on the bit and canter leads

[Allie]

I have a seven year old Quarter horse mare who was barely even green broke when I bouhgt her two years ago. Since then, she has learned a lot, but I need some tips on the refinement of her training. Some background: She had no training really when I bought her, basically she had just been backed and ridden a few times. I ride her in a D-ring sweet iron snaffle bit, which she really likes, and a regular cavesson. We do not have a round pen or arena, and she does not know how to lunge. Now, my two questions:

1. what is the best way to teach a horse to "give to the bit"? When I shorten my reins to go faster or slow down or whatever, she raises her head up slightly (not way up, I still have control). She does what I asked her to do, no head throwing or anything, she is just not really on the bit.

2. how do you train a horse to pick up the correct canter leads? We are just now to the point where she will canter willingly most of the time when asked. When I bought her, she was a spoiled brat never made to do any work, and she is also one of those diffucult horses that tests you constantly regardless of how long she has known you. I ride most of the time with a riding crop, because on the occasions when she does test me, if I don't have that to back my aids up, she only gets worse. I think if I tried to turn her sideways so she is cantering at an angle that she would just refuse to canter.

Any suggestions welcome and appreciated.

Allie

[fionahogg]

you'll probably be better asking heather about this, but i'll try to help!
to encourage the horse to give to the bit try gently squeezing on the rein, opening and closing the fingers, alternating with each hand. all the time the legs should be by the horse's side to maintain impulsion and to get the hindlegs to come further underneath and therefore raise the back. by shortening the rein you will encourage the horse to shorten in the neck instead of lengthen the outline and drop onto the bit. it will also create tension, having the opposite to the desired effect!!
to help the horse to strike off on the correct diagonal, he first needs to be bent around your inside leg, and moving well from the inside leg to the outside hand. again you would be much better off asking heather, but i'll refer to her book...this is what i use with my horses and it works! you need to be able to feel which hind leg is coming under the horse in trot. when, for example, the horses left side 'dips' under you, the left hindleg is coming under him, and vice versa. you give the aid to canter when the outside leg is just about to hit the ground - when you feel the 'dip' on that side.
hope this helps!
fiona :-)

[Heather]

Thanks Fiona, good reply! If you can get hold of my book, Allie, it will be a good reference work for you. If you have real difficulties in getting the correct canter lead- nearly always on one rein, I expect you will find- try going into canter by allowing the horse to run into it -not ideal, but purely from a remedial angle- from rising troty, on the wrong diagonal . This nearly always works. You will have to repeat it a few times for the penny to drop. If this doesn't work, post here again!


Heather