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Post by crazyshetlandlady on Dec 2, 2012 22:43:09 GMT
Bare with me please guys this could be long and i find it awkward to explain but here goes...
I have a very beautiful 15 year old HW cob mare who is an absolute saint do do anything with, and absolutely bombproof to hack out ect but i struggle to ever get a 'tune' out of her (as some people would say!) and I find her very forward! Not really strong atall just difficult to ride because as soon as I put my leg on she feels like she's rushing around like a giraffe!
Its soooo hard to explain what I mean, I'm certain she's not in pain or anything She just likes to hooley around like a wally! She hasnt been in constant work for the past year, mainly hacking maybe once or twice a week, but now we've moved to a yard with a school and I'd like to try some exercises to get rid of the ugly upside down neck she has when ridden at the moment and actually feel like we were capable of working 'properly'
Any suggestions? I'm not an incapable rider, although she makes me feel like one! Lol.
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Post by crazyshetlandlady on Dec 2, 2012 22:46:28 GMT
Also, does anyone else find that they can only ride with one side of their body? My right side seems a whole lot stronger than my left side?
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Post by lulah on Dec 3, 2012 10:20:03 GMT
it sounds like a lack of schooling and balance.
i would suggest, if you havent already done so to get teeth, back and tack checked just to be sure.
figures of 8 are good to help balance, with plenty of walk/trot transitions when riding the diagonals. i would gradually introduce leg yeild and rein back so she learns that legs dont always mean "go"!
plus get a good instructor, if you are riding with one side of you body then your horse will always be working one sided too which in turn she will never find balance or be able to work properly. i used to lean slightly to the left and with the help of a good instructor im now more balanced and it has worked wonders for my horse.
good luck =]
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Post by NeverSayNever on Dec 3, 2012 10:32:32 GMT
it sounds like a lack of schooling and balance. i would suggest, if you havent already done so to get teeth, back and tack checked just to be sure. figures of 8 are good to help balance, with plenty of walk/trot transitions when riding the diagonals. i would gradually introduce leg yeild and rein back so she learns that legs dont always mean "go"! plus get a good instructor, if you are riding with one side of you body then your horse will always be working one sided too which in turn she will never find balance or be able to work properly. i used to lean slightly to the left and with the help of a good instructor im now more balanced and it has worked wonders for my horse. good luck =] I would have to agree with the above comment myself. |
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Post by hedgehopper on Jan 4, 2013 21:46:12 GMT
Get your back checked not just your horses.
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Post by orangetails on Jan 7, 2013 13:38:31 GMT
You could have been writing about my cob! Mine is 10, and imported from Ireland two years ago, she'd been mostly used as a breeder over there, then sold by the dealer who imported her as a confidence giving happy hack, she did that job so well her old owner sold her a year ago, to me  So her schooling was pretty much non-existant, she's ever so green and unbalanced, and having had all the foals her musculature was totally upside down. Nearly a year on and she has improved massively. She is/was exactly the same in that she is a very forward going, big moving cob, and any hint of putting your leg on just = 'go faster!' It often felt like she was strong because she was on the forehand and not carrying herself, and she totally made me feel like I couldn't ride one side of her! :blush: What works for her is lots of work in walk to warm up - going up the gears too soon just results in tense rushy cob, and that sets the tone for the rest of the session, whereas if we take the time to get the walk relaxed first, you can use your leg in a 'normal' fashion, and the outline comes of it's own accord. Lots of suppling work - circles, serpentines, bending and flexing, moving her around off your leg (I won't quite say leg yield/SI in yet, but she's starting to get to that point). She's VERY responsive to seat/weight aids (which can be a curse as well as a blessing as any tension there or through your arms/shoulders is mirrored in her going tense and hollow) and also so desperate to please that she gets anxious if she feels she isn't doing what you want - so again another reason for keeping it low pressure initially, getting her stretching over her back and working correctly. Now she is more balanced she is starting to be able to work long and low in walk and trot for longer periods which really helps her. Her canter is still very much a work in progress - she is such a big moving, forward going horse it is hard for her to remain balanced in the school, but it is improving. Although she is 10, we tend to think of her as more like a 4/5yo, as she has done such limited work in the school, and is almost at more of a disadvantage than a youngster as she is having to retrain all her muscles and her whole body shape from having had quite a few foals in her younger years. She has had a physio to see her who identified a couple of exercises we can do from the ground that will help her to strengthen her back and use her stomach muscles, and also a couple of lateral suppling exercises (adaptations of carrot stretches geared specifically to her) to help get her even on both sides. I think in some ways it has been slow progress with her, but in other ways it seems like she has come on and changed so much given what she was like a year ago, and how it is such a big change for her body to be using itself in this new way. Perseverance is definitely paying off! |
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Post by orangetails on Jan 7, 2013 13:44:15 GMT
Also, I think it is natural that as riders we are one-sided, just like our horses. My trainer says he often finds with horses their right side is stiffer (usually originating from the right hind leg not working as actively as the left hind) meaning they are worse on the left rein because this is the rein where the right side is having to stretch more. Being right-handed (and driving a car - most work is done with the right foot, mucking out I tend to always use the tools one way so one side of my body works more than the other and I find it really awkward to swap round) I find I am definitely stronger down my right side, so both me and my two horses find the left rein trickier! Assuming there is no reason for either of you to be wonky, I think you have to just keep plugging away at evening both of you out - it can be SO tempting for me to spend more time on the right rein because it feels sooooo much better! But you have to work both reins evenly to get them both good! And I think all riders, particularly those who work and only ride their own horse, benefit from doing some other sort of exercise, preferably something like swimming that doesn't encourage any kind of one sidedness. I find I ride a lot better if I am fitter myself - and by that I don't mean I go running for miles or am always in the gym because I'm not! ;-) but some other exercise outside of riding and DIY chores is definitely beneficial.
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So her schooling was pretty much non-existant, she's ever so green and unbalanced, and having had all the foals her musculature was totally upside down. Nearly a year on and she has improved massively. She is/was exactly the same in that she is a very forward going, big moving cob, and any hint of putting your leg on just = 'go faster!'