Search results matching tag 'helpful tips'

Getting him on the Bit?

Eclipse295 — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

I am trying to get my Gelding on the bit but all he does is through his head, rear, or yank the reins out of my hands and then buck. Any ideas how I can get him on the bit correctly?

Help With 2 Point

cafl — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Hi, everybody:)

Since about April 2009, when my horse and I got back into lessons my horse and I have been steadily improving together, but one little thing is holding us back: I am having a heck of a time keeping my legs underneath me and my butt out of the saddle when I trot and especially canter in two point.

Does anybody have some really good advice about how to improve my two-point without me 1. tensing up and, therefore, making my horse tense 2. leaning too far forward 3. falling down onto my horse's back?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

advice on jumping position please

G.M. — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

hey,

i was wondering if anyone has any advice on my jumping position-

http://forum.equisearch.com/photos/gm/default.aspx

theres 3 photos on this url thingy, if you could look at them and comment on this post that would be brilliant.

feel free to be harsh, thanks :)

Re: How can I improve my jumping position

eqstrn — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:00:00 GMT

You've gotten a lot of really great suggestions so far! My first recommendation would be to work without stirrups on the flat at all three gaits. When you can post (no, it won't be pretty) for a whole minute or so, you'll have tons of the right muscles and balance to help keep you secure during your horse's more green moments.

Once you're comfortable without stirrups, try trot cavaletti both with and without stirrups. If possible, don't just put poles on the ground, as they can get spun around by a hoof, or get stepped on. Something a few inches off the ground would be plenty. Start with just one or two poles until your horse gets the idea that he should just trot through rather than jumping the whole lot of them! Add poles as he gets comfortable; probably not much more than 4 or 5. Don't overdo them, because they're very tiring for the horse.

THEN... Once you're comfortable with all this fun stuff, try going through canter-length cavaletti. The really fun part is putting a crop (slim and bendy if possible) under your seatbones and then go through the canter cavaletti, keeping the crop underneath you the whole time. After all this, you'll be very well attached to your horse, with legs as tight as a tick, and so well balanced that everything will be easier.

Good luck!

First hunter pace

LPC — Thu, 07 May 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Hi folks,

My horse and I will be riding our first hunter pace in two weeks. I will be going out on my 11 year old Appendix Quarter Horse gelding who is good on the trails as well as a nice jumper in the ring during our lessons, and we will be with my husband, who is a solid rider and will be taking out one of my trainer's horses (who also has never done a pace, but is very level-headed generally.) The pace is a very popular event in our area, and takes place about ten miles from our barn. They tell me it takes an hour to an hour and a half to ride the course, and we will be doing the Pleasure division. All the jumps have optional go-arounds. Of course we are not thinking about winning anything, just finishing safely and spending a nice spring day outside with the horses.

Does anybody have any tips for me, or thoughts about this? I appreciate any input at all. I can't wait, but I am also a little nervous.

How to fix the 'hand rider' ??

Leita Lawrence — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:00:00 GMT

I have successfully coached hunter \ jumper for 25 years. I have a new student who used to galloped racehorses. He now wants to rider hunter \ jumper and some eventing. However, the way he rides seems to cause his horse to ride behind the bit. His horse pulls down on the flat and now jumps ahead of its shoulders... riding behind the bit to, over and after the fence. It is starting to get very dangerous!! I have tried to research this problem and I think it is caused by the rider balancing off his hands. I believe this may be a result of the riding style the rider used to gallop racehorses. The rider says it is because I want him to shorten his reins. When he rides with a longer rein, he gets left behind over the fence because he will not ride into a forward seat. This is the first time I have had to deal with a problem like this. I've checked the horse's bit and it fits well.

Does anyone have any ideas how to fix this ?

I would love to hear of any exercises that might work !!

Thank you.

Leita :-)

Bonding time:

pw-rangers — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:00:00 GMT

My horse has a shoe off until Monday, anyone have any cool bonding ideas other than grooming? He's already clean, so we need something else to do!

Re: Strengthening My Leg

hriding — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Just today I came across your question and it happens to be my specialty to solve issues like yours. I am a PT and OMT II from Germany and do what - in my opinion - really is fun: giving riding lessons and integrating my professional knowledge and experience from working with (not only) professional athletes.

That said, I would like to give you both thumbs up for acknowledging that you have a problem. In most cases I hear the horse, the equipment or the trainer is the problem - the excuses are endless!!!

The answers you have gotten so far in this thread (and I did not read everything thoroughly) have been mostly on the right track.

The human body is very complex - you have muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, capsules, nerves, receptors and your central nervous system including your brain. This all needs to be able to function together as efficient as possible. The older you get the less adaptable your body becomes and sometimes bad stuff happens, like injuries and stress and your body starts compensating to deal with everyday situations. Eventually you don't even feel anymore that something is off or crooked. But when riding a horse symmetry and balance are absolutely necessary, it's fundamental. Then we need core strength, flexibility and coordination.

Hearing your story - typically - (your case might be different but I would need to diagnose you) I don't think your problem is not enough strength in you lower leg, since you do not even need it's muscles for riding (your calf muscles need to be well stretched and you need good proprioception in your ankle, but that's about it). You probably lack strength around your hip and spine (adductors, gluteus, inside rotators). Your hip flexor needs to be stretched and also your proprioceptors are in need to be trained. Also your better right side needs to be mobilized (made more flexible) because it took over a lot for your week side (compensating).

Then there is your spine that is eventually in need of some adjustment - mobilization and strengthening depending on the situation of the individual segment.

And last but not least your core strength needs to improve, not just through simple sit ups, this would be wrong, It's a little more complex and complicated so I am not even trying to explain a training program here.

So, you see, if there would be a golden recipe (a simple exercise) to fix a problem like yours, personal trainers and PT's would not be needed anymore.

The good news is that you don't have to go to a gym to train yourself for riding, you can do it easily at home. A good PT or personal trainer can customize an exercise program for you and your goals as long as they understand a little about that sport.

Other than that, I suggest a lot of seat exercises on the lunge line without stirrups and no reins concentrating on your weak left side not only in canter but also in trot and walk.

If you or your trainer need some help to understand certain connections feel free to contact me through my website www.HealthyRiding.com. I would love to help you!

Teaching "Forward!!" in a young horse that only wants to back

dandykrayon — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:00:00 GMT

I have been doing ground work training a young TB/Perch cross gelding for a year now (he is almost two now). He started out very dangerous, wanting to rear all the time, running away for hours on end in the pasture (one time it took me over two hours to catch him in a little 3 acre pasture) and scared for anyone or anything to touch him. He has come a long way since then, and now he is generally very calm, easy to catch, and responds very well to pressure, especially laterally and backwards. However, he has what I know to be a dangerous habit of backing up whenever he gets scared, and if restrained, he goes up and strikes out. He has only gotten to the point of rearing when someone else was handling him (trying to help me, but it didn't really work); I don't let him get there. But whenever he feels unsure of something, even if it's not in fright, he just backs up and keeps backing. Also, despite the fact that we pay alot of attention to desensitizing to scary things, he is still very spooky and timid of trying new things; therefore, this backing problem comes up ALOT. I know that I need to find his "forward button" now, and teach him to stand still even when he is scared, instead of backing, so that he does not learn to resort to backing and rearing later on, under saddle.

I have tried just waiting with him when I start to feel him resist, until he relaxes and then asking again, but this rarely results in any progress, and sometimes when I let him think too long he decides he wants to back up anyway.

I have also tried just ignoring that he's backing and going along with him, rewarding him when he finally stops, so that he associates stopping with safety. This hasn't had any negative consequences so far, but doesn't seem to be getting us much closer to finding his "forward button" either.

Of course, he is still very young and awkward (his croup is nearly three inches higher than his withers), so perhaps once he evens out it will be more pleasant to move out? Another point I should mention is that he is very sensitive in that he gets confused and offended if I use too much force from behind (smacking with a crop or the end of the rope) to try to get him to move off. I have dealt with horses like that before, but not quite to his extent.

He is a very sensitive and smart horse, and very strong and well-built (once he catches up to himself of course) which makes me think he would eventually make a great dressage or jumping prospect, but I want to fix this problem now while he is young and get him thinking 'FORWARD!' more than 'backwards!!', and hopefully save myself from the rearing problem later on when I break him to saddle.

Any suggestions/thoughts would be wonderful! I am rather at a loss on what else to try with him.

How to get a horse to stand still while I mount

kingsenglish — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

The horse I ride has developed an annoying habit of moving when I try to mount. When I first get into the arena, I adjust my stirrups and tighten the girth and then walk over to the mounting block. Once I put the reins over his head, he will move forward or he'll move to the side - anywhere away from the block. I'll move the block and he'll move again. Tonight he even started to move backward to avoid the mounting block. I've tried to position him around the jumping standards so that he can't move away, but he's figured out how to get around them. He's starting to move right after I put the reins over his head. He used to do this last year, but then stopped for awhile. Now he's back to doing it. What can I do to get him to stand still so I can mount him?

Thanks.