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Cross Firing

6K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  gypsygirl 
#1 ·
So when I first got my horse I did all my work with a lunge line. He is very well trained when it comes to knowing what he is suppose to do.. About a year ago I started just free lunging him in the round pen and he did a lot better vs lunge line. Well about 2 months ago he started getting lazy and he would start out perfect then after going around the round pen 2 times he starts to slow down and cross fire. I'd immediately threw my whip in front of him make make him go the other way into a lope until he did it again (i was told by a trainer i use to work for to do so, it worked really well with a horse that was brought in for training) Still no improvement! So I started last week back on the lunge line (I had gotten lazy myself and hadn't used it in about a year and a half) and he has no manners what so ever. Doesn't want to listen pays attention every where else etc. I got him to finally start listening to me with that so I moved him back into loping around (without telling him to trot, walk, or whoa) and hes still cross firing!

So after that long story my question is:
How can I get him to stop cross-firing on the lunge line most importantly?
2nd Is there anything else I can do in the round pen to get him to stop?

Thanks!!
 
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#5 ·
Crossfiring can be a lazy bad habit that is hard to break. (crossfiring, by the way, is when the front end is in one lead and the hind end is in the other lead -- usually the outside lead)

I, personally, never let a horse crossfire just so they will not get comfortable with it. I always get after them hard and chase them around harder and harder until they bring that inside hind foot up and get both ends in the inside lead.

I never let them slow down to get correct -- I always make them go forward faster until they get it right. I do the same thing under saddle. They will get sloppyer and sloppyer and slow down and break stride if you do it any other way. Every horse I have will catch the inside hind leg back up if I just yell at them because I have tried to eat them up whenever they let that hind end fall out.

Letting a horse drag a back lead is kind of the epitome of anti-collection. If you have let a horse do it for a long time, I guarantee that horse does not want any part of collection and of properly wanting to use its hind end.

At this point, I would bit this horse up with a snaffle and a surscingle and force it into proper frame and start longeing all over again -- both on a line and in a round pen -- and teach this horse to properly use its hind end.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Thank you Cherie.
I don't understand how he got into this in the first place. He has never gotten away with it and is perfect under saddle. I really doubt he got away with it before I got him either he has been a western pleasure show horse his whole life and all the sudden he is starting to get into some really bad habits. But thank you :)
 
#9 ·
how big is the circle, he could be unbalanced. is he leaning in or out in the circle or he is moving straight ?
 
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