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| Sporting his lightweight blanket |
In the whole hour, did he go on the bit? No. Not once. Not for a second. Not at all.
I tried various versions - everything from gently and carefully asking him to go forward into the bridle to scaring the living daylights out of him so that he shot forward like a rocket. No dice.
Problems:
- He despises contact. Is this my fault? Quite possibly. Contact is not my forte. But he's also not used to it, although at this point, he should be since I've been trying to ride him with contact for a while
- He has always been a horse that goes behind the bit. Even when I rode him WP, if I took up any amount of contact, he was always one to go behind the bit, especially at the canter. It is a default position for him.
- The "frame mentality". So many people are obsessed with putting their horses in a frame. I don't know what his previous owners were like, but I was definitely being taught to ride him front to back originally (by some people - not all). Although I put an end to that, I still find that it's difficult to find people who understand what I'm looking for. When I have people watch me and I ask, "Is he on the bit?", their response is usually, "Well, he's in a frame." Thank you. Not the same thing.
- He is a peanut roller. He is perfectly content to walk/trot/canter all with his head to the ground, even out in the pasture. In fact, when he is on the lunge line, this is usually when he looks the best and is using himself the best (presumably from the lovely stretch he's giving himself). However, even on a lunge line, the minute his head comes up, you can see his whole topline collapse. Add a rider and you can imagine the result.
- He lacks impulsion. He'll go forward, but he just often doesn't have that surge of energy. He is, and always will be, a Sunday drive as opposed to Formula One.
So I'm frustrated and depressed. I was also very hard on him today. I regret that now. I regretted it even then.
What's worse is that I know he can. One beautiful day, Walker and I rode outside and he was a holy terror. He had so much energy, and he was bound and determined that he was going to escape from the unfenced arena. Clearly having a death wish, I decided to canter. He surged into the bridle (with all the force and determination of a tiger), and I have never had quite as beautiful a ride in my entire life on any horse as those ten seconds.
Then he bolted out of the arena. The little jeezer.
What's worse is that I know he can. One beautiful day, Walker and I rode outside and he was a holy terror. He had so much energy, and he was bound and determined that he was going to escape from the unfenced arena. Clearly having a death wish, I decided to canter. He surged into the bridle (with all the force and determination of a tiger), and I have never had quite as beautiful a ride in my entire life on any horse as those ten seconds.
Then he bolted out of the arena. The little jeezer.
I would not worry about him being "on the bit" at this point. Essentially, you're retraining him and going on the bit comes later in that transition. I would be focusing on forward, forward, forward. Work on impulsion, rhythm, and basically just going forward INTO your hand. Eventually, this will lead into him coming on the bit naturally. You won't get him truly on the bit until he is completely in front of your leg.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand that this can be difficult as no one really wants to ride a horse who goes around with his nose up in the air. But you know what they say... gotta ride through the ugly to get to the pretty.
In the mean time, if you are worried about his topline and/or physical ability to carry himself, try lunging him in side reins or a similar training tool to a) get him to learn how to carry and use himself, and b) build up strength. Sometimes the easiest way to get horses to really click in to something is to let them teach themselves.
Just my thoughts. Don't give up yet. :)
PS, he doesn't always have to be a Sunday drive. He just needs to learn that go means go, and he is expected to maintain pace and impulsion. But that's a whooole other story. (And I personally prefer a horse with more "go" as I find them to be an easier ride, so I feel your pain!)
DeleteYeah. I do still think that impulsion and forward-ness is a problem with us, but on the other hand, when I squeeze he goes. So it's hard to explain. He's just not one of those horses that surges forward like he's insulted by the very notion that you asked him to go faster. I also have to cycle through more gears it seems. Whereas some people squeeze and get an immediate working trot, I squeeze and get Walker's jog first. Then I squeeze to get his (slow) working trot, and then I squeeze to get a faster working trot. If that makes sense. He immediately goes when I squeeze, but it just lacks oomph.
DeleteI also think that the six months off set us back. Before then, he was getting fine with contact, but coming back, I find him more uncomfortable with contact, which of course is not surprising.
That can be tricky if you want to maintain gaits for both disciplines. Do you always use appropriate saddles? A friend of mine had a QH she rode both English and Western, and he was a different horse depending on what tack she used.
DeleteWhat about establishing voice commands for jog and trot? Reinforce that jog means jog and trot means trot. Perhaps a shorter squeeze for jog and a longer squeeze for trot, too, so eventually he gets that a long squeeze means a working trot, not a jog.
I dunno, just throwing out ideas!
I do use different tack for each, and I would say that he mellows out more if I ride him like a Western horse even in English tack (say, on a loose rein), but jog is just default. I work a lot on this on the lune line (the differences between jog and trot), but it's a default with him. If I work him for two weeks straight only trotting and give him two days off, the next day, he'll start by jogging. I'm fine with it because he has an enviable jog, but this is why I say it takes me a while to gear up through his speeds.
DeleteForward First, and if a horse won't go forward into the bit, if you have impulsion you can work on lots of varying circles and serpentines and if his jaw is locked, he will relax with the exercise and come into your hand on his own.
ReplyDeleteI do work a lot of circles and serpentines and get more give that way, but he'll also go behind the bit as well in those situations
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