confusion

[Waikato Valuta]

I am having some problems with understanding my instructor. Things have been going really well for a while. But there are a few things I don’t understand I have asked her but she doesn’t seem to know how to tell me.

1. She gets me to trot him really fast. She want me to get used to trotting that fast and then when we are in a very fast but smooth rhythm I ask him to come down on the bit by using lots of leg and keeping outside rein firm and squeezing the inside rein.
I don’t like this because he feels like he is rushing heaps. But she says because he is not over tracking he needs to work more forward, but I don’t think it is more forward I think it is rushing. She say that he is not rushing.
2. We never do transition. I have always been told to do lots of transitions but she just gets me doing lots of circles and only occasional changes or direction too. When she is not around I do lots of transitions and he is really good at them, except the canter one.

I also feel like when I’m doing a circle he wont listen to me telling him to move out. He does a few steps out and then falls back in again. His bend is really good most of the time.

She also tells me to close my hands and I find this gives my a much rougher feel on the reins. And I like to have a very open giving hand. It especially helps when I get left behind over jumps and can just slip the reins easy.

Any tips on ways to improve things?

[Nhi]

It's a pity your instructor can't put into words what she is trying to achieve. She says your horse is not tracking up? If that's the case then I suspect that she is trying to get him to move more truly forward; get him to bring his hind legs under and lift his back and seek the contact. Once he is in this frame you can slow the pace and begin to start working him. With regard to the rein thing she might be trying to get you to take an equal contact with both hands. If you are riding with an open hand you might be weighting one rein more than the other without realising it and if your horse is not truly forward the chances are he might not be 100% straight, in which case it will be difficult for you to maintaing the same contact in each rein. I'd guess that she is trying to get your horse forward and straight and once you've reached those targets everything else (including the canter transitions) will become easy peasy. BUT I'd try to get her to explain to you what her goals for you and your horse are. You NEED to know and understand what those goals are. Executing an instruction is so much easier if you know what you're doing and why.

[welshcoblady1]

if your instructor is trying to ask you to let your horse go forward
to lengthen and then shorten ,i could understand ,but if the horse is running through your hands and working long and flat the result will not be for collection or rounding . if the horse is not able to self carriage ,i can not see how the horse can come under and through to make him lighter in front .

it sounds like she is looking for lengthening of stride then to shorten to help him track up and soften ,but you are may be going to fast and the horse is going flat and running through your hands and seat .

to ask a horse to soften is more than just applying more leg and out side rein ,and applying inside rein , he may not be able to round through self carriage as he may not be supple and strong enough through his and back end yet to truely work through and keep it .

i would ask your instructor what she asking you to do and what would the end result be .before you go ahead .
is the lesson for your riding ,or for the schooling of the horse is the horse yours or the schools ..i just wondered.

if you close your fingers to much ,this then causes tention from wrist to shoulder and so on ,but if you have lose fingers you may find the reins slipping through,and that you have to keep shortening your reins , the bend in your elbow along with a supple shoulder and open chest ,and sitting upright ,you can hold ,give, take alittle ,with your reins with out having to lose the feeling on the reins .

the variouse angles of the wrist and fingers send constant messages to the horses mouth ,which are used in more advanced riding and comes with experience and time .

i hope things improve for you in your lessons ,do chat to your instructor and say that you feel this is uncomfortable and that you are not happy i am sure you can both try different ways to acheive .
best wishes .

[Waikato Valuta]

We dont lengthen then shorten we just "lengthen" fast in circles for a long time.

Since I have been having lessons with her my jumpping has improved heaps I just feel the flat work isn't going great.

He is my horse, not a school horse and I have had him for 3 years. He has improved soooo much. but I've only been having lessons with this person for a few months.

[RachelEvent]

Hello..

From what you have said, I find your instructors comments on getting the horse to move forwards quite odd. It sounds very much like she is asking him to rush, which is a method often taught to try and get the horse to track up, but in my opinion is not correct. An excercise of lengthening and shortening would be more effective, as it would teach the horse to listen, and to balance himself beck onto his hindquarters. By simply trying to go forwards forwards forwards all of the time, he will become flat and unbalanced, and while he may begin to track up, it won't be due to him using his hindquarters better.

I would personally ask my instructor what her aims were, and raise the points that people have risen here, and hopefully she will be able to give you a better idea of what she is aiming for.

As for transitions, it seems odd that she would not practice more with you. My instructor gives me a variety of transition work interspersed with work on bends and lateral work. Again, why not ask her?

Regarding riding with open or closed hands, I would say she probably has a bit of a point here. It is a slight misconception that riding with open hands equates to having a gentler contact. Te open hand can disguise some of the connection between the mouth to hand, and can mean that when an aid is used, it is jerkier and rougher.

The perfect contact could be described as a closed hand, but a soft hand. This hand would allow you to feel any movement and connection much better, and would allow you to make rein aids with the softest of nuances.

I have learnt this the hard way, I rode with too open a hand for years, and didn't sort it out, until I went on work experience to a dressage yard, and was riding a medium schoolmaster. He did not go correctly, unless you had a closed soft hand, and after a weeks lessons like this, my horse actually went noticeably better with the closed hand. It enables a steadier and more consistent rein, which can only be good :)

Rachel xx

[kedwards]

Is it that you really don't understand what your instructor is asking, or is it that just hasn't convinced you that her methods are correct? The two issues could certainly be related, but they aren't exactly the same thing.

To break it down as best as I can tell, the main point of disagreement is that she has identified the primary issue (at least for moment) as your horse lacking forward impulsion and you aren't certain that you agree with this.

Without seeing your horse, it's impossible to say whether what you feel as fast a rhythm is indeed too fast. Perhaps you could ask her to do work with you while you longe him and have her point out what she means with regard to his movement. Ask her to point out when she thinks he is moving too slowly and when he is in a good working trot so that you can see it for yourself from the ground. Alternatively, you could ask her to hop up on him and show you.

I agree with her on the hands though. Keeping my hands open is a terrible habit I developed early on and it's been very hard to break. Like you, I did it with the notion that I was being softer, but it actually only leads to inconsistent contact.