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Does this mean anything?

2K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  G and K's Mom 
#1 ·
I was doing some ground work in our square-shaped round pen with my horse today and she was doing so great that I put on her bridle and rode around bareback for 15 minutes or so. I'm not the best rider in the world so I just walked and jogged. I was trying to pay attention to my seat and my balance on her and when I asked her to jog she had this wonderful smooth sitting jog that I could have ridden for hours! I had light contact and she was responsive to the lightest touch.

One thing she started to do is put her head down. Not too bad, but more than normal. Her poll was at or below her withers. She wasn't coughing or slowing down at all. She just kept going nice and even. Was I doing something wrong or was she just being lazy (it was pretty hot today)? What should I do if she does this again?

Other than that is was a perfect mini-ride!
 
#2 ·
Hmm... when they drop their nose to the ground, the are usually trying to avoid the bit. I know there is something called "rooting," but I don't really know what it is, so I'll leave that to someone else. But you said she was still going along smoothly... she was still relaxed, her ears were forward? Maybe it was just a combination of being hot/tired and being relaxed? I wouldn't worry too much, and if it starts to bother you, horses will typically bring their heads up if pushed forward, or you can do a transition, or a circle, just do something different. I wouldn't worry too much about it, just see how she does when you ride her again. =]
 
#3 ·
My gelding does the same thing at the jog...I think it is just that he is really relaxed and being a tad lazy! My boy tends to drop his head very low (as in close to the ground) when jogging on the lunge either on-line or at liberty, when ridden at the jog he tends to stay at the correct western headset level. So I don't think its evasion.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the replies. I think you're right and that she must have been hot/relaxed/lazy, probably all of the above. I'm fairly sure that she wasn't trying to evade the bit because I didn't have much contact at all. If she does it again I'll try a circle or something different and see what happens. Putting her head down is just not the norm for her and I wanted to be sure it wasn't me doing something wrong. I won't worry too much about it now and just chalk it up to a fun day. Lily really did seem to be in a very good and mellow mood, but it was in the upper 80's which is quite hot for us. She was in a "I'd be happy to do anything you want mood". Wouldn't it be nice if she was in that mood every day?!
 
#6 ·
She is a 9 year old Arab. We've had her about a year but from the pictures I've seen from her previous owners she was not trained to put her head down like that. Most of the pics were of schooling shows and she can have a nice head set though not a low head set.
 
#8 ·
It sounds like she was stretching her topline. Its a good thing. A few things lead me to this conclucsion 1. You were luning her, loosening up muscles 2. you were working on keeping your balance and seat. This takes a lot of stress off the horse if you aren't all over the place up there. 3. Her head dropped below her withers, yet she didn't lose forward or change pace.

I actually do this exercise on purpose with horses that have tight necks and backs, with some horses, it comes with bending to align to body better. (most horses do travel slightly off balance, just so slight that most people can't realize it) By bending to the opposite side of the holding pattern, the body actually comes straight and the horse stretches through the neck and back.

What you should do - work on keeping your balance up there, let the reins slide through, but offer a light contact for her through your reins. Find the widest point of the barrel and apply light leg pressure to encourage her to keep moving and tip her pelvis to help stretch her lower back and pull her hind legs further underneath her, also working her abdominal muscles. You will also want to use your butt and stomach muscles to invite the back to actually "lift" underneath you. Let her hold it as long as she can and start all over again.

It doesn't sound like she is avoiding the bit, as horses that do this usually bring their head to the ground and fall heavy on the forehand, making it difficult for the rider to control or steer.

It sounds like you had a good feeling about the ride, so I would say go for that, what feels good to you usually feels good to the horse as well. As long as she is not bracing on the bit and is letting go of the tension in the lower neck muscles, I say take what she gives you and offer all you can through support in your seat and leg.
 
#10 ·
Here's what I was focused on while I was riding - trying to keep a soft seat and having contact with the 3 points of my seat. Trying to use my stomach, I'm not sure how to explain it, I guess I was using my stomach/core to connect the horse and myself. A little like a shock absorber. Unfortunately I was not super consistent but I could certainly feel when I was getting "off" and I would try to relax and use my core area again. I must say that when it was feeling right it was very fun. It felt great.

I had only light contact with the bit, another thing that was fun. She usually doesn't require a heavy hand, but more so than we had yesterday. It really felt like we were working together. She just normally doesn't put her head low like that so I was wondering if I was doing something wrong. Sounds like maybe we were on the right track and I shouldn't be alarmed, yeah!

We didn't lunge for very long - 5-10 minutes and even then I was trying something new - no lunge line. Lily was a champ and responded almost better than when we use the lunge line!

I will continue to work on my seat and having light contact. When I give her some light leg pressure should I expect her to speed up at all? Or will I just feel her back stretching out more? Also, I don't have a riding instructor so should I keep trying to use my stomach as I was and will it feel "right" like it did yesterday? In other words how will I know if I'm doing things correctly?

Again, I really don't have lots of experience with all of this, I was going off things that I have read that make sense but mostly on what felt right. Even though it was a short ride it was fun. I was pretty giddy for the rest of the day!

JDI - I hope some day that this that what we'll look like!! :D

Thanks again for the great replies!
 
#11 ·
If she was evading the bit it would be more of a pulling motion/feel, and if you were to ask her to bring her head back up, she would probably respond with a rather sour attitude :)

My gelding used to do this. He would have his head lower, and when I asked him something whilst using bit contact, he would throw his head/rear/etc. Generally just be a huge pain. He doesn't do it anymore though, it was really only in the first 2-3 days of riding him again after three years out of the saddle ;D
 
#12 ·
Use light leg pressure through your whole leg, think like you have an exercise ball between your legs and you are trying to lift it. Its not really a cue to move faster, more just to move "up". Try to count the beats as your horses feet hit the ground. In the walk, it will be hind L front L, Hind R front R (or vice versa with the R and L). When your horse is really heavy on the forehand, you will feel more of a dragging feeling and a swing in your hips that matches the hit of the front feet to the ground. When your horse stretches and you ask for her to go a little further into it, you will feel more of a "float" feeling and will actually be able to feel beats 1 and 3 (hind feet) over the swing of the front feet, it makes for a much more comfortable ride. Continue working on keeping her straight, for example, if you feel more pressure in your right rein, use your right rein and leg to bring her back to straight, be very particular. Of course opposite if you feel the pressure in the left rein. If you are well into this exercise and ask for a trot, don't be surprised if she jumps straight into canter, as it is easier for them to get their hips moving in the canter. Ride out the canter and let her find the trot.

It sounds like you are well aware of your seat and core, which is an important part for a good rider and healthy horse. Keep up the good work. I hope this isn't too confusing to follow.
 
#13 ·
Friday was a frustrating day! I went out to ride, not sure how it would go beings that my MIL was home (she wasn't there the last time I rode) and things always get tense when she is around but I really wanted to go and work with my horse. I went out and groomed Lily and was feeling really good again and was looking forward to playing with her. Then my phone rang. School called and my daughter hurt herself in PE, could I come and get her. Nothing serious just her wrist but it was hurting a little and beginning to swell so the school wanted to play it safe and send her home. Oh well, I'll just clean up and let the horses out for their turn-out time. I took Lily's halter off and then opened up the stalls of the other two horses. The other two happily went off to the grassy pasture but Lily went the other direction - straight for the pen where she waited for me!! She was ready to play too! I had to lure her out to the pasture with treats!! I'm heading over today so we'll see how it goes.
 
#14 ·
Well, I rode again the other day and was trying very hard to stay focused on my seat/stomach and also on Lily's back and trying to feel how it all works together. I was trying to get into that "zone" but I was a little distracted by my daughter who was watching and wanting to ride. Things were going alright, until MIL came to "watch". Then she started to bark at me about keeping my toes more forward and my heels down more. I really felt how when I got really distracted my whole balance was completely off. What a difference it made! I have no doubt that my heels and feet needed work but I was trying to really get into my seat and balance and I wasn't even thinking of my feet/heels. Do the feet/heels make a huge difference in your seat? If I were to focus on that would my seat come easier? I'm not good enough yet to be able to focus on everything at the same time so I was only thinking of my core and not at all on my feet. I was, however, using my legs more than the last time I rode.
 
#15 ·
It sounds like we're working on the same things! I totally understand what you mean, there's only so much mental space for focusing on particular parts of your body and if you try to do it all at once, it feels like everything falls apart. I think it's perfectly acceptable to work on one thing at a time. So long as your feet aren't awful, they shouldn't hinder working on your core. Then, once you've got a little more muscle memory so your core stuff comes a bit easier you can pay more attention to fixing your feet.
 
#17 ·
I'm still working on my bareback balance and really having fun. I keep my sessions fairly short and I usually lunge for around 5 minutes (10 tops) prior to riding. I haven't been using a lunge line and she has been very responsive to voice commands so that's been fun as well. As I mentioned earlier I wasn't sure about Lily having her head so low while I was riding. She is still doing it, but I am noticing that she is also having her head low while she lunges as well. Sometimes really low. Once in a while she'll smell the dirt as she's moving along. I am starting to think that she is too relaxed. Although she is promptly doing anything I ask (literally without hesitation) she is being happily mellow about it. She does a lot of lip-licking/chewing so from what I've heard that's a good sign, right? Lily doesn't seem bored while were working it's more like she's just happy and hanging out. "Trot? OK, trotting. This is nice, I wonder what she'll ask me to do next. Hmmm I think I'll take a quick whiff of the dirt and see who pooped here last. Little kiss, I get to canter! Yeah, this is fun too. Back to a trot? No biggie, that's cool. Whoa? OK, stopped. Next?" Should I be asking more of her? When she puts her head lower than her withers while I'm riding I have been increasing pressure (VERY slightly) with my leg and she will lift her head to about her withers. It's like I can feel that I'm doing something right, I just wish I had more knowledge and understanding of what I'm doing. So far I'm just feeling a good/right feel and going off of that. Sure is fun though.

Maybe there is something illegal growing out in the pasture that's giving her this happy, mellow mood...

Also, I'm starting to be able to feel her lift her back and it's a great feeling! I'm not as consistent as I want to be, but I'm working on it! It's not automatic for me, I find that I really need to concentrate on what I'm doing and get in my "zone". To be honest, I feel pretty mellow myself when I can just focus on Lily and my riding. I really hope I can get more consistent with my riding and balance. I also wish I had a good trainer to help me.

Actually, this entire forum has been a good trainer - Thanks for all of the great posts, advice, support, etc.!!
 
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