I need help

[HorseEnthusiast]

I've been riding for 5 weeks (i know i sound like a total begginer) and according to my instructer i've progressed well. I've got the hang of the sitting and rising trot and i'm going over trotting poles to get the feel of jumps. But theres just one problem. My pony, Rosie, just happens to be the laziest pony at the school and i find it really hard to get her trotting. Can anyone give me some tips other than just flailing around aimlessly?

Oh, and before i forget. I know the ponies making it hard for me because a few years back I rode my grandmothers horse into trot and she went fine.

[raingodz]

Firstly, you sound like you are doing very well :) it took me a few months before I was jumping.

Different ponys respond in different ways, you might find that a lighter touch (squizing rather than kicking) might work well. One of the horses at my RS is often mistaken as being layze (by me as well as others :o) because she has a very sensitive mouth and so you need to be very light with your hands.

EDIT: I have just noticed you are new to NR, so welcome, I am sure you will find it to be a friendly and helpful place - I know I do :)

[HorseEnthusiast]

Wow, i never thought about it that way. I'll put that theory into action on thursday and see if it works. A million times thankyou! Awww now i feel sorry for Rosie, everyones so forcefull with her when she could be just sensitive.:(

Thanks for the compliment, but you can't really class it as jumping.

[Purple Hugs]

Welcome! :D

You ARE doing well!! I'm impressed.. I'm still yet to trot over poles! :o and have been riding nearly 6 months now. :rolleyes:

Anyway.. back to business, have a chat with your RI about Rosie, as they will know her best, as Raingodz said, could be she's sensitive. Or could be you need a crop.

A good thing is to get in the practice of keeping and active walk when warming up.. get her head nodding, otherwise she'll be lazy going into trot.

You'll get better at the aids (legs etc) as time goes on, and gain confidence. ;)

[HorseEnthusiast]

Wow! Maybe they just like to start us early at my riding school???

I'll certainly have a chat with my riding instructer, although i'm not sure she'll have different views. She's always telling us to be firm with her, though if the sensitive mouth things correct i'll tell her about it. I might get a crop, though i've never fancied riding with one. Not that i think they are cruel if used properly, but I might concentrate too much on it and get my aids jumbled, though i'll keep it in mind.

I have noticed she's a bit stiff actually, but i can easily get her to walk with more impulsion at the same time. Are there any ways of waking a pony up besides that?

[raingodz]

There is another horse where I ride who is a bit lazy unless you carry a crop, but you don't need to use it, just the action of carrying it wakes him up.

I have to carry a crop in my lessons at the moment, not to use, but just to get used to carrying it and to get used to swapping it over, so I use all the other aids as if I didn't have a crop, but it is there in my hand.

[HorseEnthusiast]

Hmmmm, it seems there's a lot going for a crop. Maybe i'll borrow one just for now and see if it makes a difference.

[raingodz]

Hmmmm, it seems there's a lot going for a crop. Maybe i'll borrow one just for now and see if it makes a difference.
I think the way to think of it is to back up your other aids, and I would not use it unless you have already tried and failed with the other aids first. But as a said about, you might just have to carry it and not use it.

[HorseEnthusiast]

Yes, i think i might try it. But i've just found something else that may help. If indeed it turns out she's got a sensitive mouth then what would you say to a bitless bridle? It would sort out the sensitive mouth problem but i'm not sure what other problems it may cause.

(By the way. thanks to both of you for the welcomes and advice:) )

[raingodz]

The horse at my RS with the sensitive mouth is ridden with a bit, but you just keep the rein contact light. The problem I had was getting her to trot, I would shorten the reins as instructed to before trotting, but then this horse would just stop :eek: and the chance of walking again, let alone trotting, were pretty low.

If you think about the horse in question, is Rosie less forward going when you do things like shortening the reins for trotting or jumping? It would be things like this that would point to a sensitive mouth being the issue.

I should point out that I am no expert at riding, I have only been riding since Setpember (after a break of 15 years), so I am still very much learning and relearning things at the moment.

[Purple Hugs]

I think the way to think of it is to back up your other aids, and I would not use it unless you have already tried and failed with the other aids first. But as a said about, you might just have to carry it and not use it.
True words! ;)

I have riden horses that need a crop, and now one that is so forward going I don't even need to kick!!! :eek: yep... got a shock when I slightly shifted my weight and he started to walk! hehe

I've a whole new way of riding to learn now!! :p

We all have new challenges as we go along.. and i'm sure that'll remain the same throughout our riding. ;)

[HorseEnthusiast]

Well I never actually noticed any difference, but that's probably because i wasn't trying to feel for it. I'll try all this out on thursday (Rosies RS pony by the way) and i'll let you know if there's any difference. It's a pain having to wait for one day a week to ride, i've been wanting a horse since i was 5 - my parents won't let me have one though:( .

Oh, i've gone on e-bay and found a decent looking crop so i should have one for my next lesson. Thankyou to the both of you for all the advice.

What does a forward going horse actually feel like Purple Hugs?:D

[Jimjam]

I used to ride a pony at my old RS which was LAZY LAZY (ie impossible to move :D ) but as i rode different horses i found different things that horses prefer and tried some of them out on the lazy horse. Some of them worked and helped alot in making him move.
Congrats on getting on well tho!Couple of years till i done jumping! :)

[Marmite]

it may be that rosie needs the things that other people have been saying or it may be that shes tired. I noticed at my rs that one pony was getting worked harder and harder and he was getting worse and worse behaved. Dont hit her, it might just be that shes tired. Although, this other horse is just really lazy. He was given a 2 month break and when he came back, he was lazier than ever. just make sure she isnt getting over worked

[HorseEnthusiast]

Well heres something interesting, on my last lesson she seemed reasonably perked up and happy to go. I watched the girl who rode her before me and she didn't kick at all and just asked nicely, it kind of made her easier for me too. I havn't tried the riding crop idea yet (was going to get one at e-bay but the auction finished) but if she has that girl before me every time then she might turn out to be fine. Do you reckon this is just 'her thing' or is it a bit more unusual???

[HorseEnthusiast]

By the way sorry for my abscence. Been concentrating on my riding.:D

[Marmite]

Has this girl been riding longer than you? because if so, she might just have much stronger legs. If you have very strong legs, you can squeeze instead of kick, and this keeps the energy going underneath her. If you squeeze and get energy up then kick, the horse loses energy, so if you kick then take your legs off, all the energy you have got out of your horse through the kick is lost. Basically, kick then straight away squeeze so your keeping the pressure on your horse to go. That might be hard for you yet though as your legs wont be as strong as they could be. Hope this helps, Mel XxX

[HorseEnthusiast]

Thanks for the info, it makes more sense than the obscene things in books that i usually find. Although it might not be much use now, i've gone to a skewbald pony at the center named patch and he's a lot more forward going. He can be a bit strong but he's resonably safe. I didn't even have to ask for a canter the second time round, he already knew what was coming! :eek:

[JamesJackson]

Just an idea that others haven't raised - Bear (bare?) in mind as well that you can stop a horse moving freely by tightening your seat (through the lower back) - indeed as you progress you'll find you use the reins more subtly and start riding from the seat and legs. So, if you're a bit tense, or not moving with the horse you will be impeding the horse's movement and therefore asking it to slow down.

[Trewsers]

Bloomin eck! You are doing well, I've been riding 2 years and I still haven't jumped (have trotted over poles at least). Well done you! you may need to use a schooling whip but the teacher will know if this is ok to use or not, either that, or you're perhaps asking for trot whilst being to heavy with your hands (ie, pulling a bit too much). Thats my input anyway - good luck with your next lesson!:)

[HorseEnthusiast]

Well my instructer hasn't mentioned anything about a schooling whip to me yet, so i'm wondering weather she wants me to learn a bit more first. And thats an interesting theory JamesJackson, it sounds perfectly reasonable but patch was fine and just went, maybe i just like patch more???

Last lesson while i was on patch we were doing some canter work and i went over the poles at canter, that felt kinda weird. Felt like a real jump! I wasn't supposed to do that, I just sorta let him :p . But my instructer liked the way i rode him, she seems quite impressed with my progress, and mentioned a bit about showing off but oh well thats life.:D