new to forum- help needed(riding)

[natural]

Hi ,
i have just joined this site and have two horses also have been doing parelli for 5 years
i really need some help! i have a TB gelding who is 8 and have been doing parelli with him for about 2 years, he is going really well in the halter, really relaxed and going nicely at all paces walk, trot and canter wich is really great because when i first got him he was really stressed and nervous,would run off in the trot and simply did not have a canter only gallop! so we have been going well but the problem lies in the bridle, i have been using the bridle on him for about a month now and he is fine when i ride him on a casual rein but as soon as i pick up a contact he pushes me out of the saddle and will not listen, goes straight back to stressy and nervous and i really don't know what to do it has made me think twice about me doing the whole parelli thing i don't know if this is really for me any more so any advice would be very very grateful.
The reason i have started him, in the bridle is i thought he was ready and i don't think it is a situation of going back to the halter might help because he is fine in the halter...but i don't know?
This has really dampened my spirits and now i don't know if i was ready to take him on?

[michelle c]

he may have had bad experiences in the past, may be jabbed in the mouth! have you had his teeth checked? this may be the problem!! im not too clued up about these things but hope that helps!!

[parsharainbow]

Can you not keep him on a casual rein for a while? just till he gets used to wearing the bridle and then pick up the contact for very short periods of time and relax to a casual rein again to reward him and let him get used to the contact gradually, maybe your expecting too much of a leap in such a short time, it may be better to take 'smaller' and 'more gradual' steps - but then I really don't know much about parelli, but I know this is how I would do it with one of my horses :) Sorry if its not much help x x x

[katefarmer]

I don't think this problem is directly linked to the Parelli work - so I wouldn't give it up because of this problem if you'd otherwise carry on with it. If the horse hasn't worn a bridle for a while, I'd get the teeth professionally checked. There could be a problem there which has not been noticed if the horse hasn't been wearing a bit.

Then have a look under www.harmony-project.net - the article on "Bridling and Bitting". This will give you some simple exercises to get your horse relaxed with the bridle and bit and listening to your energy.

Good luck!

Kate
www.harmony-project.net

[natural]

hi, its Emma ( the first post)
Thanks for the help and i looked on the website kate(i think thats your name!....sorry) and it was areally good article and i will definatly try the excersises. By the way i love the website i have always wanted to be a horse trainer like what your doing at your place except i just don't know how to get there, like where you start off and stuff. AnywayI am riding today so hopefully all will go well!
ps. stopped beating myself up about it , and anyway its a good oppotunity to develop my skills

[Kate F.]

Hi Emma!

I'm so glad you like the website and I do hope you find the exercises helpful.

I started off with this style of training because I had a problem horse I couldn't get through to, and I found Richard Thompson on the Internet. He came and did a clinic for me and a few friends.. and it sort of went from there.

It certainly helps to have someone to learn from - especially in the beginning, but there's a lot you can do for yourself too. It sounds as though you've already made a good start with the Parelli material. If you have a look at Part 1 of my website you'll find a lot of the "nuts and bolts" psychology of WHY the NH approach works. I find this is missing, or dealt with only on a very superficial level in most systems - but for me, understanding this is crucial to being able to apply and adapt exercises for each horse and each situation. If you're interested in this side of it, you might find my book helpful - details are on the website.

Good luck with the bridle, and do let me know how you get on!

All the best

Kate

[cvb]

Emma

You say he started off stressed and nervous. Sounds to me like he's found a comfort zone in what you have done so far, but the "new" thing has taken him out of his comfort zone and back into his old behaviour.

So - question is what can you do to get him back into "partnership" mode - but WITH the bit and contact.

I take it you can do all the ground work with his bridle on, that its only when you take a contact ? Is there a difference between bending to stop with the halter and line, and the same exercise with bit ?

Just also wondering - what level are you ? If you're L1, I don't think you go back to the bit til L2 ?? You might want to focus for now on getting your L1 done so you can move on to L2 exercises - which may well help with this ? (Have been behaving myself and not reviewing L2 too much as I MUST do my L1 video and NOT get distracted ! :rolleyes: )

[natural]

kate
i rode Rocky(his name) yesturday and he did go well responded very nicely but he is still leaning and sometimes chews on the bit? but everything is going well today we might move up into the canter but only if things go well again and i will go on your website again i love how you do "diaries" on a spacific horse like the one that was "right eyed" that was interesting.
cvb-Yes we can do all the ground work on the ground in a bridle and it is only when i take a contact, he is fine bending to a stop in the bridle....same as in the halter.
i have done all the way up to level three with my pony Angel but have not officially passed ,i have only officialy passed my level 1, we got stuck(me and Angel) on flying changes and i decided to move on as both Angel and i were getting a bit frustrated, have tried to go back and do flying changes but she just will not do them.So me and Rocky would probably be up to the level 2/3 stage.
I went to a clinic on natural horsemanship and this was run by a group called horses and horsemen wich are really good, they are basically the same as parelli and encorperate the same techniques but have developed there own system so i have been doing this with Rocky and have been going well there website is www.horsesandhorsemen.com if you want to have a look

[cvb]

natural

well your savvy should be fine then ;)

I have a spooky mare - and I find I need to keep her in partnership mode or she's more likely to go madly "prey" and do sommat that hurts :o

So one of the things I do is something from a Bob Mayhew (UK western rider) video. He does something called "snake trails" with his youngsters, and I just wonder whether it would be a gentle way to keep your chap calm and focused ?

Its basically a series of arcs strung together in a space/arena, and I guess you could vary the tightness of the arcs depending on degree of education. So you might do 2/3 of a circle to right, and then arc to left and do 1/2 circle, then to right again... and so on. Each time you want the horse to stay soft and calm.

What do you reckon ?

[pengapenga]

Hi natural

sorry I can't answer your query, I am not very clued on parelli. Just thought I would take this opportunity to say hi and welcome to NR :) which part of Australia, I am in western Aus :)

[natural]

hi
Rode rocky early this morning...love riding early its so nice
we rode in a halter working on transitions and getting a nice trot after cantering instead of rushy. He went well and came back into a nice trot after some pursuasion!(i think i spelt it wrong) although he does pull alot in the canter so will work on that for a while
cvb- your savvy sounds good too and it sounds like you and your mare are going really well. The snake pattern is a great idea and i will definately try it .
pengapenga- i am from W.A too (perth)

[pengapenga]

pengapenga- i am from W.A too (perth)

hi - you would then be the 4th member from WA, 5 if you include my daughter :) I am Perth too :)

I too love the early mornings. Good luck with Rocky :)

[natural]

wow we are online at the same time, i can't believe you live in perth too do you and/ your daughter do natural horsemanship?

[pengapenga]

Will PM you natural :)