Corner-skipping

[random2]

A horse that I ride always skips corners! IT is sooooo annoying! My instructor always says put him into the corner. IT is so frusterateing! How am I sopposed to put him into the corner?! Well , I know how, but he does it every time and it gets so frusterateing! Please help!

[olympicprincess]

Are you going from a straight line to a bent line back to a straight? Or are you just staying straight through the corner? Are you rushing it? Try and make clear distinctions between riding these two lines.

Be careful that your not pulling the inside rein thus pulling your horse away from the corner. Push your horse into the corner with your inside leg, open up your outside rein to the corner. As you go through the corner, start your bend, and then keep it, making a circle. Try working on your corners at the walk, it's slower and you have more time to plan and get the feel. Good Luck.

[Kristy]

You should be able to ride a corner with NO inside rein! Sounds weird aye? But it works SOOOOOOOO much easier!!! So try using NO inside rein, outside rein to make sure he doesn't duck out the shoulder, inside leg to bend him round your leg and you probably won't need any outside leg as he will go round the corner already.
Try it and tell me how ya go!
Kristy

[Random]

Hiya

The best way to attempt this is too slow down. The slower the horse is going the easier it is for you to control it and easier for the horse to go round the corner correctly and in balance. After all, if you were driving a car you would slow down for corners otherwise the car would be all over the place and the same applies for horses. As the horse becomes more supple and balanced you can stay in the same rythm but it is something to be worked for.

As you approach the corner think of slowing down, ask with your inside leg for the horse to sep futher underneath itself with the inside hind leg and to bend round the corner, ask with your inside rein (gentle vibrations of the fingers) for the horse to look in the direction he wants to go.

If it feels like you are still falling round the corner slow the rythm further (not changing the pace, i.e go into slower trot)so you have greater control.

Once you have achieved a good corner through this you can gradually pick up tempo until no slowing is necessarily. Remember however not to ride a corner to deep, think of your corners as being quarters of a circle. If you ride it too deep as a right angle you make it difficult for the horse and you lose the flow.