Exercises for a very Forward going, energy full mare

[funkyfilly_sos]

Hiya All!
I helped at my stables on Saturday as usual and I had an brill time... the best I've had yet. I was given the chance to ride a new horse named Willow who I've ridden plenty of times before.
The one catch was, she hadnt been ridden for 4 days and I had to try and get the energy out of her. I was amazed firstly at having to ride in an arena without an instructor (i've never done that before! :D) but then I was amazed at how I couldnt decide what exercises to do with her!
I warmed her up properly and thoroughly and did lots of bending (circles, serpinies etc) and transitions from hault to walk and hault to trot to settle her. Then I had a lovely canter on her it was a lot more controlled than usual. I did a bit of lateral work as well, but that wound her up a bit and she started pancing :p.
In all I got 4 short canters out of her, two of them were on circles and she was great. But when I cooled her down I couldnt help feeling unsatisfiyed with my "lesson". I dont know whether I worked her too hard or too little.
She wasnt sweating like she does when around other school horses, but she was a great ride. I even got her into an outline for a few seconds (she rearly offers outlines and contact). I was chuffed.

My question to you is what exercises do you do with your forward going, slightly fizzy horses to settle them but still exercise them? This mare is an NF X and previously hunted. Shes very forward going but responsive. Quite prancy, and not a novice ride really. Its very hard to settle her. Shes ridden in a 3 ring snaffle/dutch gag.
What exercises would you reconmend to settle her and do you think I worked her too hard or too little?

Thanks everyone!
xxxKellyxxx

[iloveshearer]

When i'm stuck for things to do i go through bits of dressage tests and put different parts together. :)

[Sammii]

From what you say, I think you worked her well. If she was still getting wound up after what you'd done prior to the lateral work, then she wasn't tired or showing that she hadn't been worked enough.
You could try some pole work? I like this exercise best: I'll describe best I can.

Have 4 poles (doesn't need to be 4, it's what I like to use), and on the first pole raise one end on a crate or something that'll increase the height. Anything will do. On the next pole, raise it up - but at the other end. On the next pole, raise it at the same end as the first...you get my drift :p

Really focuses their mind and encourages them to lift through their paces. And makes them concentrate :)

Good inhand or ridden exercise!

[SJ wanabe]

It's always hard for people to think of things to do when they are on their own, but it is easyer if there is something you need to improve with the horse, so if you have a fast exitable pony you need to keep it interested and do lots of turns and circles like you did, figures of 8, shallow loops, some latteral work can make them interested. You also need to practice progressive downward transitions, so trot to walk, canter to trot but try to keep the transitions smoot because doing jerky, fas transitions can wind a horse up even more.:)
What Sammii said is also a good tip just make sure that you have more than two poles as some horses think that two poles are a spred and jump them both together!

[funkyfilly_sos]

Thanks guys I'll keep them exercises in mind next time I exercise her they all sound like they'll do the trick. :)
She's just very forward going, and when I trotted her around the arena on the warm up she quickly got bored and thought she'd try and ask me for canter. :eek: :D Every corner she passed shed try to strike off, I'd keep rising at a slower pace and she'd get wound up.... eventually I just had to start loops, and serpintines etc to re-settle her and eventually I just let her canter (Controlled though ;) )at one stage to burn off some energy.
She just gets very bored easily, you have to keep her attention by turning and doing exercises. It's hard though when your trying to get her to accept your contact while shes prancing about. I love her to pieces though.... but I just couldnt work out whether I'd underexercised her (due to her great energy even by the end of the session) or overexercised her (due to her usually only having two canters in class lessons).

I'm glad to hear you dont think I over exersied her! :)
I cant understand her frustration with lateral work though, I was only leg yeilding. Any suggestions? :D
If anyone has any other suggestions and opinions then I'd love some more too! :)
Thanks everyone who's replied you've helped! :D
xxxKellyxxx

[Floob]

I don't know about the lateral work. I often do a bit of leg yielding to relax my horse again if he's getting a bit excited after cantering, that just reminds him that leg on does not equal speed up and he settles again.
However if the leg yielding was winding her up I would only do it in walk to start off with.
Circles with spiralling in and out can be quite good.
Direct transitions (ie from halt to trot etc) always wakes up my Highland so its not always something I'd do on fizzy ponies, but lots and lots of progressive transitions can really help.
How about transitions on a circle or serpentine

[Bay Mare]

With Saff (who is hot under saddle, dobbin at other times) we have to do millions of transitions, direct transitions, transitions within the pace, school figures, go from shoulder in to travers to (baby) half pass, to circle, to serpentine. Basically we have to keep her brain engaged enough so that she doesn't start thinking of things to do herself ;)

Be aware, though, that some horses get more sparked up with transitions so you have to guage the best things for the horse that you're riding.

She's a lot better now although we're working on collection at the moment but she just wants to zoom off extending everywhere (she didn't read the part that says that you should establish collection before working on extension!).

Mind you, once you've cantered all bets are off! Every aid becomes a canter aid even when she's on a long rein and SUPPOSED to be cooling off at the end of a session :rolleyes:

It sounds like you were doing the right type of things but a hottie will always be a hottie unless you sedate them or completely dominate them. Work with the 'hot' and do things to keep her interest.

We were joking the other day that we'll need to start at GP and work backwords to Prelim as there isn't enough variety in a Prelim test :rolleyes:

All the best :D

[Peanut]

Basically we have to keep her brain engaged enough so that she doesn't start thinking of things to do herself ;)


Mind you, once you've cantered all bets are off! Every aid becomes a canter aid even when she's on a long rein and SUPPOSED to be cooling off at the end of a session :rolleyes:




Baymare, I always think just how like my horse Saffy is (not just in the breeding). Whenever you write about her, you take the words out of my mouth! :p

[funkyfilly_sos]

Thanks again everyone! Bay Mare you seem to have a horse similar to this one I ride.... in fact all of you's seem to know what you are talking about! :)
I'm at the stables this Saturday so I may ride her..... if I do I will tell you all how it goes and I'll be sure to put all those methods and tips into practise! :)
I'll tell you all how it goes! Thanks again!
Any more tips and suggestions are always very welcome!

xxxKellyxxx

[cvb]

funkyfilly

here's a question for you (to check out what is happening with the lateral work)

could you do leg yield in "free walk on a long rein" i.e. from leg and seat and hardly any hand ?

plus where are you doing the leg yield (from where to where ?)

[cvb]

aside from above - a more general reply...

when I work a horse, I normally have something in mind - a target to achieve. I want to come out of that school with something better than I went in.

Now that may simply be "state of mind" ! My mare has been lame and gets really frustrated at not doing anything - so I may not be working on her way of going, or any of the aspects of her work, other than to see her relax and chill.

and in your case, this first session may have been a "see what horse is capable of" session which pretty much means you try everything you can

But then I would be looking to pick up on something key to work on. So I might want a more even tempo in the trot, and for her not to offer canter ;)

or I might want to work on transitions, or straightness, or softness

but I am going to pick *one* to work on.

Then I do my warm up, and from there go into exercises relating to my "target" for the day, then at the end if you need to, do something the horse likes :) (end on a high) and then cool down

[funkyfilly_sos]

funkyfilly
here's a question for you (to check out what is happening with the lateral work)
could you do leg yield in "free walk on a long rein" i.e. from leg and seat and hardly any hand ?

cvb, I dont think I could. The only reason for this is because if I gave her a long rein she would probably run off with me (i'm not scared of that fact, just cautous as I want her to respond to me and not got off on her own accord) but you've got me thinking. She responds very well to leg aid more than rein aids so you've got me thinking that say if I didnt use as much rein on the thought that she may run off with me and maybe give her a lot more rein than normal, she may relax and consentrate? What do you think?

plus where are you doing the leg yield (from where to where ?)
I did the leg yeilds on the three quarter line to the track. I mainly did it going from the three quarter line very gradually to F or H, but I found that due her engery she went from the three quarter line to B (pancing too :rolleyes: ).
So what are your suggestions?
Many thanks cvb :) :)
xxxKellyxxx

[cvb]

funkyfilly

a few thoughts -

- sometimes the rushing is because the horse has not fully got that leg can mean sideways as well as faster. So then they get confused because you ask with leg, they respond by going faster, and you say "nope thats not it". And thats what can get them hyper and whizzing about it

then you need to practice half-halts, turn on forehand and the odd step of turn on haunches if you can.

then try this: in walk, turn off the short side well away from the rail/track and *still walking* ask for a step of turn on forehand. Only one step. This will turn you away from straight so ride forward on that line a few strides and then ask again. This is just to reinforce the "away from leg" rather than "go faster" ;)

do that on both reins as you will probably find one is worse....

- sometimes the rushing is because the horse is stiff laterally and when you ask them to step across *with a contact* it is very hard for them. To try and do what you ask, they start putting more energy into it... hence getting whizzing.

then you need to work on lateral flexibility. You can do an exercise called "snake trails" where you ask for a curve (as small as the horse can cope with and still balance) and as they soften, you then curve smoothly the other way again. So its like lots of small part circles all joined together.

the turn on forehand stuff will also help with that. (Check whether, when you ask for the turn, the horse braces its neck - you don't want that, you want them to turn when they are soft - so then wait, ask them to soften, and then ask for the turn step again).

also then try asking for a sideways step while on a longer contact. Again *just one* step. The horse will probably get a little tense so you settle them down again and then ask for another single step. You can build this up as they get the idea, as they settle you can ask for the next step quicker.

my target with this one might be initially just to do *two* consecutive leg yield steps without having to half halt or shorten my reins ;)

- we often ask for the world rather than one good step. Then it all gets worse as it goes.

the problem with leg yielding *towards* the track/rail is that the horse often tends to fall towards it so is not straight, not balanced etc. Changing where you ask can help get better quality steps - which help loosen the horse up - which helps everything :D

also don't let it fall apart - ask for a couple of good steps and then ride straight forward, then ask for a few more, the forward etc.

so - some alternative "asks" are:

- on a circle: spiral in and then leg yield out
- across the diagonal. Say you are changing rein from right rein to left. Start your diagonal but then apply what will be your *new* inside leg to ask the horse to step across behind. (This is the way they teach leg yield in Sweden and I really like it :D)
- and of course there is leg yield *away* from the track
- on you can work up to shoulder-fore this way: ride a smallish circle at the short end, as you come off the short side maintain the bend and ask with the inside leg so you effectively leg yield along the longside at an angle (not too big an angle !) Or a variation on this, start asking while you are still angled slightly towards the fence, this time with your outside leg. But again - don't ask for too many steps at a time ;)

hope that is useful