What I'm I doing wrong

[Loopslou]

Amber was broken last year, hacked for the summer, rested for a good few months, brought back into work nearing the spring by hacking and then come May time brought into the sandschool. THEN she had to have her stifle operated on and has had a few mouth problems

Before I turned her away she was going sort of ok in the sandschool although I always felt she didn't know as much as I expected her to know when I got her back from being broken.

Now the stifle operation is well over and her mouth is sorted (she was checked again last week and all is fine) she is crap in the sandschool.

I went out to my friends last night and schooled her horse who is hardly ever schooled and no matter what I was him to do, he did. He was trained for dressage but is only used for hacking.

I feel with Amber that I'm speaking spanish and she's speaking german. Walk on, halt, trot on etc fine, but I'm constantly fighting her head, pushing her on with my legs and she runs circles around me.

With the results I got out of my friends horse last night I know that I am asking correctly but I feel Amber doesn't know what it is I'm asking - does that make sense?

How do I let her know what I'm asking her to do?

I was thinking of getting a trainer out to assess her, I honestly just feel she was so quiet and because I hadn't decided on a discipline for her that the trainer who broke her has just done the very basics and no more.

Any tips/suggestions./help will be gratefully received!

[eventerbabe]

get a trainer out to help you :) i had the help of an instructor with toby for a good 6 months solid. he too had an op (hernia) and about a year off and when he came back into work we were just going 1 step forward and 25 back. regarding your friends horse, he's been trained before, amber hasn't. she just needs to be taught. she may put up some resistance, or get confused but its all part and parcel of bringing on a baby. its almost like expecting a child to automatically know how to read and write. they don't, they need taught. same with a horse :) good luck, keep us updated on amber. glad she's over her op well.

[Cheeky]

Trainer - you need someone with patience, skill, knowledge, experience but someone who will let you help!! after all, its ok getting in the top people to train your horse, back them then hand them over - but who is the horse respecting? the trainer. I think you just need someone who will teach your horse AND you at the same time :)

gud luck

[Loopslou]

we had a short schooling session last night and I really enforced my aids and concertrated on MY position and what I was asking her to do and she went much better.

I'm going on hols on sunday for 10 days so will get something organised for when I come back as regards getting a trainer to assess her and then her and me together.

Fingers crossed we might just get there. Rewardng her with a nice relaxing hack tonight.

[Jessey]

I was talking to a lady at an endurance ride a few weeks ago and she had sent her horse off for backing and training, she got her back after 8 months and she couldn't bend or work any where near on the bit, when she approaced the trainer she simply said 'you only want her for hacking and endurance, don't you?'
I thought that was the funniest thing I had heard in ages (not for the woman or the poor horse), I'm just saying that sometime peoples perceptions and expectations can be very different.
You may have also proved how forgiving a well trained horse can be, even the slightest inconsistancys with young/green horses can show

I would get a trainer or if not see if you can set up a video camera (its amazing how much you can pick up watching yourself and your horse from an 'on the ground' perspective :D )

[Mehitabel]

yep, trainer. it sounds like you're right in your first assessment - that when she was being backed she wasn't taught as much as you expected. were you involved in the backing? did the person know what level you were expecting her to be at when she came home?
it sounds like she just doesn't know what you want - but you being in the right position will make it easier for her to carry you, which is why we have a 'correct' position in the first place, so riding as well as you can will always help.

[Loopslou]

I found it extremely hard to get information out of her trainer. Every night when I went up it was "yeah, she's fine, we hacked out today, or we schooled today and she was fine" I just couldn't get every detail that I wanted and one night I just snapped back "so basically what you are telling me is that my horse is perfect" she replied "not perfect but she doesn't do anything wrong"

I think she had the attitude that if weren't going to showjump then she just needed to know the basics.

I'm doing out a schooling plan at the moment for when I'm away and then hopefully when I get back we will get something sorted and keep slogging away over the winter.

[Big Ears]

Rosie was 14 when I got her and rode with a 3 or 3 year old - she was a very placid mare, but she has never had any schooling, so she really had no idea of aids or what you wanted from her. When Val came to teach us, first of all I had never done any schooling -well not for years - and while i have good stickability and balance, if you asked me what are the aids for what I wouldhave to think about it, mainly as I used to ride racehorses, pointers, and have never in my life done dressage.

But once we got her aids sorted out, she picked things up very quicky as she is a bright girl, but she had just never in her many years of working been taught anything.

[Loopslou]

we had another great schooling session last night! I was going to hack out but there was an accident on the main road so a million cars started taking shortcuts up the road the yard is on, and they were speeding so I thought better not to risk trying to hack out in that.

I felt I wasn't having to back my aids up as much but at times she was cutting corners etc so I was really having to concentrate, once I barged her with my voice a bit and got her listening to me and not what was going on around the yard, I found her much better again.

She is resting tonight and then tomorrow night I will walk her out in hand for a change then Saturday will be schooling and a hack.

One thing though, the hateful woman at my yard made a comment to me that by this age I should be jumping Amber as part of my schooling - surely not at 4 1/2!!!!!! At the moment I don't even want to do more than about 20 mins to 30 mins of concentrated schooling. What do you all think?

[chewitmonster]

Silver has just turned 5. When I went to try him out they jumped him...and got the impression they jumping him a fair bit. He was around 4.5 years old then. In my last lesson we only just started to introduce canter poles, which my instructor said I can develop into raising one side of each pole. I'm taking things slowly with Silver and I don't actually think I'll be jumping much more than a small cross pole until next spring. :) xxx

EDIT: and although Silver is well schooled, I don't spend more than 40 mins maximum in the school...and about 15-20 mins of that is stretching and cooling off. :) Hacks can be longer but he really enjoys it. :) Xxx

[Loopslou]

I also have to take into account that Amber had a stifle operation in June.

I'm not even thinking about pole work until next spring I think, at the moment I'm slowly schooling her in walk, trying to stop her rushing through, getting her to listen and to become more flexible. I think at the moment that's the best thing, perfect her in walk before I move up a pace.

I give her short bursts of trot when hacking out which are definitely becoming more balanced which in turn is helping in the school.

Im definitely going to get her assessed when I get back from my holidays though. It will give me a starting point, advice and something to work towards.

[eventerbabe]

don't rush into jumping. i bought toby at about age 3-3.5 and when i tried him, they were jumping him, NOT a wise idea. even at age 5 or 6 he still wasn't balanced enough to cope with it IMO. its only really in the last few years that we've got into jumping properly and i'm glad we waited a bit, it has meant he's full of enthusiasm for jumping. ignore this stupid woman!!!

glad she's coming on. voice commands can be sooo useful. i only need to growl at toby and he stops pratting about and concentrates. sounds funny but works!

[Loopslou]

funny, growling works for Amber too, she's very sensitive to the voice so as soon as she responds she gets a gentle good girl and a rub at the withers.

I want her to be obedient, flexible and well balanced, if I have to keep her in a walk in the school for the next 6 months then that is what I'll do.

I don't see the point in rushing things at her age and I'm fully prepared to go back a few lessons if she starts to fall apart.