!

First I agree he dose not look lame. He looks like a horse who should not be doing anything but walking and learning to balance the rider. I am not even sure why you asking him to lope. He is no where ready for even trotting. He is not following his nose. His head is up and he is not giving to the bit and when he dose try to lower his head you are not rewarding him. You need to work on moving the horses body around, every inch of it. Work on getting him relaxed at the walk and with the bit and do not even think about trotting or loping at this stage.

Also GET OFF THE GRASS. While yes there are horses who show on grass this is NOT where you want to be working a green horse and especially if you are doing any type of reining work. If you want a lame horse this will get you there.

Go back to the basics and work the horse at that until he gets it. Most of my horses never leave the walk for the first few months of training. If you spend the time now everything down the road will be better faster and fall into place.

THanks guys. So much! Like I said efore, I'm basically on my own with my horses and your advice is greatly aprreciated. I had him on a running martingale and snaffle bit off and on all summer, but then I had to take a break from riding due to school for a few months, and then I came back and read the magazine and decided to try this. THis was actually "our" first time ever doing this. And I have been looking for a place other than grass to work him. And I belive that now since the crops are all harvested, I should be able ride in some of the fields. And so what you guys are saying is I should only be walking and working on getting him to give to the bit? Ok. I can do that. I guess I was given some wrong advice by someone else. But thanks again!