Achieveing a more consistent outline?

Kc..

Kc..

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Nov 7, 2007
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www.casseywatson.co.uk
Right well Lantern is coming on so well nowadays :) he has a pretty good outline in a snaffle now and i thought we were begining to crack a more constant outline. But tonight i schooled him and as soon as we went into trot he wouldn't accept the contact, canter was slightly better but he seemed to be running away from the contact.

As in just wanted to go forward quickly rather in an outline and collected. I think this was partly because he was rather hyper-active, you can gauge his hyperness by how alert and spooky he is and that was quite a lot. But even so that's no excuse for running round like a giraffe!

Also his biggest problem is breaking the contact when you ask him to halt. He simply opens his mouth stretches his neck and really falls foward into a halt. Then it takes me a while to achieve an outline whilst stood still...

So does anyone have any tips for improving this?
 
Firstly I'm going to be really boring and ask if all the checks have been done? (Or hes been checked regularly!:p)

I find Forest leans on my hands in the outline when asking for a downwards transition. It took me almost a whole session to work on it.
As I asked for walk from trot he leant down on my hands so I asked for trot again. This time when asking him to come to walk I half halted down the inside and pushed him fowards aswell so he was still using his back end during the transition. Forests biggest problem is when you ask for a downwards transition he just switches of the back engine and stops, rather then just coming down a gear with the engine still on. (Thats how I like to describe it) :)

To get him to work in a constant outline I push him all the time, changing the flexion, changing the rein, pace, tempo etc. ;)
 
Lots of work in walk really developing a deep seat so you end up stopping him with your seat alone (bearing down with your bum bones), still and organise your body and reduce how your seat moves and he will slow to match your movements. Schooling my girl I can speed up and slow both her walk and trot without using the reins (now she comes into a light contact instead of resisting and rushing :))
 
:rolleyes: yes all the checks have been done, considering when i got him i couldn't even canter him round the school without him constantly sticking his head down i think it's a habit that he's gotten out of in the main just on downwards transitions he's kept it.

And in the 7 years he's been in England all he's done is hunt and hack!

He's got it nailed in walk now, and sometimes does and sometimes doesn't in trot and canter. He seems to go round like "well no we are ment to go fast now!!"

Thanks for the tips so far though :D
 
I had a dressage lesson today with a new instructor.. who really showed me where I had little niggles with my 'feel' and just picking up on things much sooner, so that I could make smaller corrections before any change in the outline/straightness was even visible to the observer. You need someone really good to be able to get that kind of detail out of them!

New horse I am riding is very tricky in his mouth and with a full catalogue of evasions, so it is making for very interesting practice!
 
Kc.. said:
:rolleyes: yes all the checks have been done, considering when i got him i couldn't even canter him round the school without him constantly sticking his head down i think it's a habit that he's gotten out of in the main just on downwards transitions he's kept it.

And in the 7 years he's been in England all he's done is hunt and hack!

He's got it nailed in walk now, and sometimes does and sometimes doesn't in trot and canter. He seems to go round like "well no we are ment to go fast now!!"

Thanks for the tips so far though :D
Click to expand...

Unless I misunderstood, he can't quite have it nailed in walk as he is resisting when you ask for a halt...but an RI will help for sure and see all those things you can't.
 
with regard to the halt, ride the transition with your leg and seat, don't just let him stop, you should put as much energy into a downward transition as you do with an upwards one :) just remember RIDE the transition and use your seat he should soften into a halt - my guess is that youre letting him 'fall' into halt and he's unbalancing himself :)
 
i would just say keep doing what you are doing, you are obviously working wonders with him and are deff on the right track, in order to getting him working in a natural outline it takes time, keep at it kc :) i used to practise half halts alot with jasp, they really helped when i started stopping dead :) and again as others have said try are ride the transition with your seat more, i used to take my leg off and lean back slightly in my seat, the halt became instantanious, nice clear aids repeated and practised :)
 
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Well i schooled him the other night and he was back to his normal laid back self so not sure what had happened to him the other night! But still got a lot of work to do with is outline. But considering at 16 he's never had to do anything like this before (or at least not in the past 5years!) i think he's doing pretty well!

Thanks for all your tips!
 
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