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Critique please walk/trot

2K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  gabrielstriumph 
#1 ·
Info. you might need/find helpful:

We haven't been in consistent work for about the past year due to injuries and then I had my first semester of school (chaos!). We both have been out of work for the last 3 months, this is our 8th ride if I remember correctly. This is the first time we have trotted since we got back into work (we only trotted a couple of times around the arena) just to see how she was. I had been working with a dressage trainer and I am having her out on wednesday, I was hoping someone might have some tips for me before she tears me apart :D. I do have a video but youtube is being difficult so I can't post it yet. Anyways sorry for the novel...If anything jumps out at you please let me know!
 

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#2 ·
You guys look awesome! NO, really. There isn't much I would change at this point. You sit well, your arm and hand position looks very good, you are up nicely and leg down nicely. Once you and she are more sure of it all, you might lower the stirrup, just ONE , no more.
I think you will do really well. I can't see anything to tear apart at all.
 
#3 ·
You guys look awesome! NO, really. There isn't much I would change at this point. You sit well, your arm and hand position looks very good, you are up nicely and leg down nicely. Once you and she are more sure of it all, you might lower the stirrup, just ONE , no more.
I think you will do really well. I can't see anything to tear apart at all.
Thank you! That is encouraging to hear! I hope you still think that after I get the video up :lol:

My trainer had mentioned lowering the stirrups but she wanted me to transition from the hunter length I came to her with.

Thanks again! I am off to my lesson!
 
#4 ·
Yeah you look absolutely beautiful. Straight back, soft hand, good soft ankle...don't change anything! The only thing I would say is that your leg is a bit too far in front of you; there should be a straight line from your ear through your shoulder, hip and heel, and you leg looks like it might be just a tiny bit in a "chair seat" position. Which could give you a stiff knee, making you post/move behind the horse's motion. So make sure your feet are always beneath you so you are really able to get your pelvis up and forward in posting; think about posting "forward" instead of "up." I am just guessing though; I would have to actually see you in action to tell for sure. But keep up the great work! :)
 
#5 ·
Yeah you look absolutely beautiful. Straight back, soft hand, good soft ankle...don't change anything! The only thing I would say is that your leg is a bit too far in front of you; there should be a straight line from your ear through your shoulder, hip and heel, and you leg looks like it might be just a tiny bit in a "chair seat" position. Which could give you a stiff knee, making you post/move behind the horse's motion. So make sure your feet are always beneath you so you are really able to get your pelvis up and forward in posting; think about posting "forward" instead of "up." I am just guessing though; I would have to actually see you in action to tell for sure. But keep up the great work! :)
Thanks! I definitely agree with the leg thing, I think one of the reasons is that Lucy is a very forward and tense horse (she is looking incredibly relaxed for her in these pics, but you can still see tension) and I think I get into that chair seat when I am really trying to get her to slow down and relax. That was actually one of the things my trainer worked with me to do, she had me to some stretches as well and that helped a lot with my leg position.

I have also been sentenced to walking until Lucy figures out how to deal with contact better etc. I can't seem to get the video to work so I have to wait until my sister can video me again and put it up herself (she can't figure out what I did to the video o_O).

Anyways thank you for you input! If I don't know what I am doing wrong I can't work on it :P
 
#6 ·
Yeah, I hear you. One thing that can help both with her contact and your seat is making sure you are making all your cues through your legs. Your calves are for impulsion (speed) and your thighs are for balance. So to go faster or sideways, use your calves. Any time you want to slow down or balance or collect, use your thighs. It helps to try to train her to respond almost completely to leg pressure for everything (shouldn't be hard, as you are just walking for awhile)--halting, turning, collecting, and don't touch her mouth except in light guidance. This gets her responsive and her hind end under her, so she can then come into contact with the bit. I can see what you mean that she is a little tense; she also looks a little behind the bit (her head is round but not her body), so just worry about her body for awhile--good impulsion, stepping through supply, bending willingly--and then start to add light rein contact. It has always worked with my lazy sporthorse gelding. :)
 
#7 ·
Yeah, I hear you. One thing that can help both with her contact and your seat is making sure you are making all your cues through your legs. Your calves are for impulsion (speed) and your thighs are for balance. So to go faster or sideways, use your calves. Any time you want to slow down or balance or collect, use your thighs. It helps to try to train her to respond almost completely to leg pressure for everything (shouldn't be hard, as you are just walking for awhile)--halting, turning, collecting, and don't touch her mouth except in light guidance. This gets her responsive and her hind end under her, so she can then come into contact with the bit. I can see what you mean that she is a little tense; she also looks a little behind the bit (her head is round but not her body), so just worry about her body for awhile--good impulsion, stepping through supply, bending willingly--and then start to add light rein contact. It has always worked with my lazy sporthorse gelding. :)
Maybe it was just what I understood, but isn't impulsion the energy/power coming from behind and not necassarily speed? Does that make sense? (just curious here as to what I interpreted)

Lucy is very sensitive and changes pace at different gaits (walk trot) and goes where I want her to just off of my seat. However, she still can't do it completely relaxed and she doesn't want to stop 100 % of the time so I have to set my hands and let her run into them if my seat doesn't work at first. She still isn't ready to try collection with, I am still trying to get her to relax :D I know I need to work on my seat and Lucy definitely tattles on me when I get off balance (makes it easier for my trainer :P). So some of her unsteadiness is my fault, the better I get the better she gets :)

What I am doing right now to get her used to the contact is letting her have a fairly generous amount of rein and then I control her pace with my body. she can fuss with her head until she figues out that she has a set amount of rein and she can relax and take the bit (easiest).

My trainer thinks she is likes to go behind the bit because she had been forcefully "held together" and she had even built up a weird muscle on her neck where she was cheating and "popping out" of bending instead of breaking at the poll.

Thanks for the food for thought!
 
#8 ·
Yes, you're right...impulsion is pushing with the back end, not necessarily how fast the horse is going miles per hour. Sorry, I was typing fast and trying to sum up too much. :S When you say you can direct her off your "seat", what exactly do you mean by that? I've found that different people have different interpretations of what the "seat" includes (i.e. just the seat bones, buttocks and thighs, or the whole works from the waist down).

Lucy wanting to go behind the bit because of being forced into frame with too harsh a bit/training gigs is very possible...sadly a shocking amount of people will tell you that "round" means tucking the head, and that's what they train their horses to do, with incredibly wacky bits and restricting training gigs. So unfortunately it means that you have to undo some of that, by teaching her that she comes up through her hind end and back FIRST, and then her poll flexion follows. Be sure to be as soft as you can with your hands (which it looks like you have no problem with) and like you said, it will help her for you to work on your legs so you can correctly drive her from back to front.

How long have you had her?
 
#9 ·
Yes, you're right...impulsion is pushing with the back end, not necessarily how fast the horse is going miles per hour. Sorry, I was typing fast and trying to sum up too much. :S When you say you can direct her off your "seat", what exactly do you mean by that? I've found that different people have different interpretations of what the "seat" includes (i.e. just the seat bones, buttocks and thighs, or the whole works from the waist down).

Lucy wanting to go behind the bit because of being forced into frame with too harsh a bit/training gigs is very possible...sadly a shocking amount of people will tell you that "round" means tucking the head, and that's what they train their horses to do, with incredibly wacky bits and restricting training gigs. So unfortunately it means that you have to undo some of that, by teaching her that she comes up through her hind end and back FIRST, and then her poll flexion follows. Be sure to be as soft as you can with your hands (which it looks like you have no problem with) and like you said, it will help her for you to work on your legs so you can correctly drive her from back to front.

How long have you had her?
I totally understand the typing to fast thing :P it is very hard to communicate over the internet o_O

I was using the word seat to refer to my seatbone, buttocks and thighs.

Yup, I have had some intersting conversations with people and what they think "round" is.

I definitely agree and not only does Lucy need retraining, but I need it as well :/

I have had her for two years now and in our case it was a green rider and a "green" horse. For the first 6 months I had her I rode her with no contact with no seat (that was a trainwreck) and then after that I alternated between riding with no contact and to much contact with no seat (so some of the need for retraining is my fault). She came to me an EXTREMELY nervous, hyper horse and if you picked up contact she would stick her nose in the air and run (or tuck and run) and she didn't walk, she jigged and halting was almosy impossible. I changed trainers a year ago and I had that trainer for a month and then that trainer moved to far away. I then found the trainer I have now about two months after that, I took lessons for about a month and then we took off a month for an injury. We then took lessons again for two months (one lesson a week) after the two months I decided to have my trainer put 30 days on her (huge difference!) I then took off three months for school and now I have been riding fairly consistently for 3 weeks (between 4-7 days).

Wow, that is a novel lol..Oh and I forgot to mention, the first trainer I had was a hunter and the the second and the trainer I have now are dressage trainers.
 
#10 ·
Wow, so you've been all over the map. Don't worry; at least you're learning! You learn a lot riding a horse that is very sensitive or has issues of his/her own...your own riding skills improve much faster, I've noticed! :) As long as you're not overmounted and have a good trainer you'll figure it out.

How old is Lucy, and what breed? Sorry for all the questions...I'm just trying to get a basis for any other feasible reasons she might be tucking like she does.
 
#11 ·
It has been interesting to say the least :D

I agree! Lucy has taught me so much!

Looking back I think I was overmounted when I bought her, but somehow we made it to a point where I was able to catch up. I asked the second trainer I used if she thought I was overmounted and she said no. However, she did advise me to work closely with a trainer after she left. She had also said that I rode defensively and my lower back was locked making it almost impossible for Lucy to relax and step out. Once I realized what I actually needed to do with my body I think it has been going a lot better for us. Still not close to perfect and I know that Lucy could be going at a faster rate with a better rider but I and my trainer don't feel that I am making her regress. Since I have haven't been able to apply all of the new stuff I have learned because of school, now that I can it will be interesting to see how she progresses.

She is 14 and an Andalusian. This is her history that I have pieced togther in chronologically order. Broodmare/Trick training/Dressage, Pasture Puff, Cart Horse, Crazy Trail Horse (the main goal for these people was to make her jig and run as fast as she could with a honkin big bit in her mouth), Hunter/Natural Horsemanship/Pasture Puff (owner was way overhorsed) and then me. I don't mind the questions :D
 
#12 ·
Okay! I finally have a video! The lack of lessons and consistent riding shows :/ this is the first time I have ridden in a week (I am counting down the days until school is out!) and she is in an eggbutt snaffle instead of her french link (she is going back in the french :D). This is us at our worst so any critique is very helpful!

 
#13 ·
I see pretty much the same things I saw in the photo...your position is picture-perfect, but a little too much so I think...you look pretty stiff in your back and pelvis at times. Really let your hips roll with her stride...you will both be more comfortable and able to relax. Your hands look pretty good though and I like how your eyes are up. I can't say much more without seeing you at faster gaits.
 
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