Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[MoonfallTheFox]

@MoonfallTheFox; Welcome to the thread! Both your horses look lovely! With your two year old, would you consider just tipping her out for a bit? Could she just be a bit immature mentally and 'nope' out of work? I've known a few young horses to be like that. Then once they get brought back as 3-4 year olds, the behaviour seems to disappear. Like they're still green of course, but they seem to have a much better mind set when it comes to work. Either way, she looks like a nice little type! What are your plans with her?

@Trico; If your mare is hanging on your hands, work on straight first If they aren't straight, they're not using each hind leg evenly and they physically cannot be through and light. Lightness comes from the horse working correctly and lifting their shoulders, basically carrying their own weight lol Also forward is important too, not fast, just keep those hind legs moving. If you find she gets low and heavy, you can just lift your hands up towards your chin. Do it slowly so you don't jar her in the mouth and make sure she keeps going forward, but that should help get her off the bit. Once her head is back where you want it and she's working, slowly put your hands back down to a normal position. Keep in mind, if she's not used to using all these muscles, she'll probably only be able to hold a proper working frame for a few strides at a time, so a lot of breaks and chances to stretch will be needed My instructor has always told me you work them either high (as much 'collection' as the horse is able to manage for their education/physical capabilities) or down (stretching over the back) and to not let them linger in a middle ground, as it often doesn't achieve anything productive.

@My winter goals; We've actually just come out of winter (Yaayyyy!!), but usually just to keep the horses in work lol Our winters are cold and wet, but it doesn't usually stop you from riding. We don't get ice or snow or anything like that. Winter is mainly arena work, but if you get a nice day I'll usually take the horses out on the trail for something different. In spring there's usually a lot more trail work done, to get the horses fit for competitions and things like that. Like this year, Reggie spent a lot of time just working on froward and straight over the winter. Very boring work, but means we can do more fun stuff in the spring and summer when the weather is nicer

The trainer I am using doesn't seem to think it's an issue with her and says she's got a very quiet mind for her age. That said, she is NOT being pushed past her limit. She's being trained mostly walk trot so her body won't be taxed too hard and I trust my trainer's expertise as far as how fast to take her. I just made the decision to leave her an additional 30 days for more training and time because I do not feel safe enough taking over myself just yet.

She will get some rest through winter for sure, of course. But I do intend to try and ride her at least -some- depending on weather even if it's just at a walk so we are still spending time in the saddle. The more time she has under saddle the better she will be come springtime.


When she is ready she'll decide what she wants to compete in. She's a very lazy horse so she won't have a future in speed events, but I see her excelling in competitive trail- basically obstacle courses and also in Extreme Mountain horse courses. I used to do eventing but I don't see a future for her there- she's the wrong breed, she's short, she's small, and she's lazy. Not exactly an olympic jumper in the making ha ha. So I want to find something we can both enjoy. I've also considered mounted shooting, rodeo queening (but I may be too much of a potato and too old for it), and doing some team penning stuff. Her parents were working quarter horses on a ranch out here, and she should have a desire to work cows.

[Livid-Silver]

@Trico; Working on your own position will help immensely! Its something we all can always work on lol And it sounds like you are pretty aware of your faults which is great! You can keep a mental note to fix them Low and wide hands will definitely contribute towards the pulling problem. You probably get very straight through your elbows when your hands get low, which basically locks them into position and gives the horse something to lean on. If you click here it should take you to a picture of me and my little 3yo, Reggie. (He's actually turning four next week, which is crazy to me because I got him as a yearling!) I only thought to include it because I thought it would help demonstrate what I was talking about when I mentioned having the horse 'up' or 'down'. It's not a GP frame by any means and far from perfect, but its the highest he can manage for now. If you look behind the saddle you can see a nice straight back, showing he is working over his back, he's tracking up and the diagonal pairs pretty much match (he left the ground a tad early with that outside hind, but that's because he lacks strength atm) and he's not using his underneck to hold his head in position. He can only manage this for a few strides at a time, but that's sorta what you're aiming for. If you mare is fitter than Reggie, she'll probably be able to manage it for longer
With her swinging her butt, is it the same side on each rein or does it swap? If you're not sitting evenly, that could be contributing to that problem. And not saying you are doing it intentionally, but some horses have a nack for putting you where they want you in order to avoid working properly. My old TB gelding was very good at that Also, are you sure its her hindquarters which are swinging out? Like could she be falling in/popping out through the shoulder instead? Because I was just thinking it might be easier to correct the shoulder than it would be to correct the hind quarter. You can control the shoulder with your thighs (thigh on=move shoulder) AND you can back it up with a crop if she doesn't listen. Like use it to tap her shoulder back over if she runs through your leg. It would give you more options in terms of aids, which will help you with laterals and would help prevent her getting dead to your lower leg. Might be something worth trying? Its been so good teaching my little clydie cross this, like he's beginning to pick up correct bend and flexion simply from leg aids. He is a bit different from your mare in the fact he likes to back off from the bridle, so the less I do with his mouth the better, but it might work for you too? Plus once they get used to moving shoulders off your thigh and hindquarters off you lower leg, all the laterals become available for you to muck around with. Won't be perfect right off the bat of course, but they're there And feel free to take this all with a grain of salt. This is just me talking from my experience, which you might not agree with or it might not work for you, so its completely okay to disagree. I just really love talking about dressage, training methods and different exercises for horse and rider, so I can tend to go on bit of a tangent at times

@MoonfallTheFox; If your trainer thinks she ready, they'd be the best to know The 30 extra days might be just enough to help her get over this latest hump. If you don't feel 110% confident taking over her training, you're better off leaving her with the trainer. Young horses are tricky and some are trickier than others. They can require a lot of tact and clever compromising skills when they decided they have a better idea If she's going to spell all winter, that should give her plenty of downtime and tiem to mature some more while you wait for the better weather! Going on trails or something similar through the winter is not a bad idea. Something low intensity but still gets her out doing things occasionally. I don't think horses forget things, if they were taught properly the first time. Out of practice maybe, but I don't think they forget it completely. Like we've left foals months between handling sessions and they are often just as good if not better when we eventually bring them back in. There is nothing wrong with taking your time, which you are doing by the sounds of it Take the time to make the foundation super solid and everything else will come easy. Its way harder going back and fixing gaps in training than it is to just do it properly in the first place. Kinda like the tortoise and the hare I guess. Competitive trail sounds like lots of fun, but I wouldn't count her out as an eventer just yet (well unless you'd be after an upper level prospect lol). Quarter horses are often very good all-rounders so I wouldn't think dabbling in a few different things would be out of the question. So long as you're both having fun, you'll end up in the discipline you'll both excel in But yes, the competitive trail and Extreme Mountain horse courses sound like an awful lot of fun! I dunno if you have Nav rides in your area, but that might be another thing worth checking out. Its kinda like a scavenger hunt on horse back. Its usually on an endurance like track and there are clues and riddles and stuff hidden throughout which you then have to solve. I'm waiting for my horse to get a little older/fitter before I take him to one, but its on my to do list!

[tenturo]

What are your "off-season"/winter goals?


for me, it's most definitely getting myself into much better shape for spring training! i'm certainly not overweight or anything, but i most definitely can't run-3/4-walk-1/4 of a mile in under 12 minutes, and i just in general need to get into better shape c: i also have a goal of earning quite a bit of money during this off-season to pay for a trainer to help me with Sassy come spring!

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whupp. been a little inactive in this thread - so sorry >_<
i don't honestly have any updates right now ?? it's been super stormy and rainy and muddy these past few weeks so i haven't been riding - never stops raining >_< i probably wont ride as much during the off-season, anyways. i'll still ride, just not as often, so i'll probably focus more on ground work and conditioning during that time.

just to get some conversation going;




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[b]What is your general schedule during the off-season/winter?[/b]

[ｓｎａｋｅｓｎａｋｅｓｎａｋｅｓｎａｋｅ]

No, I wish

[Luzien]

No, I wish

you wish to ride? when yes and money is a problem, maybe look for a stable-barn where they let you help some h the week, to get a lesson

[Brynmala]

What is your general schedule during the off-season/winter?
well any day now we'll have to start stabling our two overnight, which of course means mucking out every morning, with the attendant getting up earlier. They've been out all summer, but with the evenings dark (as of today in the UK) it is just easier to have them contained, and since we are on a very heavy clay it stops them cutting up the ground quite so badly, and also gives their legs a chance to dry so we can get the mud off. Prophet gets mud fever at the drop of a hat so this is pretty important. It also means we'll have to get the mud boots out, which means they'll have to be washed off every night... with a hose, one of my least favourite jobs. We do now have some hardstanding around the stables so getting a laden muck barrow through 30cm deep semi-liquid mud is no longer the issue it used to be.

They are very much leisure horses and we only ride a bit at the weekends so that will continue, but I'll have to be a bit careful about how much fast work I do as my boy has a very thick winter coat and sweats up easily. He's not in enough work to warrant clipping, so we just have to deal with it. Apart from that, I won't be seeing him in daylight at all except for the weekends for the next 5 months.

[sheepish]

Sorry for the large image, but I just returned to CS and I don't think I shared too much about my mare. We have had her for nearly two years and mostly rode her English (Dressage). Unfortunately, she has a stifle injury and white line disease, even after moving her to a recovery barn for half a year. We have been treating both in hopes she would recover, but we haven't seen any improvement in either, even when following the vet's instructions to a T. Both my mother and grandmother who have 15+ years of horse experience are baffled by this. In the end, we are going to sell her to someone who owns their own barn and can spend proper time with her. Heck, even though she is ten, she would still make a lovely broodmare (we wanted to breed her ourselves, but we do not have the facilities). I will miss her fantastic mind, but you gotta think of the horse first. She needs someone who can give her attention more than a college student, a full-time employee, and someone who is still exploring the world.

[SpaghettiWaffles]

No, I wish

Same here :')

[kara.]

Looks like I've found my people!
I've been riding English for awhile now. Unfortunately, I took a break and I have yet to find a new barn.. I'm a hunter/jumper rider but I may be going into dressage or even eventing soon. Any dressage riders/eventers who may be able to share a few tips?

[Kestrell]

@Kara.
You sound kind of like me! I originally came from a hunter background and switched over to eventing! It's a hard switch but so worth it! What do you need advice on? I'd be more than happy to share some of my "wisdom"