Teaching a horse to cope with unbalanced riders?

Flipo's Mum

Flipo's Mum

Heavy owner of a Heavy
Aug 17, 2009
9,549
1,491
113
Perthshire, Scotland
Can it be done and how? Is this something all horses eventually get used to or is it only a certain few that learn to cope without running. I have a horse who tends to panic and rush if I tense up/ become unbalanced. Yes I know thats not a great combination of horse and rider :redface: but thats our situation so just trying to think of exercises I can do to improve his ability to cope with it without freaking out. (While I try to improve my balance so its not so much of a problem!!)
 
I havent got a clue FM! So pretty usless reply really.

I think i can depend on how sensitive the horse is to its rider....If finn feels me tip foward to much or loose balance he will immediatly stop.
Wether this is for my benefit or his, i have no idea!?

I did see a video somwhere of a lady who trained her horse to stop when it felt the rider start to fall? God no's how you would go about teaching that.

I hope someone else can give you a much more usefull reply LOL! :tongue:
 
Yeah, I've got the opposite problem - every time Flip feels someone tense up he speeds up and tries to run away. I'm planning on introducing some sitting trot, with a view to no stirrups work and bareback stuff but he just can't handle it right now and I wonder if he ever will. Just wonder how all those horses that have become seasoned professionals get there. Its maybe a stupid question. I will go google for teaching horse to stop when fall off! I think I say Kelly Marks doing this sort of stuff. Its not just falling off though, its just slightly unbalanced!!
 
Hmm i guess its diff for every horse :unsure:

Is there some off horsey excercises you can do to practice balance and improve your core?? Think i used the right word there, its been a long day lol :giggle:
 
LOL, you're right, its the core. I do think my balance is improving and I'm working on it so I'm just thinking can I do anything with Flip to sort of despook him - like exercises in the saddle or groundwork or something. Maybe I'm just being stupid..:unsure: How do they make horses good RS horses to deal with inexperienced riders, or is it just a case of they have to have the right temperament and my boy clearly doesn't have that? I'm just wittering now..ignore me!:redface::redcarded:
 
Not stupid at all FM...i had a right ****ty lunging sesion with finn this eve so maybe i need to do some de-spooking too :timebomb:

He decided the small whip i was carrying was going to kill him when i accidently touched his side with it. Seriously he went mad! :poop:

As for spooking in the saddle....how is he when you touch his bottom/sides with your hand whilst in the saddle? Still somtimes makes finn jump when hes not expecting it.
How is he when you do hand signals? Like indicating with arms doing all the road traffic signals. Does that spook him?? Finn used to fly fowards spooking if i lifted my hand in the air :redcarded:

I dont think all RS ponies are brought like that, its just because theyre ridden everyday and are around all the noises/hustle and bustle so i guess they get used to it pretty quick??
Thats how my old RS ponies were at first, quick spooky and unschooled and withing a few months they were pretty much bomb proof to most noises :giggle:

Okay now im the one wittering :redface:
 
Yeah, I think with RS horses it's a case of them having so many different riders on their backs that they just get used to it. Most of the RS horses at my place will not do what you want if they feel you are imbalanced...which I'm rather glad of! I was riding a lovely wee pony the other day though who would shoot off in canter the moment you leaned forward! Fine for me as I have a tendency to lean back, but my friend who tends to tense up and lean forward had a bit of a nightmare :giggle:

I'm not sure about exercises for Flipo, other than maybe purposely putting yourself off balance and getting him used to it? Try first at a stand with a nice person holding on to him, lean back, forwards, left right....all sorts and see how he copes.

Alternatively use my unbalanced bum in the saddle as your crash test dummy?! Seriously though, my RI is all about balance etc, I can ask her for any suggestions if you like?
 
Basically it depends if a horse wants to please. I have several RS ponies/horses who are quite sharp off aids but will stop/refuse to canter if the rider wobbles or does not sit. I prefer this to a horse that will plough on regardless of the rider wobbling/hanging on by reins although I can see the frustration for people learning.
 
Is it a desensitisation issue? Could you do some work on it from that direction? Starting small and getting him used to more and more outlandish stuff, either movements by you in the saddle (round the world, scissors etc) or things going on above him (eg. bag on a stick, flag). He might just be a really sensitive flower but it could be worth a try :)
 
I had some treatment called Amatsu for my body alignment and it also helped with balance. I had always noticed a slight problem in the saddle and my horse did the opposite. If I became unbalanced she would lose her confidence and stop what she was doing. Since having Amatsu I feel so balanced and straight, and in turn my horse has been riding so much better. I would thoroughly have a look into it to get your actual "settings" straight which will help you gain balance.
 
Some horses never will be happy with a wobbly rider giving out mixed messages.
 
Probably not very helpful but I am trying to teach mine to stand still if I lean out of the saddle in any way - I realised that her refusal to stand near the gate is more to do with me leaning down to unfasten it because she is quite happy to stand near it if I stay upright in the saddle but walks off as soon as I try to undo it.

So now when I'm in the school I spend a few minutes leaning in different directions with her standing still so she gets used to it - she mostly starts walking as soon as my weight shifts so I am trying to hold the position I'm in til she stops and then sit up and praise her for stopping. Perhaps you could do a similar sort of 'desensitisation' by acting a little bit unbalanced in halt and then praise if he doesn't react and then develop it to the point where he looks to halt/slow down if you feel unbalanced... Not sure if it would work but most of the 'training' I do is very much trial and error because I don't really know what I'm doing! Seems to work for me most of the time tho :)
 
Hmm if Rosie stopped every time I wobbled we'd never get out of walk! She doesnt rush but shes pretty unforgiving - if i lean or duck for branches, wobble or even have lost my stirrup and REALLY wobble (even in canter which is when I tend to lose them) she carries on exactly the same :tongue: It has meant my balance is pretty good - Im not saying Ive learnt to balance, Ive just learnt to compensate for the wobbling and not fall off!

Interesting, from the point of perspective, as that's exactly what I want her to do if we are ever going to get any good at Le Trec :smile:

I think the only way to stop the rushing is lots of despooking and definately start at halt with lots of leg swinging, arm waving, leaning etc and when he gets used to that, start all over again at a slow walk. Of course doing all this stuff will also help your balance enormously. The only trouble is finding a quiet place to do it where the neighbours wont think you are entirely off your rocker! Even now I quite often touch tail and ears from both sides just to prove to myself that she is calm enough to let me do it but its also a pretty good stretch and helps stop my shoulders stiffening. Parelli talk about if you're in the correct position then you can place you hand flat in their rump so I test that out too. All that stuff they teach kids may look like its for fun but actually most has a genuine purpose :)

Have you thought about some yoga or pilates type stuff for yourself? That said I found WII fit was pretty good for helping to work on balance and being even sided as it is really sensitive to how your weight is distributed and has games that help you work on this :)
 
My first Fell pony mare who I had from two years old, was broken by a lady who knew she was comming to a novice rider so was losing her balance,gripping with her knees etc in imitation of an unbalanced rider. Donne came back from the ladies yard almost bombproof. So she was broken with a novice owner in mind it work :0)
 
Mmmm, now thinking how I can go about making the dummy version of me!!
Thanks for all the suggestions. He does seem a 'sensitive flower' about some things, especially in the saddle. I guess I haven't really thought how best to go about despooking him ridden to me moving about, I've spent time thinking about how to get him used to obstacles and stuff around us. He's just really bad for rushing if I seem to lose balance - I can't lean down to check my girth as he takes this as a sign to move - (I have to lean forward as I've got my bp on and can't fold myself to the side)
I think yes I definitely need to spend time desensitizing him to me moving about, just worried about the nice kind person holding him. It will have to be very gradual as he really will just barge and go at a canter (from a standstill). Laura any exercises your RI can suggest greatly appreciated but the list Anna's made reminds me of all the exercises I used as a kid so will start with these. It'll give us something else to concentrate on in the school while we're building up fitness again, cheers.
I don't think he's a pleaser, he's just all about the energy saving. He doesn't just plough on regardless though, if someone's unbalanced he gets unnerved by it and runs. My balance is improving, I had a yoga session last week and really enjoyed so will do more (also have my wii as well) I have been thinking about bowen treatments as constantly unhappy with my stirrup lengths - no one else rides my horse but yet I'm never satisfied that they are level (I know its me!!)
 
FM, are you clicker training him to Whoa and Stand? I have been really shocked by Ziggy's keenness for the clicker, he was panicking off rushing after the jump the other day and when I Whoa, Good Boyed him he stopped INSTANTLY and looked round for his treat. It wasn't the Whoa, it was the Good Boy - I realise I have inadvertently been Good Boying as well as clicking and now he takes it as the bridge!!!

Anyway, it works so brilliantly I wonder if you could clicker train your boy to stand, then clicker train him from the saddle - you know how you break it down - Stand Flip, click treat, Stand Flip, lean towards your girth, click treat, Stand Flip, lean right down, click treat, etc, and then use several clicks and make him wait longer and longer for the treat?

Probably teaching my granny to suck eggs but it was worth a mention.
 
Are you psychic Jane?! Check out the new thread I've just started before I read this!! Yep, certainly trying to clicker train him to improve the mounting issue, need a command to stay still and the clicker training is definitely improving his awareness of me and willingness to do things. I just have to be careful to break it down into as many steps as possible so he catches on and I'm much more aware of rewarding him with pats, voice commands and scratches - its just not something I generally do naturally. I blame my mum, she never praised me as a kid.:cry::giggle:
 
Can I ask how you go about clicker training your horses not to mug you though when you are rewarding them ?

I've done the 'Only click if your looking the other way and not near me' exercise and that works for THAT exercise. No other time will he pay attention :banghead:

Mine is very switched on to the clicker and I'd like to teach him to stand still at the mounting block, only he keeps shifting to try and get the carrot coins in my pocket :furious:

Sorry I've hijacked your thread :o
 
I think it depends on the horse.

My Irish Cob will use an unbalanced rider as an excuse to stop!

When my son rides him on the odd occasion, because my son is very small in comparison to horse (built like a brick **** house 3/4 tonne of horse at 15.2hh!!) if my son tips forward etc Harvey will just stop or if my son slides to one side harvey will stop.

Now Victory would freak at an unbalanced rider probably dance all over the place, shoot forwards, perhaps even try to rear to get said person off!!

I think a lot of RS horses cope very well with unbalanced riders and learn to work through it!
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom