Balance

[zansgoodnews]

I actually have two questions and I figured I could put them post in the same post. First off, I just bought a horse about a month ago. When I first started riding her she was perfect but now her balance is completely off. She leans to the inside of the riding ring no matter how much weight I put on my outside leg. I'm not sure why she does this and her last owner says she always has so now I'm trying to fix this and I have no idea how.

Second, she is also VERY foreward. I have tried plenty of half-halts with her but the halt-halts only make her lower her head. I don't know any other ways to get her to slow down. Please help :)

[horsesxox23]

instead of half-halts sea-saw lightly on her mouth, i have a former gaming horse that i am training and he would not slow down for nothin, but if u just work w/ their mouth, and this may seem wierd, but push her into the bit so that her mouth is soft so her hind end is under her(phrase i use to say when she is using her hindquarters the right way)this way she cannot put all her weight in the bit and pull against u, also sea-sawing is much more effective than half-halts with some horses, by sea-saw i just mean work ur fingers under the reins just enough for her to feel, and possibly harder if she does not respond, but when u constantly pull on a horses mouth it is easier for them to pull just like when u longe, if u just have a constant pull u get dragged, if u pull and release the horse cannot put all thier weight on u. also do circles that will help w/ balance and keep in mind it is harder for a horse to stay balanced at a slower pace, so work on circles for balance and for facing the inside, see if u can ride out of an arena or do serpentines, but im not sure, it is also easier for a horse to balance when they have a good amount of muscle...good luck and keep me posted, every horse is different but i hope this helps, if u have any more questions just ask!!

[bethfornow]

This is the EXACT problem I am having with my new gelding. Bending him to get him to pick up his inside shoulder has been the answer. Take a look at what other ppl have said in the Western Training forum "bending and such"

serpentines and figure eights have worked best for me.

Hope this helps.

[Concertedeffort21]

Slow your post and post closer to the saddle, make sure you are not pinching your knees and calfs and moore with your thigh.... and for the first one do you inside leg and do alot of no stirrups in small circles and then push her out.. try not to cross your inside rein over but if you have to the first few times you can but remember in the show ring that wont look good!! hah

[zansgoodnews]

I see-saw with my hands but she still is pulling against me. Also, with the see-sawing she ends up dropping her head until she is nearly touching the ground. I also think it might have something to do with my saddle. She has gained A LOT of weight lately so I think my saddle might be hurting her. I'm going to try a wider saddle, do circles and stuff with her, and continue see-sawing but not too much because I don't want her head dropping to the ground....lol....I'll let you all know what happens....

[fowlerk]

My horse does the same thing. What I did was make my cornors very square with cones and barrels. It made my horse get up right. E-mail me if this workes. Good Luck! :)

[Comanchegurl14]

My suggestions are as follows

For the off-balance stuff: turn her head toward the INSIDE and put your INSIDE leg on her and that makes the horses shoulder come up, cause that's there main souce of being unbalanced, their shoulder. By doing this you'll make her bring her shoulder up and she won't lean so much.

The Fowardness(if that's even a world lol): Before you even start doing ANYTHING else in the ring take your horse and make her get off your bit...here's how you do it. Turn her head slightly to one side and with that same sides leg put pressure on her. This will MAKE her get off the bit, once she starts to get off the bit and collect a little bit, give enough release that she can feel comfy, but that keeps her head there. If you need an example I can have someone videotape ME doing it on my horse(who by chance is ALWAYS really stiff when I start to ride him) and I'll post it here or post the link for you guys!!! Just say the word if you want me too!

Hope this helps!! :)
Rachelle

[zansgoodnews]

The whole inside hand and inside leg thing does not work on my horse :) Trust me, I ride all of my horses like that since that is how horses are supposed to be ridden, but this horse refuses to stay upright. I'll try putting barrels up and maybe make a circle out of them....that way she will be forced to stay balanced or else she'll hit a barrel....

[zansgoodnews]

The Fowardness(if that's even a world lol): Before you even start doing ANYTHING else in the ring take your horse and make her get off your bit...here's how you do it. Turn her head slightly to one side and with that same sides leg put pressure on her. This will MAKE her get off the bit, once she starts to get off the bit and collect a little bit, give enough release that she can feel comfy, but that keeps her head there. If you need an example I can have someone videotape ME doing it on my horse(who by chance is ALWAYS really stiff when I start to ride him) and I'll post it here or post the link for you guys!!! Just say the word if you want me too!

I have no idea what you are talking about, lol....I don't want her to get off my bit....I just want her to slow down, but I need her to be on the bit....Maybe I'm just not understanding you correctly. If you want to have someone videotape you that would be fine because I really don't understand what you were trying to describe :)

[Comanchegurl14]

I don't want the horse to be "on the bit" either. What I described is trying to get the horse OFF the bit. I'll see if someone will videotape me... If not, I wish you went to my stable...lol!! haha

[horsesxox23]

when u sea-saw on the riens dont let go of all pressure, keep the normal contact pressure, release for like a second, then go back to that pressure, and when the horse puts thier head down it means they are traveling on the forehand which can be causing the pressure on the bit, so give pressure with ur legs, but keep sea-sawing, like if ur horse was ever standing still and went o put its head down, to eat gras ur sumthin, u would make her move forward to have her raise her head, the pressure from ur legs pushing ur horse into the bit should be enough to keep thier head in the correst positon, but the conact should be enough to keep the pace, just some extra words thats all, but sry it didnt work the first time.....good luck!!

[zansgoodnews]

Okay, I'm going to go ride her a little bit and I'm going to try remembering all of your suggestions, lol....I'll try see-sawing again and let you all know how she is :) I also got another saddle, so hopefully this one will help me and her. I was riding her in a close contact saddle and trying to do dressage in a close contact saddle is NEAR impossible, lol....my friend gave me her dressage saddle so hopefully all ya'lls suggestions, and the saddle will make a big difference :)

[zansgoodnews]

Alright, well, she was A LOT better tonight. I did plenty of see-sawing and the switching saddle made a HUGE difference....I think her balance is off because she doesn't have enough muscle on her yet....she has just started working after a year of rest, so hopefully her balance will just keep getting better as she gains muscle. She wasn't leaning as much tonight and she wasn't as foreward. I also think that because I'm riding her everyday she is starting to get tired, lol....which is good :)

[Comanchegurl14]

I have no idea what you are talking about, lol....I don't want her to get off my bit....I just want her to slow down, but I need her to be on the bit....Maybe I'm just not understanding you correctly. If you want to have someone videotape you that would be fine because I really don't understand what you were trying to describe :)

Ok so I got confused. This just helps get her SLIGHTLY off the bit while it collects her and the collecting would help her to slow herself a little bit.

[zansgoodnews]

Yea, last night she was flexing her head and keeping it in the proper position. I'm pretty sure her forewardness is because of lack of work. I'll keep everyone updated as time goes by :) I'm going to go ride her again tonight.

[Comanchegurl14]

Good let us know!!!

[horsesxox23]

yay..keep us updated!!! :p

[DarkChylde]

If your horse is just putting her head down at the half-halt, then you need to 'teach' her to half-halt. In alot of dressage, you learn that collection is not soemthing a horse does in the natural environment, so we have to teach them. It also requires the back muscles located directly under the 'seat' to rise up, and if there are any fitting issues with the saddle, these will come out. With backing up, too. A horse that hates to collect or back up may have an issue with the saddle or possible back issues.
To half-halt, you wait until the horse is taking a step out on the 4 beat of the walk (on a straitaway, reguardless of leg unless you are working with cavaletti), and you 'squeeze' the reins and lean your weight back until the horse shifts their weight to the back, so to speak, in preparation to stop and stand. Simply lowering the head will not do, so make sure you are shifting your weight back. I can't tell you how many riders I see leaning forward while they are trying to slow their horse down. This is confusing and frustrating for the horse. So give the cue until you get the result you want, even if that requires you almost completely stopping her at first. The real trick is to release the pressure AS SOON as you get the weight shifted back. If you can master the half halt with her, you will find your collection problems lessen. But don't take the lowered head, you must work on communicating what you want, and part of that is as important how you use your own weight as what you do with the mouth. Sounds like responsiveness is an underlying issue, so be light with the hands. Start with a 'low' volume ALWAYS and turn it up until the INSTANT you get the desired responce, and release. Eventually they learn to listen to the 'low' volume and lighten up, but you must ALWAYS give it (no matter how futile it seems at first) and ALWAYS lessen at the first sign of give, working on longer and more sustained 'gives 'after you have lightened up her responces. What makes horses unresponsive and hard mouthed is when they are already doing what asked, but they are still being pulled or kicked or whatever. (Mind you, I am NOT saying you are doing these things!! Just saying that is why you start with a low volume and release at the first sign of give.) What makes a horse sour to something is when they get it right and it is driven into the ground. If you have been working with her on soemthing, ans she gets it right, lesson over, time for carrots and real quality time, to show, 'yes, that is what we wanted." I wouldn't make her do it more than two more times after getting what you want the first time. Keeps her from souring on it. (Again, not saying that you would sour her, this advice is for those reading this thread as well.) Just some basic training wisdom I have picked up I thought might help you. ;)
There is a fantastic article in the Sept. issue, 2005, of Equus on collection, and one of the best I have read. Let me know if you can't get a copy of it, I will get it for you. Really helped me to understand, too.
Good luck and brightest blessings!!

[zansgoodnews]

Alright, well I rode her today with a halter and lead rope (with my dressage saddle and stuff on her). She was very good at first until we started jumping. She gets VERY excited when she is jumping but flatwork was pretty good with only the halter/lead rope. When she started getting "strong" I put her bridle on. She did okay until she started fighting me for her head, but if I gave her her head she would decide to take off at a canter. So I changed things a little bit, let her have her head and then if she decided to take off I would make her circle because it would disengage her hind quarter. So, I think I have decided that if she takes off on me I'm going to make her do circles until she is level-headed :) lol....well, tomorrow I'm taking her out on her first ever trail so it should be fun....i'll let ya'll know what happens!

[zansgoodnews]

Yesterday I took my mare on a few trail rides. We rode for six hours and even after six hours she wasn't exhausted. I was amazed, lol....but then again she is an endurance horse. She is really getting better with her balance and her "forewardness" is getting better too. I plan on taking her on the same trails every week so that she can gain muscle. Also, hopefully the more I ride her the more she will learn to calm down and the more muscle she gains will help her balance herself. I'll keep checking in :)

[horsesxox23]

yay...i hope we all helped!!! :p

[ToujoursLesBelles]

I see-saw with my hands but she still is pulling against me. Also, with the see-sawing she ends up dropping her head until she is nearly touching the ground. I also think it might have something to do with my saddle. She has gained A LOT of weight lately so I think my saddle might be hurting her. I'm going to try a wider saddle, do circles and stuff with her, and continue see-sawing but not too much because I don't want her head dropping to the ground....lol....I'll let you all know what happens....


if she does that and gets really heavy on your hands..
she might trip or stumble a little bit, but that will let her know she cant just push her face against your hands for balance

[zansgoodnews]

Thank you all for helping :) I'll keep informing everyone about any progress or problems we may come around in the future!!