distance

[marta]

Hi, I'm Marta from Italy! I'm having troubles keeping the horse at least 1 mt behind the one in front of me while hacking. He can't help sticking his nose on the other horse bottom and pulling on the reins doesn't help (a part from the fact that I am afraid of hurting him).
Does anybody know what should I do? Please help!
P.S.1: do not complain about your instructors, I bet in Italy are worse, at least the ones I met!!
P.S.2: do you think is possible to find Heather's book here?
THANKS, THANKS, THANKS and sorry for my english!!! I love this site

[bettina]

Marta, your english is fine! =) Anyway, it's best to make a circle when you are getting too close to the other horse. If he keeps sticking his nose out, that means he's above the bit. Can you keep him on the bit? Are you on that level of riding yet? If not, have someone experienced teach you! It's not very hard, and it'll keep your horse in the correct frame meaning his head will be almost vertical, he'll have more impulsion and he'll be lighter in your hands. It's a neat little trick. Good luck!

[KarlR]

It can be very difficult if you are allocated a horse that does this. Working the horse in the first stages of a hack to get it more responsive to the bit can help, but if the horse has been doing this for some time, you will not cure it in 1 hour!

Try to be consistent in the aids though - if you decide that you will not allow it to close the distance, then don't give up half way. Use the rein in a squeezing way rather than constant pressure - the horse will learn to ignore constant pressure.

[This message has been edited by KarlR (edited 20 December 1999).]

[Mavi]

Hi Marta!

Nice to hear from someone on the Mediterranean. I'm from Spain and I did get Heather's Book posted from England It is actually not very expensive as I got it posted and It arrived quite quickly. I do not know how the post is in Italy but in Spain is dreadfull, so If I got the book very quickly, you could problably get it sooner, one thing I had to pay by credit card.

Mavi

[marta]

thanks for the advice! :) I will definetly try to get Heater's book in year 2000!! Anyway, as Bettina suggested I am probably not able to keep the horse on the bit, I have been told that lots of times by my instructor but he never told me how to do it! :( -> I'm no longer taking riding lessons with him and I'm going to look for another barn in January, I hope to find someone who is willing to give me clear and helpful explanation!!
Any suggestion on how to keep the horse on the bit? Thanks
I hope you had a wonderful christmas and wish you a great 2000! Marta

[Horselover2]

Hi Marta! Do you really want him on the bit while you're trailriding? Try letting him relax and see if that doesn't help! Good luck!

[marta]

Hi Horselover2! I definetly like your suggestion, I'll to relax and let him relax too!! Unfortunately I won't have the chance to ride til the 15th of january but I am eager to try your way!
However I would like to know what does "to keep on the bit" really mean and how to do that, please help! Bye

[cynthia]

ergh. being on the bit is by no means any "little trick" that you can suddenly learn to perform. a horse requires *large* amounts of training to learn how to carry himself on the bit. the rider acts only as an aid in this pursuit, but does not by any means force the head into one frame or another (not that anyone here suggested that this was the case!).

marta, if i were you i wouldn't worry yourself about on the bit, above the bit, or behind the bit. you're not in the dressage ring, you're on the trail! :)

as bettina suggested, try doing some circles to get him listening to you - this is the key thing. he's paying too much attention to the horses in front of him! he should be alert to his surroundings, but *you* should be in control. when you feel him trying to stretch himself too forward, do a quick little circle, space-permitting. a good thing to remember - resist the temptation to simply drag him around with your inside rein - try to use your inside leg to create bend in your horse's torso so that he's responding to something other than constant rein pressure. also be sure to give him lots of half-halts with your outside rein - little squeezes that will also get him listening a bit more; sort of a "hello! remember me up here?". :cool:

good luck!

[marta]

Yes Cynthia, I think that's the case, he's paying too much attention to the horse in front instead of listening to me...really frustrating!! Do you think that loosening the contact on the reins could help him relax? thanks!!

[cynthia]

well, that depends on what kind of contact you're taking in the first place. are you hanging on his mouth because that's the only thing you can do to get him to hang back? if so, yeah, this is probably not your best option. horses adapt - he'll learn to stretch into (and away from) the contact, because he knows how to adapt to constant pressure. this is why i suggested circles and little half-halts with your outside rein to get him listening, instead of the constant pressure of pulling back on the reins. sure he's gonna stretch forward if you're doing that; he's not left with much of a choice! :)

if you find that he ignores your outside rein halt-halts, you can try a little give and take with alternating left and right reins - just *squeeze* and release, no see-sawing on his mouth! and again, if you have enough space, i would do some smaller circles. let him pay attention to you asking him for some bend instead of what's happening up ahead. talk to him a bit as well. in other words, simply releasing your contact probably is not going to be a magic cure - you'll probably do better with half hals and circles and such until he's got his attention more on you. then *you* can look at the pretty scenery without worrying about him. ;)

-cyn

[cynthia]

oh, by the way - i meant to mention this earlier. your English is just about perfect, so no need to apologize for that! i don't think it'd go so terribly well if I had to post in Italian! :rolleyes: