Hard on the right rein?

[Elvengirl]

I have been having this problem with my horse now for awhile. He is extremely hard on the right rein. He is reluctant to bend or do any sort of lateral work on that rein. I have been doing tons of suppling work with him, bending his neck, circles, shoulder-in, leg-yield, carrot stretches...you name it! I'm just not sure what to do and I feel frustrated as his flatwork otherwise is goes really well. I feel like he is just shutting me out when I ask him to bend! The vet had checked him, he's 100% sound and has good muscle development. My trainer even says he looks fine when I ride him, and we get good marks in basic Dressage. I just feel like I would like him to stop bracing against me (my leg, seat, and hand!) when I ask him to bend on the right rein, I feel like it is a barrier in our relationship. I also notice when I lunge him (without side reins) or free lunge him he always pokes his nose to the outside when going around on the right rein. Is it a conformation thing? Is it something else? I have no idea what to do!:(

[Harry Hobbes]

Halter, bridle, saddle, lead, mount and dismount from the right side of the horse for the next couple of months. (Do your normal ground actions from the right side; not the left.)

When mounted, while the horse is standing still, use the right rein to ask (coax) the horse to bring its' nose around to your right knee, then pet the horse's face/head/neck; and wait for the horse to relax and hold its' head at your knee before releasing the rein. (You may have to "coax" the head around to this position several times before the horse is accepting enough to keep its' head at your knee.) Do this a lot, whenever you and the horse are standing still; until the horse instantly puts its' nose on your right knee as soon as you pick up only the right rein. (Also, do this for the left side; so, that the horse remains flexible on the left.)

When you are mounted and the horse is standing there before and after bringing its' nose to your right knee (or for any other exercise), give the horse a loose rein and let it stand there relaxed.

Also, there are a variety of ground work flexion exercises (such as hindquarter step-overs) performed with a twelve-foot lead rope that designed specifically to loosen up a "braced" horse. These are in Parelli's Games, Lyons' flexion exercises, and are known by various other names. Ask your instructor (or anyone else available) to show you some of these ground work exercises.

Best regards,
Harry

[Tangle]

With no disrespect to your vet, they can't be an expert in everything. Are there any equine chiropractors or massage therapists near you that could come out and have a look and feel?

[Elvengirl]

Thanks for the info Harry! I have been working on the neck bending and getting him to hold his nose close to my knee, but he is still reluctant to do so on his right side....I will keep working on that. I'll also talk to my trainer about Parelli...are there some books available on this type of work? I would really like to start doing things like mounting etc. from the right, I think that could make a difference.

Tangle, I completely agree with you. I have not had anyone else look at him yet....I am planning to put his name in to be a participant in an equine accupuncture(spelling?) clinic that our barn hosts several times a year. I do some of my own equine massage before I ride, just the main muscle groups, but it would probably be better to have a professional massuese work with him!

Today I did a TON of work on a circle, moving from 20m to 15m to 10m and out again and really working on inside bend and then counter-bend. He seemed to relax quite a bit by the end, but it took a ton of work to get him there! <sigh>

[Harry Hobbes]

I have been working on the neck bending and getting him to hold his nose close to my knee, but he is still reluctant to do so on his right side....I will keep working on that.
This should be a routine drill performed many times within each riding session; so that it becomes second nature to the horse and rider.
I'll also talk to my trainer about Parelli...are there some books available on this type of work? Oh yes. Some would say too many. Parelli's original Natural-Horse-Man-Ship (https://www.colosoft.com/westernhorseman-secure/naturalhorsemanship.asp) is still in publication from Western Horseman Publishing (and www.amazon.com). This book contains the bulk and basis of his current programmed instruction, before he started to market it as "Seven Games"; but, of course, not the video tapes and other supporting publications (and not their high cost.) If you were to study this book, you would find that the underlying theme in the book is all about physical, mental and emotional flexibility; in both the horse and rider, presented in the context of training drills and exercises.

In addition, just about all of the "natural horsemen" advocate the type of bending/flexing exercises and activities that I listed above in my first post; and more. This is standard operating procedure for them (although they sometimes use dissimilar vernacular.) So, the exercises of people like Hunt, Brannaman, Cox, Pate, Cameron, et al, all focus on flexion of mind and body (among other things.)

Best regards,
Harry