[Goonhorse]

Btw, am I supposed to post when working with her in a circle or not?

[farmeress]

While there are many, many books out there to read, I am going to reccomend one by an old instructor I rode with for years.

Dressage in Harmony by Walter Zettle is an excellant book to explain clearly and in detail those things that you do not understand.

It will also explain what to do if a particular issue comes up.

[farmeress]

Originally Posted by Goonhorse

Btw, am I supposed to post when working with her in a circle or not?

If it is easier for you to stay aligned and not bounce around, posting would be best at this time

[Goonhorse]

Originally Posted by farmeress

While there are many, many books out there to read, I am going to reccomend one by an old instructor I rode with for years.

Dressage in Harmony by Walter Zettle is an excellant book to explain clearly and in detail those things that you do not understand.

It will also explain what to do if a particular issue comes up.

Thanks for the book suggestion. I'll look into it.

Originally Posted by farmeress

If it is easier for you to stay aligned and not bounce aroumd, posting would be best at this time

Thanks!

[Goonhorse]

You can't win with this horse. She definitely wasn't perfect on this video, but she's a lot better than she sometimes is. Anyway, you can see how she sort of goes where ever she feels led.

Any other critiques are welcome.

YouTube - Breez circling

[JBandRio]

Nurtz, I can't see YT from work, so will take a look tonight

"she sort of goes where ever she feels led" makes it sound like you are pulling her around with your inside rein as opposed to pushing her around with your outside rein and leg.

Now, I realize this goes back to what you were saying earlier

when she really starts to drift, I use my inside rein to bring her back. I have no idea if that's what I should be doing or not.

It's not necessarily wrong to use the inside rein for a horse like this, but HOW you're using it can make a huge difference. If you are using it by drawing your hand back toward your hip, that wouldn't be correct, as it "crunches" the neck and shoulder and actually blocks her. But a leading direct rein, out to the side, can be the ticket to "leading" the horse around (which is different from pulling her around).

During all that, you can't just lose your outside rein, as that allows the outside shoulder to bulge and the whole body sort of "skates" outward. You can't lose your outside leg either, as she has to learn it's there as her guide to how much outward motion her body is allowed.

it may help to go back to some groundwork and teach her to move her shoulders and hips separately, so that you have some basis to go back to when mounted when you're trying to teach her how to move off your outside leg and rein.

[drssg]

Based on the video, a few things come to mind for me.

1. Always post on the outside diagonal for now, so you come out of he saddle when the outside shoulder goes forward. In the video, you were posting on the inside diagonal part of the time, and this makes it more difficult for the horse.

2. I would do fewer circles in a row. Do one or two, and then go large around the entire arena. Change direction and maybe do the same thing in the other direction. This will help avoid tiring the horse and give it more even development on the left and right.

3. I would start with circles at least 3/4 the width of your arena. She is diving in on the circle to avoid engaging the inside hind leg. The smaller circles will be harder for her to do correctly.

4. Measure a round circle in your arena and mark it with several cones or some other safe object. Then focus on riding accurately just to the outside of those cones. This will help you to notice the very first stride that she starts to dive in. Maybe try the same exercise at the walk first. You might be surprised just how difficult it is to get the horse to go exactly where you want.

I think the most important thing is to keep the work calm and don't make too big of a deal out of anything, which you appear to be doing well. The fencing around your arena has some safety issues, if the horse gets overly excited or disobedient. If you stay patient and kind to your horse, then it hopefully won't be an issue.

Good luck and have fun!

[Goonhorse]

Originally Posted by JBandRio

Nurtz, I can't see YT from work, so will take a look tonight

"she sort of goes where ever she feels led" makes it sound like you are pulling her around with your inside rein as opposed to pushing her around with your outside rein and leg.

Now, I realize this goes back to what you were saying earlier


It's not necessarily wrong to use the inside rein for a horse like this, but HOW you're using it can make a huge difference. If you are using it by drawing your hand back toward your hip, that wouldn't be correct, as it "crunches" the neck and shoulder and actually blocks her. But a leading direct rein, out to the side, can be the ticket to "leading" the horse around (which is different from pulling her around).

During all that, you can't just lose your outside rein, as that allows the outside shoulder to bulge and the whole body sort of "skates" outward. You can't lose your outside leg either, as she has to learn it's there as her guide to how much outward motion her body is allowed.

it may help to go back to some groundwork and teach her to move her shoulders and hips separately, so that you have some basis to go back to when mounted when you're trying to teach her how to move off your outside leg and rein.

Thanks! I'll definitely try the inside rein thing that you mentioned.

What sort of groundwork should I be doing with her?

Originally Posted by drssg

Based on the video, a few things come to mind for me.

1. Always post on the outside diagonal for now, so you come out of he saddle when the outside shoulder goes forward. In the video, you were posting on the inside diagonal part of the time, and this makes it more difficult for the horse.

2. I would do fewer circles in a row. Do one or two, and then go large around the entire arena. Change direction and maybe do the same thing in the other direction. This will help avoid tiring the horse and give it more even development on the left and right.

3. I would start with circles at least 3/4 the width of your arena. She is diving in on the circle to avoid engaging the inside hind leg. The smaller circles will be harder for her to do correctly.

4. Measure a round circle in your arena and mark it with several cones or some other safe object. Then focus on riding accurately just to the outside of those cones. This will help you to notice the very first stride that she starts to dive in. Maybe try the same exercise at the walk first. You might be surprised just how difficult it is to get the horse to go exactly where you want.

I think the most important thing is to keep the work calm and don't make too big of a deal out of anything, which you appear to be doing well. The fencing around your arena has some safety issues, if the horse gets overly excited or disobedient. If you stay patient and kind to your horse, then it hopefully won't be an issue.

Good luck and have fun!

Thank you for all your suggestions! I like the cone idea.

I know the fencing is sort of, um, dangerous (it's a paddock, not an arena), but that's the only thing I have to work with. Someday we'll have nicer fencing. Someday.

[Goonhorse]

Bumping this up.

[sarahhowen]

Have you had her back checked at all recently? To me she looks ever so slightly uncomfortable and almost as though she is trying to keep her back straight and just bending her neck when you are working on the circle, that has got me thinking does she have some tension through her back or hind quarters that is making her reluctant to bend and thus throwing her off balance, causing the problems that you are experiencing.

How is she on the lunge? does she bend and balance herself on this? She is towards the end of the video starting to bend her whole body a little better so I wonder if she has some muscle tension that is like I say making her uncomfortable.

I would suggest getting someone out to look at her, maybe a chiro or a massage therapist and just ruling out tension, I would also try and incorporate some carrot stretches with her daily (all mine do these daily just to keep them supple - they love it)

With regards to balancing her, I would do a little more work on creating a better outline, she certainly isn't tracking up fully in the video and of she is qworking in a better shape it will help her, incorporate circle work with her on a daily basis but dont overdo it! also things like serpentines are great for getting her more balanced, keep it varied.

She looks in fabulous health by the way, she has a really shinney coat. Congrats on the pregnancy and fingers crossed for a healthy foaling!