The Darn Bending buisness ....

[Torny]

:p Hello,

Well, I have a wee problem and was wondering what other peoples thoughts & Ideas are.

Gemini is going well, but you always have some sort of barrier that stops you from progressing that little bit furthur and it something all riders come against.

It's BENDING, now she does actually bend, and when she puts her mind to it, she does really nice bends. The trouble normally comes when we are on the LEFT rein and occasionally the right and when we step up into TROT & CANTER.

She will start off nicely then about a quarter of the way round ( mostly, if not always on the left rein ) she will then turn inwards like a motorcylce and move around like a ROD !!!
When we approachs bends ( e.g bend to the right ) her head will be pointing slightly left, then at the last minute, instead of beautifully bending she'll turn in sharply like a stiff rod again but sways off away from the edge of border ( field edge ) Now if I tightent he Left rein a bit to get her head slightly on the bend , she will veer in like a motorbike still!

Now, in Walk it doesn't happen. It is only in TROT and just as bad in CANTER. In a straight line she has a fantastic beat!

I am getting a bit frustrated now and upset, because it's not good and far from safe. Especially when she has the tendency to occasionally trip. Not good if trying to circle in Canter nor is it good when you want to approach a jump after a bend !!! So it is really stopping our progress.

I have tried all sorts of things, but nothing seems to work. Obviously she must be stiffer on the LEFT side and must be unbalanced because she rushes when she is unbalanced.
I have wondered whether my seat is not aiding correctly at times, but I have tried all orts of aids and she really does fight when it comes to bending on LEFT rein, she even trys turn on the spot!!

I long to do a 2O metre CIRCLE !

To arrive at a jump, NOT negotiating a Motorcycle Lean with one knee on the ground from the bend before!

I have wondered whether doing more work from the ground would help? I did think about having someone lunge me so she stays on the circle and I give aids? but I have no one to lunge me. Or could Muscle discomfort cause this? or is she does being a Pain? lol :cool:

Any thoughts most appeciative! :o


( You watch, I bet I will go today and she'll do it perfectly!!!! always happens if I have had a grump about something not going right! lol )

[Mehitabel]

you say she is ok in walk - what kind of thing are you asking in walk? are you sure she is bending properly, and not just going straight round the corner and because it's slower you're not necessairly noticing?

make sure she can really bend in walk on a smaller circle, and don't ask anytihng in trot just yet that she can't do in walk. also, although it's frustrating, don't ask for things on the good rein that are impossible on the bad one - otherwise you are just increasing the difference between the sides.

lots of work on both reins, and lots of changes on rein - not a straight 20 minutes on one rein and then a straight 20 minutes on the other.
in trot, make sure you are slow, and balanced, and that you are straight - if you are crooked, she will be too. plenty of inside leg - get her listening to moving away from your leg in walk, and insist upon it, backing up with a flick of the whip if needed.

[cvb]

had a lesson on Saturday and instructor had me using shoulder-fore a lot, before going up a pace, and after coming down, and also to work on softness on circle.

That may help you as well ? It helps to activate the inside hind as well as insuring the correct flexion.

[Jessey]

Hey there, your mare sounds like the perfect candidate for some carrot stretches its a dead easy way to assess just how flexible your horse is and also to help stretch any stiffness out.

Take several carrots and 1 horse, get Gemini to stand square and then tease her with a carrot asking her to bend her head round towards her hip and see just how far she can go with-out moving those feet, then try it on the other side and see is she can go about the same distance, if she is stiff one side she wont be able to and doing about 3 stretches a day (each side) should help those stiff muscles a bit and make her think shes spoiled :p .
Next take a carrot and tease her to put her head between her front legs (best your arm goes through from the back or else you can get it in the way) stretching down and round like this will help stretch her whole back out.

You should do these with and without your saddle on and you can do the first one while mounted if she's not likely to bite your knees off ;)

Once you know she can move her body well enough to bend well you can then assess why shes not understanding what you're asking her.

I would look for some exercises that will help balance as this should help her to take those corners more calmly.

J

[Torny]

Thanks for your replies peeps.

She can defo bend in walk, and to an extent in trot. It's as though she can't hold the bend . lol. silly really!

As for the carrot thing, we actually do that before or after a lesson sometimes. She is defo flexible becasue she can alsmost touch her Bum/hip on both sides and stretchs far between her front legs.

This is why I have wondred if she is just being a bit of a bugger and cannot be bothered to always work correctly.

I have in the past had a fantastic bend in trot, she was on the bit beautifully and she was curvy!

I always try to do the same amount of work on both reins because I do not want her to be one sided. If anything, I spend a couple of minutes more on the poorer rein but not too much because I don't want to over exert.
At the moment she is only slightly poorer on the right rein, it's not bad to the extent that I try an avoid that rein.

[Jessey]

Interesting that she cann bend but chooses not to, Looks like patience and good old fashioned schooling is your answer here ;)

J x