RachelEvent
30th Oct 2006, 11:16 AM
Hi all,
at work I am riding a mare, generally as a hack escort, who to me seems to have a lot of potential but also some serious schooling issues.
Her saddle is an adequate fit, and has an air pad underneath - it should not be causing any significant problem. She is ridden in a dutch gag on the second ring.. unfortunately I cannot change the bitting, I feel she doesn't actually need so much braking power. I'd love her to be seen by a chiropracter, but again, that's not my choice. She has been given a full MOT by a vet however, who picked up no issues.
The mare is of middle age, a 16.3hh approx TBxWarmblood type. She is reserved purely for instructors and the most experienced clients to hack out. She is actually completely safe - she always responds quickly to slow down, she has never made an attempt to buck or rear, spin or spook dramatically. She is very responsive to the leg, verging on slightly too sharp. Her walk is nice - forward and purposeful. Her trot is quite special - when she is calm, she works in a soft outline, with a massively powerful, springy trot. When asked she will collect her trot up, and keeps springing upwards in the collected trot with masses of impulsion and a soft mouth.
Lovely. But when asked for canter, just a slight rub behind the girth, her head flies up vertically and she canters ears-in-face, disunited the majority of the time. She will show some strides of true canter some of the time, before swapping back to disunited.
After this first canter, she spends the next 15 minutes of a ride wanting to snap into canter all the time... then she settles again and we're back to the lovely walk and trot work.
I've ridden this horse just once now, am likely to be doing more with her as am not too perturbed by her behaviour. She has so much potential - is enthusiastic and apparently never stops at a jump (although apparently also won't stop after the jump..)
How would you approach working on this mare's canter? has anyone worked with a horse that has a preference for disunited, and such a dramatic change in head carriage?
any input appreciated... am going to to try a few things out gently to see what she will respond to. Such a sweet mare who could be fantastic if the canter was improved.
at work I am riding a mare, generally as a hack escort, who to me seems to have a lot of potential but also some serious schooling issues.
Her saddle is an adequate fit, and has an air pad underneath - it should not be causing any significant problem. She is ridden in a dutch gag on the second ring.. unfortunately I cannot change the bitting, I feel she doesn't actually need so much braking power. I'd love her to be seen by a chiropracter, but again, that's not my choice. She has been given a full MOT by a vet however, who picked up no issues.
The mare is of middle age, a 16.3hh approx TBxWarmblood type. She is reserved purely for instructors and the most experienced clients to hack out. She is actually completely safe - she always responds quickly to slow down, she has never made an attempt to buck or rear, spin or spook dramatically. She is very responsive to the leg, verging on slightly too sharp. Her walk is nice - forward and purposeful. Her trot is quite special - when she is calm, she works in a soft outline, with a massively powerful, springy trot. When asked she will collect her trot up, and keeps springing upwards in the collected trot with masses of impulsion and a soft mouth.
Lovely. But when asked for canter, just a slight rub behind the girth, her head flies up vertically and she canters ears-in-face, disunited the majority of the time. She will show some strides of true canter some of the time, before swapping back to disunited.
After this first canter, she spends the next 15 minutes of a ride wanting to snap into canter all the time... then she settles again and we're back to the lovely walk and trot work.
I've ridden this horse just once now, am likely to be doing more with her as am not too perturbed by her behaviour. She has so much potential - is enthusiastic and apparently never stops at a jump (although apparently also won't stop after the jump..)
How would you approach working on this mare's canter? has anyone worked with a horse that has a preference for disunited, and such a dramatic change in head carriage?
any input appreciated... am going to to try a few things out gently to see what she will respond to. Such a sweet mare who could be fantastic if the canter was improved.