on the forehand?

[FreedomStar]

Ok, there is this school horse at where I ride. His name is gaby, he is roughly around 16 hands, and he is a thoroughbred gelding. Now, this guys is great to ride, has nice gaits, jumps well, but he is too much on the forehand. Any way to correct this? My friends who have ridden him also say that he is on the forehand. I'd just like to try to correct this, if at all possible, but I wouldn't be able to really do a lot with him because he is the school's horse. Still, i'd like any suggestions you have!

[IrisSilverMoon]

spend a lot of time halting him and backing him up. Trot forward, halt, back up. Do this at every gait, and even before some low jumps. He'll eventually learn to carry himself a lot better and more uphill than down.

another thing you can try in jumps is to set up a gymnastic of four bounce fences in a row. He'll have to carry himself properly over the fences otherwise he won't make it and lose energy in the middle. This will also help him to round his body over the fences. Just a good all-round exercise for jumping.

[FreedomStar]

his form isn't what worries me. He's got great form. He's gotten better actually at being on the forehand. Not so much anymore. But the problem is, anytime you point him at a line, or a bounce, once you're over the first fence, he'll sometimes grab the bit and you can't control his stride. I'll try that on him next time I ride him. Thanks for your quick reply.

[Danae]

Because this response is coming from a western rider the answer is going to be universal rather than specific for jumping. I'm training a mare right now that had a problem with stopping on the forehand rather than impulsion from behind. I did alot of trot, stop, back transitions and it's making all the difference in the world! I also tried this training technique on Hopi, my mare, and it has helped her alot with self carriage and stopping. I hope this is of help, good luck :D!

[Cochise]

Cheeky has this problem too, especially since just coming back into work. I do a lot of transitions, walk to trot, trot to walk, walk to canter and so on and so on, he lightens up and really gets keen wondering what is coming next.

[FreedomStar]

hmmm, I'll see if I can hop on him for a hack sometime soon. I don't really ride him in lessons.