Making horse rounder

[mcgregors-girl]

Iv just done my first dressage test where we got placed 2nd :) and im over the moon. On the comment bit at the bottom of my test the judge has writting i need to make my horse more rounder. Now how do i go about doing this?? please help!

[suneanarab]

i should think that he means in the back, as in your horse was a little more hollow than he would like to have seen. however, what you have to remember is the level that you and your horse are at in terms of schooling and fitness. what would be best for you is to get someone to film you riding, even if only on a mobile phone, so you can see what is happening. horses hollow for a multitude of reasons so you need to see why it's happening.

it could be down to your hands or riding position, or it could be a lack of strength in the horse. it could also be that the horse isn't working from behind enough. when the horse is rounded correctly (for his conformation, fittness and level of work) you should be able to see the horse using his stomach muscles to lift the back under you. to do this he needs to be working through from behind and be light and soft in your hand taking the contact you have lightly forwards.

if you make sure you are sat correctly, lift the rib cage (not the shoulders) and feel for the inside back leg coming off the ground. don't do anything to start with untill you can feel the rythem of it happening. once you have got that time your beathing to it and as the leg comes off the ground take a deep breath in. as you do so let your legs open slightly at the knee to relax it and curl the lower leg round him to encourage the horse to step trough. as the horse starts to put the leg down you should be breathing out.

if you do this at walk you will find it easier. what you don't want is for the horse to speed up through it all so i usually lift the outside rein slightly and squeeze it to sit the horse back on the hocks a bit more. you can keep sqeezing the rein to stop him rushing off. what you should feel is that the horse lifts the back from the stomach under you and lowers the head slightly.

however, this is a tricky one as i don't know what is making him hollow in the first place.

[moniek]

hello
when we say rounder in the netherlands we mean making his nek rounder.
More rounder do you know what i mean?
If they mean that than i cant tell you what to do because i dont know the problems why he doesnt do it.
so please tell me more.
regards moniek

[Lyndz & Siners]

ok well if he has no expierence getting round then youll need to start from scratch, youll have to start by gently massaging his bit, so like gently pull you reins like right left right left left right right right left, just randomly, dont have a predictable pattern and dont do it constantly... as soon as he starts to give, even only a little tiny bit, then stop, and give him his head, then when he brings it back up start agian. do the same thing, til he does it really well without being asked!****dont do this in the show ring, its better not to do anything at all then do this in the showring**
after your horse gets the hang of it then you should be able to hold your hands really still,,, almost holding him back, but kick him forward into the bridle, it should force him to go round.. it takes a very expierenced horse to do that though

[Daffy Dilly]

It takes quite a bit of work to get a horse "round", as suneanarab says. The most effective way for you to get a horse in an outline depends on you and the horse, but lots of transitions and changes of direction are a good starting point. If you are having problems it is worth checking for any physical issues before ruling them out, as there may be pain or tension somewhere.

The best person to ask about this would be an instructor, as we are just having to guess at both what the judge means, and what you'll need to do to get that result. However, pulling, kicking and forcing is not the way to go about it.

[suneanarab]

the only problem with reccomending transitions is that it can be the transitions that cause the horse to hollow in the first place. thus repeating what is already wrong is not going to help. but you do need someone to look at what you are doing whilst riding. i wouyld go for the more classical appraoch though than the traditional methods.

[Lot1983]

Circles on both reins helps my horse to become rounder, it's amazing when he does go into an outline, he suddenly goes all light and I can only compare it to floating around.

BUT, you cannot force him into an outline, you have to work him into one, I cannot sit there and yank his head down, it takes gentle work, hard work!

Best advice is to find yourself a good instructor to help you with this, I find without my RI there to advise I tend to be a bit lazy, but even a lesson a month helps to up my motivation.