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having some problems

1K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  Hrt4Dressage 
#1 ·
So Chloe is continually getting confused with my basic aids and anticipates things. Like for example, if we canter then go back to trot. If I ask her to move forward more at the trot, she canters. If I do the same exact cue BEFORE we canter, she'll respond by moving forward more. She just thinks that after we canter, that's all we're going to do for the rest of the time. Same goes for walking. As soon as I pick up the reins she tenses up and waits for what she thinks is going to happen; trot.

So to reinforce basic rein/leg aids, we're starting from the beginning.
I've been doing walk/halt for the past two days and she is fine in like the first two halts, but then she starts dancing. When she starts dancing I wait and calmly say "ho" until she stops. Then we go back to where I initially asked her to stop and do it again. It usually takes at least 10, 15 minutes to get a good halt where I initially asked for it. Once she gets a good halt, she gets a big praise so she knows she did good. I CANNOT crank on her for doing this or else it gets worse. For example, If she starts backing up I can't give her rein and squeeze with my legs. If I do, she will back up faster and eventually leap forward into a canter or trot. Same thing happens when she swings her butt out into the inside. I can't put leg pressure on my inside leg without her getting 10x worse.

It sounds a lot like a respect issue but she's an angel for groundwork. I can crank on her on the ground and she'll respond immediately. It's a whole nother story when I'm on her back.

She has no pain issues, and i'm a very quiet rider.
 
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#2 ·
I Know Exactly where you are coming from!

My Thoroughbred I have just brought of the track does the exact same things as what you are explaining in your message.

What breed is she? How Old ? Has she had much education? Look at those questions first then move on into the saddle.

So you say she has just started to anticipate - so she has never done this before?

My suggestions (on what i use on my thoroughbred) would be this.

When i first got my horse he was very sensitive to the leg would bolt at the slightest touch, i could not get him to come down from a canter to a trot actually i was lucky to be able to get him to trot to walk.

YOu are on the right track with making her walk halt. This is teaching her to respond to what YOU are saying - not to have her own mind.

Now does she rush in the canter? If she does bring her straight to trot. And i know this hard - but be very firm on her. The minute she may pull in the canter you must bring her back to a trot immediately (or as quick as you can) if she wants to race of into the canter canter - put her on small 10 metre or maybe even 5m (like i do) until she calms the trot down.

Do this with every gait. The message you are sending her is - if i rush off im only going to get put on a small circle and have to go slow again and 10x the amount of work so its not really that fun.

:)

For now, all you can do is lots of repition of that and plenty of walk/halt transitions.

Oh, by the way make sure your reins are not to short as this can cause her to want to run more - just in front of the withers is good.

:)

I hope this answers your question or helps

Please let me know how you go/ or if you have any problems

:)

Liz
 
#3 ·
LizAndCollin101 said:
I Know Exactly where you are coming from!

My Thoroughbred I have just brought of the track does the exact same things as what you are explaining in your message.

What breed is she? How Old ? Has she had much education? Look at those questions first then move on into the saddle.

thoroughbred, 8, i have owned her for a year, she can w/t/c jump and do simple lead changes



So you say she has just started to anticipate - so she has never done this before?
She had a major back problem, colic, and stitches wich slowed down her training. She just got into serious training, I never really did much before now because of her back. I DID teach her everything she knows, though. She was only green broke when I bought her (raced, was unsucessful; didnt like the starting gate, so became a broodmare)

My suggestions (on what i use on my thoroughbred) would be this.

When i first got my horse he was very sensitive to the leg would bolt at the slightest touch, i could not get him to come down from a canter to a trot actually i was lucky to be able to get him to trot to walk.

YOu are on the right track with making her walk halt. This is teaching her to respond to what YOU are saying - not to have her own mind.

Now does she rush in the canter? If she does bring her straight to trot. And i know this hard - but be very firm on her. The minute she may pull in the canter you must bring her back to a trot immediately (or as quick as you can) if she wants to race of into the canter canter - put her on small 10 metre or maybe even 5m (like i do ) until she calms the trot down.

she is VERY controllable and sometimes lazy. I dont have any problems with her rushing

Do this with every gait. The message you are sending her is - if i rush off im only going to get put on a small circle and have to go slow again and 10x the amount of work so its not really that fun.

:)

For now, all you can do is lots of repition of that and plenty of walk/halt transitions.

Oh, by the way make sure your reins are not to short as this can cause her to want to run more - just in front of the withers is good.

yeah, totally. She's more relaxed when i have a minimal contact on her face. she responds better to seat riding more than she does hand riding

:)

I hope this answers your question or helps

Please let me know how you go/ or if you have any problems

:)

Liz
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#4 ·
Make sure that your cues for canter and your cues for a bigger trot are different. You said she rides more from your seat than your hand, so make sure that you are asking for more trot and keeping your seat consistent. Make the trot seat and the canter seat very different.

I have an OTT TB too, and they *all* do this, so it's not just you... I doubt that makes it less frustrating though when you spend 20 minutes in the walk each ride! :)

Bailey does the same thing when we canter, suddenly every cue means canter. there is no possible way we can walk calmly after that. To fix it I had to go through a lot of "bad" rides before he actually understood that just because we cantered it doesnt mean that we will canter for the rest of our lives. I would canter early on in the ride, that way when he acted up about it I still had enough time left in my ride that he didnt get cranky and I didnt get as frustrated. I would bring him back to the walk immediately after the canter, and really loosen my reins.

yes, I said drop my reins. :) track TBs are taught to lean into rein pressure and I dont think that with any amount of training they ever totally forget it. I keep a loop in my reins, if he gets quick I use a half halt with my seat to slow him, if he doesnt respond, a quick tug with my reins. I make sure my seat is swinging the rhythm I want, not following him. Eventually (sometimes 20 minutes) later, he would walk calmly. Now it only takes 2 or 3 mins. :)

Another idea that really helped was to put him to work in the walk not just let him lolligag around. If I worked on bending or flexing he got distracted from the canter work and focused for me. TBs usually are very willing and actually try too hard when asked to work, so some of the problem may come from wanting to keep working. Most people ride the walk very loose and let the horse sort of wander. If you put them to work it keeps them focused.

Same when you transition from canter to trot, start to figure eight and ask for bend changes, and once you establish a steady even trot ask her to lengthen and shorten her stride every half circle to keep her focused.
 
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