On the forehand, off the forehand.

I swear, every horse I get has issues with being on the forehand. And guess what? I have no idea how to fix it, or even how to look for it! So that is where all you lovely people on HF get to help me out. (: So my questions are...

1. How can you tell if a horse is on the forehand? What are the things to look for?

2. How does being on the forehand effect the horse, and even the rider?

3. How does the rider fix a horse being on the forehand?

Now Bear isn't heavy in my hand, not at all. When I take up contact he doesn't pull on me all that much, either. But, I have had some people here on HF that he is very heavy on the forhand. Here is a video:


Please ignore my riding and Bear being stiff. Found out why he was so stiff... Long story.

I want every idea out there! Please help me people, you're my only hope! ):

1. You can see that he is kind of pulling himself along with his front end. If he was actually collected he would be driving his hind end under him and have a nice round back.
2. It could really hinder you if you wanted to start jumping because if he isn't using his hind end he won't have very much power to to direct him up and over.

Pretty much every single horse when not being ridden properly is on the ofrehand, it is just how they go. The whole point of dressage is to lift them up onto their hindquarters. Horses go on the forehand because they have alot more weight to carry with their head and neck on that end of them here is a video of a horse that is off the forehand, mind you, this is a grand prix horse (one of the most amazing ones ever!) it takes years and years to get a horse off the forehand to this extent. Do you have a trainer? Maybe ask her how to get your horse off the forehand, it will be easier for her to explain it then me :P this is a stunning horse to watch!

The horse in the video is very heavy on the forehand.

I notice that you have someone in the ring...your instructor? If that is the case just what is she telling you?


The horse is not round, not tracking up, the hind end is being left behind and yes your horse is not heavy in your hand because you have little or no contact.

Now I am going to be blunt. Unless the horse is arthritic in the hind end joints this lessomn should not have been allowed to continue with the horsec in this position. When you get on a horse and ride it you ARE training it whether it be right or wrong. To allow a horseto continue in the wrong position you are training it to BE in the wrong position. The hind end can never be brought under itself if you allow any drive you are giving to sail out the front end and improper contact does just that.

Just what did you do to warm up this horse so it would be less stiff?

First of all, Spyder, I love reading your posts, you know SO much about dressage!

Second- I second all of what Spyder has said. You have to have contact with the horse, and you REALLY have to drive them unto the haunches. I'm lucky because Geof will do it when asked(he's a saint I tell ya!). So, I would talk to your trainer about it, but if you want advice, push him from Seat into Leg into Hand. That is a rule of tumb that alot of riders don't ride by these days, I used to be one of them! (I was also a stupid kid and didn't listen to anyone elses advice.)

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I would really like to hear some things I can do to help get a horse off the forhand. Like some excercises, maybe?

And yes Spyder, I have this horrible problem with not hold any contact at all. We are doing the best I can to fix this!

By the way, the lesson I was in was a clinic. I am doing these clinics whenever I can, which is once a month, roughly. I wont be doing one until Jan. That whole lesson was on getting Bear and I to loosen up. We mainly did walk, some light trot, and one round of canter. We stuck to bend circles pretty much and getting him to stretch his neck (as in, I guess, bringing his nose to my foot/knee while I was on him). I have been doing that daily on the ground and have been stretch him legs out daily, which seems to be helping the stiffness, even though im not working him as of right now. We are also working on his hooves, which is another reason that he is so stiff (also the reason that he isn't being ridden right now).

Sorry if I confused any of you with my posts!

Gaw, I saw that video a little while ago and just about died! :p
And good point about the whole "head/neck" thing. Good way to put it to make us dumb people (as in me) understand better!

Stretching to often can acctually lead to problems with horses.

Again, seat into legs into hands. That's all it takes

O.O Im glad that I just started doing lots of stretching on Wednesday. How many days a week should I stretch him? What kind of stretchs? I have been doing the one where he brings his nose to his side (where the girth would lay) and where I pull his leg out infront of him. Are those okay? Or should I be doing different ones. When I to the neck one his neck tends to pop, is that bad? I am hoping to get his back done early spring. Should he be on joint supplements? I am about to buy some supplements for him (weight and muscle right now), so I was planning on buying some joint supplements for him once I started to ride him again.

I wouldn't go blaming the horses that you ride for having a problem with being on the forehand... I bet if an experienced rider hopped on the horse would come straight off the forehand. It's not your fault, you don't know what to do, but I'd be worried that this has gone on for so long in front of an instructor I'm assuming?

Your first question has been clearly answered so I won't go into that. The second question re: how does being on the forehand affect the horse and rider.
Number 1 It's damn uncomfortable!!! The horse has a hollow back, is stiff and will just fall into transitions, drop it's shoulder into corners which puts the rider off balance etc. making for a horribly uncomfortable ride. Compare this to a horse that is off the forehand, it is balanced, stays upright through turns, will jump into transitions with running on etc. The next step up from being off the forehand is to have the horse's back loose and swinging, where they really carry the rider and often it will feel as though the wither has just grown a few cm's in front of you- best feeling!

Being on the forehand all the time will make it next to impossible to get a nice topline on the horse, and often they have uneven muscles. This is why you're horse is stiff, doing exercises on the ground (stretches) will not do a huge amount to tell you the truth. Getting him up off the forehand, balanced and straight will be what does it.
There is absolutely no point in stretching under saddle and asking the horse to stretch it's neck out when it is on the forehand, as all it will do is lean on it's neck and front legs even more. Being so heavy on the forehand means it is 10x harder to turn as well. In order to ride a balanced turn or circle the hind leg MUST come under the horse's body to take the weight through the curve. If the horse is on the forehand it will compensate by dropping it's inside shoulder and swinging it's hindquarters out.

He may have some medical reason behind being stiff, but riding him on the forehand is going to do him more harm than good and you'd be better off to leave him out of work.

Joint supplements, depends on what is wrong with him. But like Spyder said, unless he has severe arthritis in his hind joints or a shockingly bad back, there's no reason why he should be working like that. Join supplements are not going to make him work correctly and muscle building supplements are not going to give him a topline.

To get him off the forehand, we are NOT your only hope, not by a long shot. You can't really explain over the internet how to ride a horse off the forehand other than a few generalised comments as everyone rides differently and every horse travels differently.
You can try lots of transitions (trot-canter-trot is the BEST for getting their back working!!), teach im leg yield so that he moves off your leg and understands to pick that inside hind leg up and under himself, LOTS of changes of rein etc.

My advice, quite going to these 'clinics' or goign to the instructor you're with now because they're not doing a thing for you. Hunt around and try out some different instructors in your area that will pick up your faults and get you working that horse off the forehand and correctly. A good instructor is your last hope, NOT a horse forum!