need help to relax so i can slow her down!

[raggydoll]

OK so riding is going great with Bim and i am seeing improvement in lots of ways with her and me. She sweats less and i can now put my legs on without her taking off! Shes falling in a little less and starting to rush less. She absolutely loves her work and is a bit of a speed demon. problem is once we have gone up a gear then that is the speed we are going at. So we can walk round nicely but once i have taken up a contact or we have trotted she is constantly trying to trot and once we have cantered she rushes into every corner and breaks into a canter. I find this bit quite scarey. The problem is the stronger the contact the faster we go. Drop the contact sit up and relax and a gentle squeeze brings her back. Its the sitting up and relaxing that i am having trouble with and was hoping for a bit of advice.

My instinct when i am not sure about something is to tip forwards :rolleyes:I panic when i can feel her breaking into a canter and i cant stop it happening because i feel out of control. I have my instructor saying sit up and i am telling myself sit up but i cant seem to make myself do it. Eventually i do and she slows straight away. How can i reprogramme my self to sit up and stop gripping when i panic - or even better stop panicing :rolleyes:

[Naturally]

Try heaps of canter trot transitions. Don't ask her to canter for more than a few strides before you ask her down, so that she is asking the question of "are we stopping now", not the statement of, "If I get tight, she'll get tight, then we can stop" And sometimes make it a few strides, others make it 10 strides, then 2 strides, then 6 etc etc.

You could try cantering small circles (do you have a round pen?) it really slows them down, then as you progress into wider spaces it will help if you have done it long enough in a round yard.

Both of these should boost your confidence in the horses ability to stop herself from letting her impulsion get the better of her ;)

[raggydoll]

Thanks i will try that :)

Dont have a round pen just a corner of the paddock that i use unfortunately. She actually struggles to do smaller circles anyway at the moment as she falls in alot which is improving at trot but still feels like my knee is scraping the ground at canter :eek: Probably alot to do with my not being able to support her round them and try not to panic and try to sit up and try to relax and steer!!!

I was trying to stop her rushing and breaking into a canter by only asking her to canter when we had a very slow and controlled trot. But now she has learnt she can do it anyway that doesnt work. I am ver conscious that i am probably hanging off of her mouth at that point :o

Will definitely try what you suggested though Naturally and hopefully that will help me feel in control which will help me relax and that work on the rest.

Thanks again :)

[Pink's lady]

There's variouas cause of rushing -

nervousness, often due to the riders, which you obviously know is one part of the problem.

Pain - a sore mouth or sore back will cause them to run away from it. She sounds like she is quite mouth sensitive. Make sure's she's happy in her bit, or get a bitless. Alternatively, elasticated reins (Flexi-reins) can really hapy as they stop the accidental tugging on the mouth and let the pony relax. Also, getting her used to a gentle contact at walk will help. Most importantly, make sure you release ther reins when she has slowed down.

Lack of balance - probably her biggest problem. She'll find it hard to balance and therefore finds going faster easier (like riding a bike). If shes a bit of a worrier, she's also worry about her lack of balance and therefore rush even more. :rolleyes:


Pink was EXACTLY the same - she was totally over leg sensitive and rushed everywhere. She was so worried that if she didn't do it right now, this instant, she'd get told off. I suspect she'd been told off in the past for being lazy. However, with more schooling and her trusting me more, she's slowed down and started to relax.

Naturally's idea is a useful one - keep at faster paces short and back to walk as soon as it starts to get out of hand.

You really do need to learn to sit up to help her, but thinking, 'lean back' to walk really helps. Get into the habit of actually leaning backwards and sitting (well, bouncing) trot to walk - overdo it now until it becomes habit. Also, get into the habit relaxing the rein as soon as she slows, even slightly. If she speeds up, half-halt her, then, as soon as she slows, relax the rein. If she speeds up again, repeat it. It may take you a whole hour of doing it, but she will eventually get it and it will become a habit for you.

Make it your sole purpose of schooling - getting YOU to form good habits. Start off in walk and pracise bring your weight back into halt. RELAX THE REIN AS SOON AS SHE DOES. Repeat it again and again until she stops just on weight change. Add cirlces and changes of rein the keep her interested, but the only goal is to learn to lean back. Then move into trot. Trot for say 5 strides then lean back and ask for walk. Againg, repeat it over and over until it becomes habit. Then practise just slowing the trot, not actually walking. Once you've totally got it, do the same in canter.

Those excerises really helped Ali learn to ride Pink - she too would get nerous and lean forward and climb the reins. Now, when she gets too fast, you can see Ali shift her weight back and then, as soon as Pink slows, the reins go slack. Might not be Brittish Dressage issue technique, but it really works and Ali has learn to be a nice rider.

P.S - forget canter for the moment and stick to trot until it's totally under control. And unbalanced pony worries about canter and gets themselves all in a tizz. For the first few sessions, she's keep trying, but she's soon reaslise she doesn't have to and can relax. Pink didn't canter for 3months at one point and only had it re-introduced once her balance had improved and she no longer needed to worrry about it.

[raggydoll]

Thanks for that Pinks lady :)

I have been doing a few of the things you have suggested already actually and last week one of the times i rode we did nothing but walk and i slowly slowly took up the contact without her trying to trot and by the end of the hour it was working. I have also improved at slowing her down in the trot and its mainly by talking to her. I have to remember to use my voice as that is ver yimportant with her but when i get nervous i seem to go silent :rolleyes: I have also taught myself to automatically drop the contact when she slows as she relaxes then so isnt likely to go again. And am learning to not pull on her mouth when panicking which i absloutely hate but admit that i have on a few occasions in panic however it only makes her go faster. So i guess i am getting there :)

I might be wrong but i wouldnt say she was worrying about it. She seems to absolutely love cantering and i think that is more the problem. Its not an out of control canter. I think she just wants to go fast once she has :rolleyes:

I will try the leaning back though thats a good idea and doing mostly walk and trot and only introducing short bursts of canter when everything feels relaxed and controlled

Oh and pain wise she is in a french link snaffle what could i "downgrade" to? rubber? and saddle fitter had a quick look/feel of her backand everything seemed fine havent had a back person look though. I do want to get a dentist out though as i havent had that done yet and dont know if/when she last had it done.

Thanks again :)

[Pink's lady]

might be wrong but i wouldnt say she was worrying about it. She seems to absolutely love cantering and i think that is more the problem. Its not an out of control canter. I think she just wants to go fast once she has

I though that about Pink until someone mentioned their horse was like that and was doing it out of worry. But, when I thought about it, Pink always wants to please but she worried about the canter (she found it difficult) and wanted to get it over and done with. Once in canter, it was slow and unbalanced and she often broke back to a paniced trot. Now her balance has improved, she's happier and no longer gets stressed about it.

Oh and pain wise she is in a french link snaffle what could i "downgrade" to? rubber?

I seriously doubt it's about the bit she's in, more the worry that any minute now she's going to get a pull on the mouth. Again, she sounds EXACTLY the same as Pink, who is ridden in a happy mouth mullen. Even now she still worries about getting a jerk in the mouth. Since I started schooling in Flexi-reins, she's been more relaxed. I have very soft hands, but she still worried about the occasianal accidental tug. The less it happened, the more she worried - she obviosuly felt she was long over due a sharp tug :(

It really sounds like you need to spend a bit of time re-schooling YOUR habits ;) Learn to ignore what's she's doing and trust her a bit more. If she goes to fast, just drop your reins and sit it out till she stops - it's a really good trust excersice. Ali never really trusted Pink until she did it. She's still learning to canter and found it scary. She liked to have a tight contact so she felt in control. All it did was upset Pink. :rolleyes: After lots of practise (and bullying from me :o ), she's learnt to trust Pink enough to drop her reins, sit up and just say 'whoa'. Works every single time :D

Of course, it's easier said than done. Only determined practise will get you you there. Honestly, totally forget about canter for the moment, it obviously winds her up, and concentrate on yourself for the next few weeks. ;) You will get there. :D

[raggydoll]

ok thanks all advice taken on board. It all makes sense, i'll give it a try and I'll talk to my instructor about it on Friday too. Thanks again Pinks lady :)

[notpoodle]

aww :) my pony can be like that as well sometimes (according to her previous owner she was a bit of a speedfreak on hacks though i cant see it myself!) ie. you canter a couple of times (have to confess i almost always start canter after a corner ...) and angel thinks corner=canter, when she's having an excited day. she will also (and she still does this quite often) think 'aahaaa up a gear' when i pick the reins up (i suspect she might have been ridden like that in the past where people only picked the reins up properly when they wanted her to go faster ...). since ive been making a conscious effort to just ride around in walk WITH a contact of sorts she got a bit better.

angel also had a thing for a bit last winter where she'd canter fast (ie at a speed chosen by HER rather then me which isnt such a great idea!) or not canter at all. i then followed advice give to me on here, encouraging me to try cantering circles to distract her and divert her energy somehow. i was pooping myself, but it worked eventually :)


julia
x

[momofsix]

Wow-she sounds so much like my girls, especially Abby. I also do lots of half halts with her, still she can go off way too fast some days. I also tip forward instinctively, especially when I cue the canter. I now sing to myself "lean back, lean back" and my instructor says it's getting there. Good thing I usually ride only with OH or by myself, I am not a good singer.