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Riding schedule help.

4K views 33 replies 17 participants last post by  Clava 
#1 ·
Hi, I'm having trouble with my riding routine. Like I go out for rides but I never know what to do! I try to tackle any problems she might have, but she really has any they're more about on the ground stuff that doesn't require much exercise.
We get bored easily because there's no extra fun stuff and it's usually just trotting and cantering around the paddock. I do have a some jumps, only two though. And I have a bunch of poles.

About my horse Koala:
She's 3 years old, station breed, suspected Clevedon Bay, 15.3hh, can jump around 80 cm. knows how to get on the bit, I just don't know how (look at my other thread.) She is really quite mature for her age. She is green just not like other 3 year olds who behave like a toddler, throwing fits and bucking and what not. She has a BEAUTIFUL jump. I'm not just saying that because she's my horse. It's nicely rounded and sometimes when she lands she gets so excited and bucks.

Any help with what to do would be appreciated. :lol:
 
#2 ·
Personally, my 2 cents would be to back up with her training. 3 year olds should not jump. period. just not. maybe a few free jumps every now and then, but no..

My 4 year old works 3-5 days a week. 20 minute lunge sessions, 15-20 min riding at walk and trot. He does get bored. but that is why we add tiny little things every time. Probably, actually I am quite sure of this. Some cowboy could take him out and do a 3 h ride through trails and whatnot, and he would keep going, but as a slow growing breed, I am sparing his bones.

As for getting on the bit - looooooots of forwards walk and trot, relaxed, getting the horse to bend easy, be supple and soft. That is a looot of work, and should be one of the priorities at the moment.

just my opinion, not trying to be rude or nasty, just sayin.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I just wanna say that, 3/4 year olds should be jumping, to get rid of the muscle on top of their neck and develop muscle underneath their neck. I said she CAN jump 80cm I've jumped her that high maybe three times. But we jump around 60cm on my lessons, that's really the only jumping I do with her.

Also what's this 2 cents everyone is talking about?
 
#5 ·
Horses should not be jumping at 3 as it can do permanent damage to their joints since they are not yet fused.

As for keeping your rides interesting, here are some ideas:


  • Set up ground pole to walk, trot and canter over
  • set up poles in patterns. Ask her to back around an L shaped set up of ground poles, then a square or teach her to side pass along one, pivot and side pass along a second, etc..
  • Do lots of transitions
  • Circles and serpentines
 
#10 ·
um, yes! I think h/j want a similar neck to what the dressage rider desires.

Some things that you can do, OP, is, like some have said, set up a series of ground poles and get the horse going really even over those. Then set them up in different arrangements with different lengths of strides (or distances between each pole). Play with it a bit!

Another thing is take a hack down the road or on some trails! Introduce scary objects and patiently work her through any spooking she might give.

Have you ever ridden bareback on her? It's a great confidence builder for you and the horse and is very fun. It helps you connect with the horse better, too, and lightens and solidifies your aids. Some horses don't care when first ridden bareback, and others get a little freaked out... =P It's lots of fun, and then you can work even more on things you'd normally do in the saddle.
 
#7 ·
holy cow...some breeds shouldnt be backed until between 3-4, and then only light work..depends totally on how fast or slow their skeleton develops and when the growth plates fuse, and joints fully develop. Damage to the bones can be permanent,,,muscles can heal and/or be built later.

someone's 2 cents worth is a very old saying, simple meaning in today's jargon would be 'imho' (in my humble opinion)

things to work on in riding sessions, in addition to what's already been suggested:
while going along the fence, ask for hindquarter yield causing a 180 degree turn toward the fence, then change to a direct rein for another 180 degrees to end up continuing the same direction. Assuming she already will softly give a hq yield, of course. Do this 2 or 3 times on each side, depending on the size of your paddock/arena. Work on getting this softer and softer and at any gait.

Set up 4 cones in the middle of the paddock/arena, making an approx 8 ft square. This square becomes the 'question box'. Every time you come thru the question box, the horse should be questioning and listening to see if you are going to stop or keep going.....are you going to ask for her to go right or left,,are you going to ask for walk, or trot,,are you going to make a big circle back to the box or a smaller one.....,helps teach her to keep listening and not assume, also prevents boredom.

Fay
 
#9 ·
3 is very young to be jumping... Just like everyone else has said.

I have to say... I've never heard of the 'getting rid of the muscle on top of the neck and developing the muscle on the bottom'. I'll have to do some research on that. Boop.
 
#12 ·
sorry but if you insist on jumping your 3 yearold you will ruin her. Most horses are lightly backed at 3, very lightly competed on the flat at 4 and maybe start jumping at 5 or 6.

Muscle under the neck is deeply undesirable in any horse and shows that the horse has been bracing against the bit and it termed as an upside down neck.

if this is anouther thing your trainer told you then you seriously need a new trainer
 
#15 · (Edited by Moderator)
Excuse me, but I am NOT a dressage rider,I ride for the pleasure of it, I am not a competitive rider, yet, I am going to show her in the Winter Woolys this year where there is a ring for first timers.

My trainer, I'm not sure what to call her, my instructor has simply been giving me lessons once a week for 4 years as well as camps in the holidays. I am not 20 years old I am 14. But if you have the guts to come onto this forum and judge the way my instructor and I do things. I strongly suggest you exit out right now. As I do not want to put up with people telling me how to do things. Yes I did come on here to ask for help, but not for people to judge me because of the way I do things.

My instructor has been riding since she was born so around 50 years. For all I know you could be a 15 year old hiding behind a screen! My instructor probably has more riding experience then you do.
*Comment removed by moderator*

Some people on here have actually helped me.

As I said before I am not a pro dressage rider nor pro jumper or eventer. So I do not believe I need 7 trainers. Okay? I am simply a 14 year old girl who wants to go further in her riding!

So don't come in here just to tell me... 'Oh you shouldn't be jumping a three year old.' Or 'a three year old isn't mature enough to do that!' Because I don't care! Thank you to those people who have actually helped me and even though they said something about not being mature enough, at least they said your horse you do what you wish. Thank you. So as I said before, if you wish to judge me or my instructors ways, don't.
 
#16 ·
OP, I am just curious as to why you feel that you need to firstly build under muscle on your horse - as has been said already, this is considered highly undesirable and is a good sign of a horse that is poorly ridden or has very poor conformation.
Secondly, where you got the idea that jumping a 3 yr old is the only way to do this?

Not sure big you've been taught a little about equine anatomy and growth, but at 3 years old a horse still has multiple growth plates still trying to fuse. Jumping is a high impact activity and puts significant stress on the joints and plates. This can easily result in long term joint damage. Particularly in a heavy breed such is your horse.

Surely you would see that everyone has said the same thing about riding a 3 yr old?
I have my own 3, rising 4 yr old warmblood gelding. He too can easily clear over 1m - he took great pleasure in jumping paddock fences as a yearling and 2 yr old but I would never consider putting him regularly over rails let alone under saddle at this age. He was broken at 3, had maybe 20-30 very basic rides put in him (stop, go and turn) and has now been turned out for the winter to mature some more.

If you want your 3 yr old to be a happy, healthy and rideable 20 yr old, you need to take it very slowly in these young growth years.
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#17 ·
Braidedtails, I get it that you wrote the muscle thing incorrectly - and you have realised your error. Unfortunately lots of people will read the first statement and respond to that without noticing your later correction. Never mind that - it is a normal reaction, and at least proves that people care enough to comment.

Secondly - lots of people here are telling you that your horse is too young to be jumped. They aren't being mean, they are telling the truth. Look beyond the perceived harshness of their words, and check out what they are trying to tell you. You and your horse will benefit hugely.

Finally. Get some poles, some cones, some second hand books on the net about flatwork exercises. Set up some 'trail' obstacles. Work on walking over scary stuff. That young brain your horse has is just waiting to be filled with common sense and good manners.

There are tons of threads here about flatwork, and about bomb proofing a horse. Have a scan of these for inspiration.
 
#19 ·
I also forgot to say that please dont tell me about what will happen if you jump a 3 yr old because im pretty sure someone has mentioned that.

Koala is fairly mature for her age. For example I go on farm rides and rode rides. ALL the time probably every week. Up very steep hills because thats the only hills I have. At our weekly lessons we walk over a bright yellow tarp in between bright orange cones. She walks over as if it wasnt there. She walks past things that flap as if they weren't there. I admit that on Friday if was very very windy (some times you felt like the wind was going to push you off your horse. No joke.) and we were doing a relay race and there was a black and white flag that she was petrified of. She reared up pulled the reigns out of my hands (i was leading her) an nearly stood on them.

Any way. She used to hate wind with a passion but shes okay with it now. Sometimes she spooks at stuff that I cant see so i just think shes trying to get out of work. I do NOT encourage this. If she does that I will go in the area until she stops.

As you can tell she is fairly mature and the people we got her from just thought she was dumb because she wouldn't spook at stuff. However I think se is smart for not spooking at stuff because she realises "oh thats not gonna hurt me."

Sorry for bad grammar or capitalisation. I am on my midget phone writing this.
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#20 ·
If you believe she is fairly mature for a 3 year old, post a picture. If a horse is too young to be jumping, you can usually tell. My horse just turned 6 this year, and he finally looks grown up enough to be jumping, and he is a show-bred stock horse.

Do you want to be able to ride your horse when he is 15? 20? 25? All of the people that are warning you about the consequences just want to help you and your horse have the most possible fun in your time together. Would it be fun to be nursing a lame horse back to health all of the time instead of being out riding? Would it be fun to see your horse walking stiffly around the field in his golden years, or running about with other horses?

Now is the time to decide what you want your horse to look like years from now. Broken down or lame, or with a clean bill of health?

Everyone on this forum is just trying to help you and your horse. I am only 16, and I used to think that everyone was ganging up on me and how I train my horse. But when I dropped the thought, they gave me thousands of helpful words and tips of advice. This is an incredible online community of horse lovers, and in my honest opinion, the best that you can join.
 
#21 ·
A horse can look very mature but all horses bone ends seal at roughly the same time. It's the damage to those growth plates that can't be seen that will cause massive irreparable damage later in life. So she may loo and act mature but her bones are not
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#25 ·
she looks like a typical gangly 3 yr old and no matter how mature she looks(she doesnt) those bone ends will not have sealed yet. She is still very bum high which means her front end is still growing and damage done to joints now will affect her very badly laterin life.

Also your saddle looks to be a poor fit for her and it is certainly a very poor fit for you! it is forcing you into a bad chair seat, forcing your leg too far forwards and out of the shoulder hip heel alignment
 
#28 ·
Other than the fact that the saddle appears to be set a bit far back , I really cannot see enough from the one photo to judge the fit. Also, I don't see that the saddle is forcing the chair seat, just that the rider is choosing to sit as she sits.

I think the mare is rather sturdy looking, actually.
I've always been told that 3 three is a bit young for any kind of hard jumping, or working in a "frame" in dressage, so my comments aren't with regard tothat, only that I'm a bit mystifed as to how you can judge the saddle fit from one picture that barely shows the saddle.
 
#26 · (Edited by Moderator)
OP please take a min and listen to what people are telling you. You said you dont care. You should care. That is your horse. She is your responsibility. And it is so much easier to do things right now, then to be tending to a lame horse in the future. You want her to last long right? Then please concider what you've been told. You have a very defensive attitude, and nobody here can help you a bit if you want drop it and listen to what theyre saying. How would you feel if when this filly is 8-9 years old, you start noticing shes stiff. Then stiff turns to lame. And then you have vet bills ontop of vet bills. And stall rest. And rubbing the legs. And medications. And shots. Etc. We get you want to jump her some, you say she has talent? So then wait until she can jump safely, for her bones sake and her sake. Then she can live up to that talent. You come onto a forum, or ask anybody anything horse wise, they are going to point out things you are doing wrong. They are guiding you, giving you a helping hand. Maybe you dont want to show, who cares. That doesn't change the effects. Unless you can listen to what we all are trying to tell you and hear us out without the defensive attitude, you have wasted our time and yours posting here or anywhere for help.
 
#30 ·
Tiny, look at the stirrup leather it is verticle, then look at the size of the seat relative to the behind in it, finally look at where the knee roll and knee meet
For the rider the saddle needs to be an inch or so longer so she isn't jammed between cantle and pommel. The stirrup leathers are verticle, the Irons are not and the op is in a chair seat, look at the angle of her thigh it is being force by the saddle, this shows that the stirrup bars are too far forward and are causing the leg to be pitched forwards. Finally when you look at the where the knee roll is, the bit where it comes out the most ( in this case roughly where the light changes) should be level with her knee not well above it like the photos. For the last one shortening the stirrup a couple of holes may help but that will likely force the chair seat issue even further and long term would do her riding no favors. Overall the saddle is a poor fit for the rider.
For the horse I did say looks did not say definatly is, to me the positioning of the saddle is very telling, a saddle that will sit and stay that far back doesn't fit the horse, also if you ignore the rider the saddle is lower at the front resulting in the balance point of the saddle being too near the pommel and not in the deepest part of the seat where it should be. Normaly on slightly down hill built horses this is a result of the gullet being too wide but can also because the basic overall shape of the saddle doesn't suit the horse.
I suspect that if the rider put the saddle further forwards it may help slightly with the fit for her as the saddle may tip less forwards but I also suspect that it won't stay forwards if she were to do so.
IMO given the saddle fit for her and that the doesn't sound like she would have the experience to be able to force the correct leg position dispite the saddle (which I'm not sure I could in a saddle that is doing that) the Op is doing the best she can ( and a good job at that) to get her heel under her but it would be vastly easier for her if the saddle was changed for something of a better fit
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#32 ·
Tiny, look at the stirrup leather it is verticle, then look at the size of the seat relative to the behind in it, finally look at where the knee roll and knee meet
For the rider the saddle needs to be an inch or so longer so she isn't jammed between cantle and pommel. The stirrup leathers are verticle, the Irons are not and the op is in a chair seat, look at the angle of her thigh it is being force by the saddle, this shows that the stirrup bars are too far forward and are causing the leg to be pitched forwards. Finally when you look at the where the knee roll is, the bit where it comes out the most ( in this case roughly where the light changes) should be level with her knee not well above it like the photos. For the last one shortening the stirrup a couple of holes may help but that will likely force the chair seat issue even further and long term would do her riding no favors. Overall the saddle is a poor fit for the rider.
For the horse I did say looks did not say definatly is, to me the positioning of the saddle is very telling, a saddle that will sit and stay that far back doesn't fit the horse, also if you ignore the rider the saddle is lower at the front resulting in the balance point of the saddle being too near the pommel and not in the deepest part of the seat where it should be. Normaly on slightly down hill built horses this is a result of the gullet being too wide but can also because the basic overall shape of the saddle doesn't suit the horse.
I suspect that if the rider put the saddle further forwards it may help slightly with the fit for her as the saddle may tip less forwards but I also suspect that it won't stay forwards if she were to do so.
IMO given the saddle fit for her and that the doesn't sound like she would have the experience to be able to force the correct leg position dispite the saddle (which I'm not sure I could in a saddle that is doing that) the Op is doing the best she can ( and a good job at that) to get her heel under her but it would be vastly easier for her if the saddle was changed for something of a better fit
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Given the angle of the photo is not straight on, that the OP is pushing her leg forward and leaning back, given that most of the saddle is covered up I really do not see how anyone can assess saddle fit from that photo. There is no way of seeing how level it is, how deep it is, correct placement, or the width which are fundamental for judging how well a saddle fits.
 
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