Horse turns when asking for trot?

H

HH5131

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Aug 15, 2005
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This is really frustrating me. I am beginning again after about 15 yrs. I ride english on a 15 yr old Arabian. He does not respond to me well. I've been trying so hard and used a couple trainers. One thing he does is when I ask for the trot, he veers to the left or the right and I can't get him to go straight while asking for the trot. Then I think, okay, I must not be giving equal pressure (I need to give him a lot of pressure). So I concentrate on equal pressure and give him rein and he still does it. It's almost like he's just going through the motions for me and all over the place. Kinda like he's got his own agenda. He's very difficult to "steer" throught the arena. I feel like I'm giving so much pressure on one side to keep him straight that I'm not doing a good job posting the trot and keeping seat and balance. He just doesn't respond to my leg and I can't give him any more. I'm not enjoying riding and I've even given up and not ridden the past 3 days.
Any help or advice for me?
By the way, the only way I can get him to go into gaits for me is by carrying a crop.
Thx!
 
Are you getting lessons on this horse or is this just while you are riding on your own? Its often very helpful to get someone to look at you from the ground - whether its a formal lesson or just someone knowledgeable giving you what they interpret from the ground. I take it your previous trainers were unable to help?

A couple of things to check - does the horse understand to go forward? Have you ever lunged this horse and how does it behave on the lunge? Do other riders also have problems getting the horse to move forward?

If the horse does respond to other riders and moves forward on the lunge correctly, then at least you have a basis to start from. Next time you ride try to do less - you may be doing too much - sit softly and correctly, ask but don't nag and don't use too much pressure. Instead of worrying about 'steering' etc - spend a session thinking only about your own position. Making sure that you are centred (horses generally stay under you, so wiggling about or veering off is often a response to the riders position) and allowing the horse to go forward. If you are tipped forward, or collapsing a hip or gripping, the horse will usually respond by stopping or being hard to steer.

If the horse has become deadened to the leg you may have to take a deep breath and start with a positive reinforcement program instead. Instead of constantly escalating the aids - reward the tiniest 'try' and refuse to use harsher or harder aids. This will take patience but is also very rewarding if you manage to solve a problem that your trainers haven't and turn your horse around into one that is more responsive (and therefore more likeable). :)
 
Yes, a trainer has ridden him and she does say that he can be lazy, however, he goes for her well now and she says that she doesn't have to use much leg. I do indeed try to ride lightly and not use much pressure and ask nicely, but that really gets me nowhere. I would really like to be "light" with him because that's more my style. But when I take that approach, we end up walking the whole riding session. :(
Maybe I will have a trainer watch us from behind and try to figure out what is going on.
Thank you for your advice!
 
turning...

First of all, think about your whole body and not just your leg.

Practice riding along the wall at the walk, and if he's veering to the left (off the wall), twist at your waist/hips towards the wall AS you push him back to the wall with your left leg. Your body and head weigh a lot and he can feel it. LOOK where you want to go.

Try a small pair of spurs. Push lightly the first time, and if he continues on his own path, use a swift tap with the spurs. Always give him one chance the "light" way and one as a disciplinary response. Eventually he'll realize if he listens the first time he wont get jabbed.

Is it worse one direction then the other? Work equally both ways. From the moment you get in the arena, dont let him off the wall. If you relax and let him start wandering everywhere at the end, he's going to wonder why he can't always to do that. Its hard, but always be on top of things.

When you ask him to trot, do it as you're moving into a corner. That way, he has to turn a little bit to the left anyways (assuming you're going counter clockwise)...by the time he turns to make the corner you should be able to have him in the trot and pushing back towards the wall. If you do it in the open space, all of the sudden he's in the middle of the arena, and now you've got to overcorrect.

A second option is that if he veers to the left, keep pushing him into the trot and pull him into a small circle to the left so that you're right back on the wall. You could even one up him by pulling him into a small circle in the corners and ASK him to do the small circle and then halfway through the circle push him into the trot.

The key is to be consistant and keep using the same method, and eventually he'll get so used to the way you are asking that he'll forget that he used to do it in the first place.

The third option is to work on the lunge line- you ride him and have someone lunge you on him and work on your transitions.

Hope one of these helps.

Mandy.
 
Toad has recently developed this as a trick to avoid having to trot! When she's in a fat lazy mood she will first try to squish my leg into the fence, then she'll turn inwards and try and cut off the track of the menage. She likes cutting inwards because we always finish a schooling session in the middle of the menage ;)

I give a firmer push with the leg I want her to move away from, to return her to where she should be, then ask for the trot. Carrying a whip has helped, and if your horse needs it would give him a firm tap to push him forward into the trot. For me it only happens on our first transition, so much attitude is to go anything to get her past this stroppyness, then once she is happy and working forward I concentrate on making lots of w/t transitions correctly. Hopefully she'll grow out of it pretty quick!

Karen xx
 
I sense your frustration very strongly.

There are two questions that spring to mind immediately. You say you 'give' him rein when you ask for trot. Do you have, and are you maintaining contact while asking for the transition. Without our hands on the steering-wheel, the car will wobble all over the road.

The second question is; How assertive are you in your riding. Do you have the quiet attitude of; You are going to do this with me, and we are going to do it now. I am not speaking of a bullying approach, but a most definite and determined attitude to what is at hand. Horses all too easily are able to bluff.

It was the Duke of Newcastle who said that; "Arabians need to be ridden with a steel hand in a velvet glove."

I do hope you are able to get around your problem. All the best. Laurence.
 
I have a lazy horse that used to do this to avoid work. It was a MAJOR problem. What I did was get in an arena alone with him ans asked for the trot. I rode the trot with a loose rein and let him go wherever he wanted. If he stopped I would squeeze my legs, if he did not go into a trot I would kiss, if he did not go I would start lightly spanking with the reins or a crop and gradually increase the spank until he went. Eventually he started to go off the kiss, then the squeeze and maintain his trot, because he knew the spank would be next. He also learned that his evasive moves were not going to get him out of work, and moving in a straight line was much easier.

After I worked this out, I also found that with my lazy horse I do other things besides just doing a lot of circle work. I add cones or poles, or work on transitions too.

The other thing I did to get him to go in a straight line was use a loose rein and pick a post on the arena and trot to it. If he tries to veer to the left before we get there, I trot him to the right in a small circle then give him hi s head again and go the post. If he veers to the right we go in a small circle to the left. When we get to the post, I let him rest. He's lazy and that's his best reward. He learned that the best way to get rest was trot to the post in a straight line.
 
How frustrating! We too have a 'lazy' NF pony. I class him as untutored as he wanders into paces and straight lines are hard for him. I can ride him and get him to walk, trot and canter nearly straight (3 months work), but others still have problems as I have found that when they squeeze with their legs they are long squeezing and it makes him dull (bit like kick kick) When I squeeze it is for a second and it's like an electric squeeze, sharp and quick (not a kick) with the calf muscle. He now reacts well to this. However, I had to use a whip to back this up (behind the leg at the same time as squeeze) in his first session, now he does it all on his own.... tttrrrrottt (we still carry a crop for effect)

Good to give them rewards too...with him, we scratch his itchy neck, but keep him trotting so he gets the idea that it's good. It's working :D Good luck with your Arab
 
Thanks for all your suggestions! I'm going to use a few of them and work on it. I recently took a lesson on a horse who has similar issues as mine and I learned a few tricks - just like the ones you all suggested here!
BTW - when I let loose of the reins, I try not to keep too much contact so I'm not "steering" him with the reins because I tend to do that. So I'm trying very hard to steer with my legs and body. I'm trying to exaggerate it and really move my body into the turns. I'm still working on it and will continue. I'll keep you all posted on our progress if we make any!
Laurence - Yes, I probably need to be more firm with him and more aggressive and not let him get his way. But I will say that I try so hard that I am just worn out from being so firm and trying so hard with him that I quit and say, this just isn't worth the frustration, it's not enjoyable at all. Know what I mean? Probably not a good attitude, but I get so bummed everytime I try extra hard. I end up sweating 10 times more than the horse.
Thanks!!
 
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