help with re-schooling racehorses. lungeing.

[Fells_4_ever]

Hey, wondered if anyone could help me. I just started working at a new yard and im doing a lot of schooling and rehabilitating racehorses, my current project is mr cromwell. Hes 16.22 but he has an enormous left hind leg. Its water retention and it makes his leg look more suited to a shire. He isnt lamre on it nore does it hinder him in anyway he won 144 thousand pounds racing on it! Well i was lunging him and his good rein is his right rein, he doesnt hang off my hand and really rengages his hind quarters but on the left, in trot especially he leaves his legs behind and darts off to the corner of the school when i push him on. He virtually hangs on my hand and only on his left rein does he fight the contact from the side reins.
I know the problem isnt his leg, nor anything physical but i wondered if there were any excercises i could do with him on the lunge that would regulate his stride a bit better and stopphim hangiong on the bit. Heklp me please!!
My arms cant take it much longer!
Thankyou!

[Kalena]

What I love to do with the babies after they have been lunging a couple months, I love to move the circle. Not only does this mean moving from one end of the ring to another, but also changing the size of the circle and lots of transitions. Make him bend around you in a small circle and then let him stretch out in a big circle, do lots of trot to canter transitions as it will really help. Then you can do some form of half halts when on the small circle to make him you his head and not resist. Also some pole work on the lunge. Hope this helps.

[Fells_4_ever]

Thankyou, well ill be lunging him tomoro, doin loads of work on his bad rein. Transitions are what he needs to work on a lot i think, do u have any info on how to regulate his pace a bit in trot and canter, he goes crazy in canter, one minute he'll be all collected the next he goes all choppy and leaves his feet behind. Thankyou so much!

[bethfornow]

Inconsistency is usually either two things:

boredom or lack of conditioning.

If its conditioning, try roll backs at a canter while lunging or trotting up and down hills either under saddle or on a lunge line.

If its boredom, try to mix things up a lil bit. If you always stay on the rail, do circles in the middle. if you always trot, trot circles, trot ten paces back and trot off again, etc.

[jilllovesgus]

I agree; boredom can be a big problem. What kind of bit are you using with him? It helps to switch up the bits. I used a copper full-cheek snaffle with my thoroughbred for about a year and a half, and after a while he began to get VERY heavy in my hands and literally just pull his head down. While this may be through some fault of my own, as I used to do a lot of long-and-low work, it had been getting very out of hand, so I got him a few new bits to play with, including a waterford, dr bristol, and happy mouth. His favorite is the waterford, although I wouldn't suggest that for a young OTTB. I also had been perching forward a bit, which made him a lot heavier on the forehand, therefore making him pull me down. I sat a bit further back in the saddle and used my weight a bit more effectively and that seemed to help some. (:

Hope any of that helps! Best of luck to you.

[Fells_4_ever]

He's in an eggbut at the moment but he doenst work well with bits that have the nutcracker effect so i tried him in a french link and he worked well in that. Someone suggested a waterford snaffle as he tends to chomp and chew a lot on the bit and he resists the contact from the side reins. Cromwell, the ex-steeplechaser i lunge had the chircopractor out and said due to a bad previous injury that runs diagnoly along the muscles on his back could be the reason he so unbalanced on the left rein. It only started up recentley though. I lunge him in full tack most of the time but would a roller give him more movement and help to loosten him up?
Psy, the ex-sprinter i work with has just entered her first show, my boss is taking her to a dressage show. Yay!!