tips on getting her listening..

[anna15]

im having a tough time getting my pony working correctly and listening at the moment, i have only had her just over a month so i know still needs a bit more time.
at my stables there is know menage (which is rubbish because she works better in one!) so we have a 20 by 40 marked out with poles and cones. i start of by walking around on a fairly loose rein do some circles and serpentines, and on each long side i either ask her to walk very quikly or as slow as i possibley can without stopping, ri said it tends to help me know shes listening to my aids. then just generlely warm her up
at the moment im working on getting her bending and staying in her outline. now she is a very strong pony and is a bit of jumping mare, baisically what she does is when we go into trot shel work beautifully then all of a sudden stick her nose up in the air and just try and trot very quikly off with me, so i usualy keep relaxed try and slow my rising down and half halt her. trouble is this doesnt work she just continues to fight me and she has regularly set of galloping around the field with me(and believe me she has a hard mouth and is extremely difficult to stop). so just wondered what your reaction to this would be? what can i do other than those obvious things. she really gets to me if i leave the field knowing i have got nowhere again.

your porbably going to ask me questions so heres some answers in advance!:
she has recently had a vet check her back and regularly has her teeth done, also not long ago had her a saddle fitted.

dont want to result to martingale, i hate gadgets now because with my last horse i began to rely on it, and was unable to do dressage and most showing classes.

we dont school all the time, regularly hack aswell, although dont want to jump her yet untill the flatwork is sorted.

she came in a dutch gag happy mouth, but i hate it generely because i dont feel like i have a contact all it does is brakes! now im riding her in a french link cheeked snaffle deffinately feels like i have that contact (i sort of mean she responds to what im asking) and turning is easier, but i do have the slight problem that she is very difficult to stop.
thanks for reading:)

[anna15]

no1?:):confused:

[wonkeywoody]

Get a copy of Parelli's "My horse wont go" - I know the title sounds irrelevant but he deals with stopping, turning, slowing and speeding up and gives easy to follow instuctions. All of it is designed to get your horse listening to the lightest command and even in the DVD demo you can really see the differences as he works a horse who KNOWS how not to listen.

[anna15]

thanks :)

[JamesJackson]

If your horse is working correctly in the frame you're asking in the first instance, then as long as its gymnastic development is enough for it to continue working within that frame, then when a side resists you can do a number of things:

- Flex to that side and move off the same leg
i.e. Left side resists, so flex to the left, and move off the left leg
- Soften the resisting rein
- Open the resisting rein

You want to ensure a constant feel on both sides of the horse. For getting then listening in the first place, shoulder mobilising, turns on the forehand and leg yielding are good suppling and tuning exercises.

If she's tanking off and dictating the pace then she's probably on the forehand and not happy with being dictated to. Sorting those things out is not something that can be assessed and explained on a forum!

[Fanshawe]

I'd also like to say that it sounds like you are doing lots of things that are right- slowing your rise and getting her to change speed within a pace. The other thing that might work is to do all walk for 3 sessions. Know it sounds boring but there's a lot you can do in walk. Need to break the cycle and get her respecting you. When you do do trot keep her active and doing lots of different things. No more than three repetitions then on to something new- you can go back to the first one just keep changing it. However stay on the same rein for the first 10 mins and then change the rein and do 10 mins on the other. The other thing to do is when you start to feel her getting tense, or any other signs you know that she is about to be silly, take her straight back to walk. If she does cart you off just stay calm and get her to do something- circles or shallow loops or serpentines no matter where in the field you are. She may have controlled the pace but you try to control the movement and get her listening again. Use lots of leg aids and don't pull to much on the mouth- she knows she can beat you on that one as that is what will always have been done. Do what she least expects (except shouting, hitting, jumping off!) and take her back in to the arena space as soon as you can. Then finish on something good even if it's a nice walk halt. Last but not least don't feel bad about it when it all goes wrong. We all get that no matter how long we've been riding or how long we've had our horses! Just finish on a good note and remember what did go right. Good luck!

[Meovcorz]

she came in a dutch gag happy mouth, but i hate it generely because i dont feel like i have a contact all it does is brakes! now im riding her in a french link cheeked snaffle deffinately feels like i have that contact (i sort of mean she responds to what im asking) and turning is easier, but i do have the slight problem that she is very difficult to stop.[/COLOR]
thanks for reading:)

My horse does the same thing, only thing is, I use a Martingale on him, because he cuts when i ask him to turn once he has galloped off. Someone recently told me I should get a Dutch gag for my beautiful horsie, there was NO way in the world that I was going to do that.

[mogadoga]

When Alex does this i slow my rising, but push him foward so he has to go back into his outline and work properly from behind. :)

[puzzles]

I would also have her teeth, back and saddle checked and a physio come out to see her, as there could be a physical reason for her difficulty in schooling.

:-)

xx

Good luck!

[missyL]

questions so heres some answers in advance!:[/B][/SIZE][/SIZE]
she has recently had a vet check her back and regularly has her teeth done, also not long ago had her a saddle fitted.

dont want to result to martingale, i hate gadgets now because with my last horse i began to rely on it, and was unable to do dressage and most showing classes.

we dont school all the time, regularly hack aswell, although dont want to jump her yet untill the flatwork is sorted.

she came in a dutch gag happy mouth, but i hate it generely because i dont feel like i have a contact all it does is brakes! now im riding her in a french link cheeked snaffle deffinately feels like i have that contact (i sort of mean she responds to what im asking) and turning is easier, but i do have the slight problem that she is very difficult to stop.[/COLOR]
thanks for reading:)

if she came in a dutch gag then there was maybe a reason for it, you could try her in it again but put the reins on a higher ring as this is less harsh and allows for more steering etc. my friend had a pony in one and she put it on the top ring so it felt like a snaffle to ride but added better brakes to her pony. it may be that if you cant sort her out then you will have to resort to a martingale for your own safety and possibly your horses as with her head up she may not be able to see where she is running etc.

[wonkeywoody]

You could try putting two reins on your dutch gag. The 'brakes' one just tie a knot in them and rest them on her neck, ride off the 'snaffle' rein and then you can always pick up the bottom rein if the going gets tough, dropping it when you dont need it.

[Cheeky]

Haha sounds like Honey to me!

Honey is a lovely ride .. nice walk, but her trot can go from calm and collected, to racing around.

I usually just let her trot it out .. keep on the circle, lots of changes of rein, etc ... but some days we just warm up and go for a good hard canter/gallop aorund the outter race track .. 1-2 laps usually does it .. but she still has more energy to burn .. we then go back into the field to work ..

Goodluck!

[enchantedequine]

well i think you are doing fine, i agree, do not resort to using anything like martingales, first of all they dont fix a problem most of the time cuz then you take it off and horse is crap again.... it just covers up the problem.

i had the same problem with my horse when i boguht him four years ago i coudlnt communcate with him at all and always felt liek giving up.. but i persisted and rahter than trying to make him work in a desirable way, i jsut rode and rode and rode and rode until i knew him so well that we could communicate better and trainng was easier. he now does advanced dressage and he is the one horse i will never, ever sell, hes my best bud.

i buy and sell horses on a regular basis, buying, educating, then selling. some horses are so easy to ride they educate in just weeks and can sell on.
others, arnt so easy, for whatever reason, and i do the same thing, yes it makes it slower to begin with, but just riding them a whole lot and spending alot fo tiem with them, its so rewarding in the end when you have broken the ice with adifficult horse and then you progress so fast.

good luck with whatever you decide and keep on truckin!

[Cheeky]

Mm .. just a thought. I don't think adding a martingale is the worst thing? I alternate using one on Honey .. depending on what we are doing. I found this to be effective! She now has a much lower head, so I dont need it much any more.