Horse that tries TOO hard!

NZdressage

Jette`Rox
Mar 25, 2007
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In the arena!! Auckland, New Zealand
Ok, this may sound crazy but one of my horses tries too hard! He learns something and is very easy to teach but he tries too hard, for example he has just learnt half pass and is showing that he has a natural talent at it, however, he tries to do it all the time! Its the same with other lateral work, when I correct him he gets very offended and has a tantrum. He's a sensitive horse and I'm wondering if it's me over correcting him? When I half halt a little strongly he has a tanty too, my trainer who is a Grand Prix international level dressage rider really likes him, horses like him are very easy to teach and are very spunky. When I first warm him up he also likes to work in a very deep frame and if I let him for the first 10 or 15 minutes hes always a star, if I dont he can be very tense through his back and he naturally has a high/uphill head carrage/movement. Because of this he can be a very tense horse.
Does anyone have any ideas?Is it just me over correcting? I hope all this has made sense.

P.s Sorry if this is in the wrong area.
 
Yup, I've got one as well!

Mine was treated really badly before I got him, so he has a tendency to think that if he does something wrong, he will be punished. He wants so badly to try and please the rider, that if he does something wrong and realises it, his first reaction is to panic and bolt. And then he starts stressing about it as well.. On the other hand he is the most easiest horse to teach new things as he is so eager to please, but on the other hand he is soooo hard to keep relaxed as he stresses so easily. And he is definitely smart enough to realise when he is not quite doing what I am asking.. :rolleyes:

What works with mine is to never lose your patience. If he starts overachieving, I move onto doing something he already does easily so I can get him to calm down, then when he is relaxed again, go back to that new thing. Sometimes if he gets himself overworked, I just call it quits for the day. Just do something to relax him and then try again the next day. It is two steps forwards, one step back way of doing things, but because he learns stuff so easily, in the end the process is still quicker than with your average horse.

Hope this helps you!

Nina x
 
Thanks thats great advice and I'm so relieved you didnt think I was crazy! He doesnt do anything major just stupid things like little piaffes and stuff lol. Most people say I'm lucky to have a horse like that but to be honest up until recently I have been scared of him, now I'm not and I just let him get on with it!
I fully agree with you thats it important not to get angry, as he is actually trying, he thinks hes helping!
Your post has made me feel alot better as I thought maybe hes not the right horse, and I'm not sensitive enough! When we go well theres not a horse around that can beat us, but when we go badly its terrible!
I know working the horse in a deep frame is very contraversal (sp?) and I dont want to get into a post about that, but I find that it actually settles him and allows him to work over his back more, Its not pretty but in the end he works better.
Thanks Nina alot your advice is always great!
 
It is funny that a lot of people would think that having a horse that is sensitive and wants to please you and is therefore easy to teach, is also an easy horse to work with. It is easier in some sense yes, but on the other hand it demands a lot from the rider! Not just the skills to teach the horse new skills, but also to maintain a level head through it all!

But in the end, these are the kind of horses I prefer. The good days will eventually outnumber the bad days, and like you say, with this kind of horses on a good day, no one can beat us! ;)

Nina x
 
Yes, i totally agree, I only compete in dressage on this horse, and I like riding horses like him as they are hot in a sense but not crazy, if that makes sense. I have had many comments from top trainers and judges that he is one of those horses that will do better at the higher grades because right now he doesnt shut up and listen, so far this is proving to be true the more he learns the better he seems to listen!
 
I think I read as, how you wont want to put him off performing the movements you should pretend like you had asked for it and then, instead of performing it like you usually would, turn it into something else. It might require some inventiveness and quick thinking but as an example if he starts halfpassing ride into a 10m circle. In this way you would be deflecting his movements but keeping him thinking relaxed and fowards? :confused: :eek: Because this means he thinks that what he's being asked is always being varied hopefully it would mean that after a while he'll be 100% on your aids waiting for your instructions rather than being presumptuous.

I'm still trying to learn the basics on some RS horses at the moment, but I think that the above might help. :)
 
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Yes, i totally agree, I only compete in dressage on this horse, and I like riding horses like him as they are hot in a sense but not crazy, if that makes sense.

That is the kind of horse I am looking for myself at the moment, but I want to do Polo.. ;) The overachiever is at the moment in Finland, and is enjoying being used for completely non-stressy stuff as hacking and forest work. It does him a lot of good, and he is always very willing to start working when I go over. That is also another factor, to keep them entertained. Viri gets bored very easily, so I am having to come up with new ways to implement the training into what I do.

Rhiannon, what you describe, works well with some horses but not well with others, it depends on the sensitivity of them. With mine, you can't give aids for something and then change your mind in the middle, he just gets stressy. If he doesn't do what I ask, it is better to just stop the movement and get out of the situation completely, and then try again. He is too smart to be distracted that easily.. ;)

Nina x

Edit: Though of course if the horse does something unasked, then yes, then you do something that will keep the momentum going but prevents them from doing something that wasn't asked for, i.e. that circle you mentioned instead of half pass! :)
 
Rhiannon, what you describe, works well with some horses but not well with others, it depends on the sensitivity of them. With mine, he is too smart to be distracted that easily.. ;)
Nina x

Ooops - sorry! I didn't mean abandon it completely! :eek: But I was working on how you'll have to ride out of it at somepoint (usually reaching the track/corners) so to only ride out of it earlier. I wouldn't suggest that someone suddenly just drops their horse and then expects it to do someting different. :eek: (managing to do it properly is another thing entirely for me yet. :eek: :rolleyes:)

I recognise that it won't work on every horse and only the rider and trainer can have the true feedback. So I just behind the relative safety of my keyboard and have a punt. :eek:

But Ms Kitty - you are very lucky to have a smart horse, because when you both get to where you want to be - very few will compare. :)

Eta: cross posted and now I've confused myself! :eek: :eek: I've no hope! :p
 
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Lol, I think we were talking about the same thing, just explaining it differently! :)

I do love my horse, and I miss him dearly! We aren't really aiming to get anywhere spesifically, we just learn things for our own sake. Though I do quite enjoy showing people how well he can go.. ;)

Nina x
 
then hes not being told off for something he thought was right.

That is exactly the thing. Regardless of what you do, whether you do something different or stop the movement completely, the horse needs to know he will not be punished in any way. That will keep him eager to try again. Then it is just working on getting the aids so clear that there won't be any misunderstandings between the rider and the horse, and then we have a winning combination! :)

Nina x
 
That is exactly the thing. Regardless of what you do, whether you do something different or stop the movement completely, the horse needs to know he will not be punished in any way. That will keep him eager to try again. Then it is just working on getting the aids so clear that there won't be any mistunderstandings between the rider and the horse, and then we have a winning combination! :)

Nina x

yeah, thats right! I'm glad its not because I'm not a senstive enough rider! Just lack of knowledge on how to fix it!
 
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