Constructive Criticism wanted

[Mazpup]

Note the constructive part :D
I got my mum to video my last riding lesson on digital camera and I've put togther a couple of pitues in sequence showing me riding and although the quality is very poor due to the camera and lighting I was wondering if anyone could comment on how I could improve upon my riding in them. The first picture is shown in this thread http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35944 and simply shows me riding across the school.
The second sequence attatched shows me attempting turn on the haunches. Not the word attempting as is certainly is not a turn on the haunches! In my defence it was one of my preliminary efforts and the horse I was riding tunds to rush off during lateral work rather than stop to listen.
Any help would be appreciated although its probably difficult to see much!

[Janah]

I wouldn't attempt to sort out the turn on the haunches but what is very apparent is that you are leaning. Try to sit straighter and use your legs independently of your seat. Hope this helps.
I'm sure other people on here would be able to offer more help.

Good luck.
Janah

[FreedomStar]

Turn on the haunches is more difficult, as it requires control of the horses front end. With turn on the forehand it is control of the hindquarters which most riders can achieve easily. For a turn on the hanches, say your turning left around the hanches. You would put a left bend in your body, NOT leading with your shoulders, shift your weight slightly to the left, shorten the left rein and squeeze while keeping your horse balanced with the right, and add right leg at the girth to ask the horse to swing left. Keep your leg left behind the girth to stop the hind end swinging around. It should not be a pivot around the hind end!

[IrisSilverMoon]

Originally posted by FreedomStar
Turn on the haunches is more difficult, as it requires control of the horses front end. With turn on the forehand it is control of the hindquarters which most riders can achieve easily. For a turn on the hanches, say your turning left around the hanches. You would put a left bend in your body, NOT leading with your shoulders, shift your weight slightly to the left, shorten the left rein and squeeze while keeping your horse balanced with the right, and add right leg at the girth to ask the horse to swing left. Keep your leg left behind the girth to stop the hind end swinging around. It should not be a pivot around the hind end!

if you do it that way you're liable to end up with a turn on the forehand!

sorry, but if you want to turn on the haunches left, you need to be using your right rein as a neck rein and really give a lot with the left rein. replace all the lefts with rights and you've got it for turn ont he haunches left! the most common problem I see with a turn on the haunches not working (including with me!) is that someone is blocking with the inside hand (the hand that holds the bend) If a horse feels blocked on that side they are going to be able to get away with moving their hindquarters all over. Honestly if I'm having some sort of trouble with my turn on the haunches, i just completely drop the rein that is holding the bend to sort things out. Usually that ends up working fine.

[Miss MoneyPenny]

Is it just me and the way I have looked at the sequence, or is that more of a turn on the forehand, not haunches? I say this as I am looking at the positioning of your horses legs. The front don't move very much (i.e. turn on the forehand) but the hind do????

I am no way an expert so please shoot me down if I am just seeing the sequence incorrect!

[Mazpup]

Thanks, Missmoneypenny it is more of a half and half, as my instructor put it 'shes twirling around her middle.' Looking at it a bit more myself (put up the post quite quickly the other day) I've noticed she took one step with her foreleg in one direction and one step with ehr hindleg in the other direction, however the hindleg step was larger.
Irissilvermoon should turn on the haunches just be acheivable with the use of the rein as a neck tein or should you be using leg aids at all?

[IrisSilverMoon]

Originally posted by Mazpup

Irissilvermoon should turn on the haunches just be acheivable with the use of the rein as a neck tein or should you be using leg aids at all?


when its really been worked on it should just be a rein aid. but there is nothing incorrect about using your outside leg to tell the horse to move over. Not every horse has been worked with extensively enough that they just move off the rein like that. Most of the horses I've ridden need the leg as a back up, but there have been a few that move just off the rein.