I am looking for some advice in helping my three year old transition into a lope going counter clock wise. I am training her in a bosal and this is the first horse I have ever used this method on and it is going really well however getting her to lope the one direction turns into a real struggle. I don't want to use spurs but don't no of any more options. Her leads are correct, she flexes at the poll in all gaits going clockwise and walk and jog counter clockwise then the wheels fall off once I try to push her into the lope. I need to be very careful with my hands and not cause her to push through the bosal, but I am spending so much time kicking her the use of my hands is starting to get into a pulling match! Not good! Any advice would be so helpful! Thanks!
Janice
Hi Janice. Sorry to hear you're having a problem. I suggest we start by going through the possibilities. Please define exactly what happens when ' the wheels fall off '. Does she just trot faster? There are a number of causes. Could be sensitivity to the tack, the distribution of your weight, simple misunderstanding of what is required or pain, either a current or old injury. How long has this horse been in your care? Do you know it's full history? The first thing to do is stop trying to get the anti clockwise lope until some investigation has been done. When grooming run your hands over her body & see if you can identify any areas of bunched muscle or extra sensitivity. If you find any the best course is to consult your vet. Check your saddle thoroughly, including the fit. Horses change shape through ageing & seasons, depending on the state of the turnout forage. When turned out to grass, does she lope in the field in both directions? If you've single line lunged this horse please stop & use Montys two line method. There are videos on the Uni to show you why this would be a good change. I'm going to leave it there just now. I apologise if I have over simplified - I can't tell from your post what level of horsemanship you are at so I've tried to make sure I covered all the options clearly. Hopefully, it will not take too long to resolve this for you. Cheers, Jo
Thx Jo. I have had her since she was a foal. I have not and will not ever single line lunge her, always two line. When I try to push her into a lope she just trots faster . (She also did this clockwise too but now is loping nicely achieving nice lateral and vertical flexion) She does lope both ways in the pasture but can at times be a little laid back. She has shown dominant behaviour towards me a couple of years ago ( pining her ears when I started to jog her, then rearing and bucking) and with the guidance of instructors and the equally we positively worked through it. I don't think its an injury or saddle issue. I am almost thinking that maybe I just have to spend more time on the ground with her double long lining her at a lope. This is something that I have never spent much time doing until I joined Monty's university and learned how to double long line. Your thoughts on this?
Hi. Great! I agree. More work on lope from the ground with two lines. Sounds like she may be like my mare - every so often Bella will just point blank says ' No! '. She's a chestnut & like many red haired women she means it. Over 13 years I have learnt to listen to her. She usually has a reason & when I tried to disagree with her she increased the pressure - they are much better at Montys concepts than we are. Once you're back on board add a vocal signal, having used it successfully from the ground. Also, giddy up rope. Just remember she has 90% of her life in front of her & you DO have lots of time. My Apollo loved to be ridden in spurs - only important horses are ridden in spurs. He grew about a hand & floated across the ground. I was always very careful, hence his love of them. I believe bumper spurs ( with a bar across the back rather than a point or ball ) are available in the USA. so, quite a few options still to try. Good luck. Jo
Great advice from Jo, I agree: focus on the ground work some more. Humans have a tendency to work more on the easier side because it's easier or to work equally - the problem with that is you just get more of the same. So I would work more on the "problem" side and finish on the "easy" side so that it becomes its own reward for the work done and you begin to have more balance. To use a human analogy, I am right handed, if I want my left hand to be as strong as my right hand then working both hands equally will only maintain the position - I would need to work my left hand much more :-)
Thank you so much for the feedback and advice! She is a gem and I just want to do things right to move her along "positively". Yes left is certainly her weak side, even when I first started lateral flexion this side took much more work than the right. Back to long lining more then I will move into the lope again.
Hi Janice,
After reading the above, I want you to think for just one moment about the age of your mare.... she's three, might have some problems with her balance still, so please work on her strength and condition, she might even still grow at this age.
Nobody tells you she should be able to lope in a perfect manner with a rider on her back, she'll get there when her whole constitution is strong enough.
Longlining and good ground work can support the building of the right muscles, tendons and ligaments, don't overdo anything.
When riding her I'd concentrate on a good balance at a walk first, then you can make the transition to a jog. Let someone make a video of you riding her, watching her from behind, so you can see if her feet are moving in the same track. Young horses sometimes have the tendency to walk in two tracks. If so, correct that first in a slow manner, giving her time to build a basis for later work.
You'll have time enough to lope her, when the time is right!
Please keep us posted,
Miriam
Well thanks so much everyone. I have a very successful story to share... Well since my first post I went back to double long lining her and she is doing beautifully at all gaits both ways. Something I made sure is that I was consistent with my verbal cues: one kiss for walk, two for jog and multiple for the lope. As soon as she tried to transition without my cue I brought her back down and kept in the gait I had originally asked. Then yesterday I got on her and asked for all three gaits, great clockwise, and no go counterclockwise. So I made a giddy up rope out of a weed. Lol all I did was shake it when she wouldn't move into a lope and that is all it took! Away she went without issue. This morning I was able to have her transition back down from a lope to a jog then walk long lining her. When I got in the saddle to ride I set my weed in front of me so I was prepared lol...... Didn't have to use it:) she did absolutely amazing loped right along smooth and carrying herself extremely well! Oh and one more thing I praised her every step of the way! So much she was probably getting sick of me:)
We are over the hump and our journey together continues to positively grow! Thanks!
I do have another question, not sure if I should make a separate post, what would you suggest are the best for leg protection. There are so many brands out there I just want to make sure I get the best for her.
Pleased you have sorted it somewhat Janice but it does seem as if you are expecting a lot of her when she is only three. I am with Miriam and Vicci here. We all have our good and bad sides and with horses it becomes more obvious when they are young and still unbalanced. Cantering in a circle is very hard for youngsters and it is preferable to start them off cantering in straight lines if you can - even just cantering her up one side of the arena to start with is preferable than circles. Try to keep your circles as large as possible too. I would continue to concentrate in long lining for awhile and only ride her for short periods 10 to 20 minutes and mainly in walk and trot with maybe a short canter at the end in both directions but keeping it as straight as you can so she can retain her balance. She is still a baby so you have plenty of time to get it right.
Thanks for your advice I will certainly do just that. I will start more with the arena work. Just so you understand I didn't think I was asking her for too much. When I have asked for the lope in the round pen we only do one round and then I stop her. So I am thankful for your in put about how smaller circles are difficult for youngsters I wasn't aware that it was that strenuous on them so for sure will stop asking her for this and work more as you have outlined, thank you!
Oh one more question: when you say small circles are difficult are you inferring this to be while being ridden? Because on the long lining videos it's done in a round pen, so now I am a bit confused to what is meant here.
Yes I mean when been ridden and yes I know it is done in the round pen on the videos but for youngsters it is better to make the circles larger than 20 metres if you can. Preferably keep them straight until they get their balance under you. Try to make it fun for them and you.
Thanks so much! Going to the arena this morning with your advice in mind! Much appreciated! :)