Excercises for....

[ToujoursLesBelles]

getting a TB to bend and stretch under saddle better?
of course we can turn and he can stretch managabley, but i would like to see more bend in his body when i ask for it...even in small circles he turns nearly completely straight!

[Horse Crazy 2007]

does he bend his nose to the inside? I learned a trick with getting a horse to turn his head to the inside but while keeping it down.
All you do is ask him to drop his head with the nose to the inside you need to be able to see the corner of his eye. Simply start out by asking him to drop his head, anyway once you have that do it at the walk and you're going to have a tight inside rein that you're going to rest against his neck. with your outside rein you're going to keep him going straight and on the side of the areana.
another thing to do is before you mount up ask your horse to bend his head and have his nose touch your sturrup. then when you're in the saddle ask for the same thing both waysk without moving.

hope this helps
Kayla

[silverleprichuan]

The stiffer he is, the slower you have to start. Keep the circle big and really concentrate on bending him around your inside leg while supporting with your outside aids.

Large circles, big serpentines, figure eights, etc encourage him to move off your leg and follow the direction of the bend.

You might also want to look into stretchs on the ground. Many people find that their benefits carry over to under saddle.

[Half&Half]

A good way I got my horse to bend was starting in a large circle. I put my outside rein at the base of his withers, than I pulled my inside rein a bit. I kept my outside leg looser and pressed my inside leg right on the girth. I dont know if Im making sense to anyone, but it worked for me!

[hoovesfirst]

trie it on the ground first with long reins sometimes horse have a hard time balanceing under saddle trieing it without the person will help :D

[Zarathustra]

How are you asking him to bend for you? Are you just tugging the rein to whichever way you're wanting him to go to or are you using your leg and seat as well? My Arab didn't have too much "bend" to her at anything more than a walk before we started trying out barrel racing, it just took practice and work.

Neck stretches (Often called carrot stretches) on the ground I've heard work, all you have to do is stand to the horse's side with a treat, take his halter and ask him to turn his neck around and show him the treat. Most horses will see the treat and reach out for it, keep it just a bit in front of his nose until you think he's stretched his neck as far as he can comfortably go. Let him have the carrot then go to the opposite side and do it on that one. Try to get him to stretch his neck forward as well without stepping forward. Even though this may seem fairly easy on the horse make sure you start ANYTHING you do slow. Gradually ask him to hold his neck stretched for longer periods of time.
You're going to want to but him in a snaffle or something of that sort (No bits with leverage) to do the undersaddle exercises (If that's what you use now, good. If not, take a look around for one you think fits you and your horse.) If the horse's mouth is hard he's going to be much stiff overall, most likely. If you work in a snaffle on getting him to soften and such he'll become more supple overall.
Start him in a circle, don't make it too small as small circles are very strenuous on them but you want it small enough so you still have room to complete the exercise. You'll have to keep the inside rein steady to encourage him to stay in the circle while allowing the outside one to be a bit looser than the other. We'll say you're going to the left. You need to keep a steady contact with the left rein while gently squeezing him with your left (Yes LEFT) leg. This is called a "counter-flex" and I used to do them like hell with Zee. He should begin to gently drift into a large circle. Again, make sure you do NOT do anything for too long, especially starting out. Just a little bit, reward him, let him have a break, then try again in the opposite direction. Eventually increase more and more.
Something else that is a little more difficult is doing a half pass in a circle. You do the same as above except you (if you're going left) press your outside (right) leg into him to ask him to step into where he's turning. You should start in a large circle, eventually getting smaller as he drifts in. You can move on to having him do this outside of the circle later on as well.
Asking him to collect himself with enough drive behind his hindquarters is good to build up his back muscles. You can do this by going "long and low" as well. You want to keep contact with his reins but squeeze your calves into him to encourage him to move forward with his hindquarters. You'll be able to feel the difference, I can usually feel where their hind feet are being placed when they're collected like this. To go "long and low" is basically to have them drop their head very low, nearly to the ground. It supports their back more (As a natural grazing stance would).
You can ask him to do neck stretches undersaddle as well. Take both reins in one hand (As if western). If you're wanting him to bend to the right you should hold them in your left hand. Slide your free hand down and tug the rein, asking him to pull his nose around. Depending on your horse's build his neck may not go very far back naturally, my Arab's can about touch my knee. You do NOT want him to move while doing this, he should remain in a halt while you ask him to give his head. Eventually he should be able to bend his neck further and further.

I'm guessing since you posted this in the Hunter/Jumper thread you may know some of this or already even be doing it, as well as using some sort of snaffle-like bit. I'd like to stress though: do not repeat these day in and day out. Your horse will only become sour and bored, try to vary everything you do with him a bit, make it fun for him.

[ToujoursLesBelles]

thanks for all your help!!!
ive got him in a pretty easy snaffle
im asking him to bend how you've described..contact with the inside rein(im looking for that inside eyelash...but he just doesnt seem to get it) and inside leg to make sure he doesnt just turn...but im getting the impression that hes confused about my leg meaning moving off sideways, rather than just moving forward...im dropping the inside shoulder a bit, stepping into the inside stirrup a little too(on circles) but he seems to turn in little increments where his body is turning stiffly, rather than bending around the circle...
ill try the serpentines because i havent tried those yet and see if those work...thanks!!

[ToujoursLesBelles]

ohhh..i just read the stuff about stretching on the ground before getting on..that sounds like a good idea..didnt think of that yet :] thanks!!