[xxcodyappqhxx]

It's been a long time since I've posted here, and I have come a long way with my mare. However, I just wanted to see if I could get some different suggestions for what to do here. When I ride my mare and do turns that are tighter, she has a tendency to swing her back end around and straighten herself this way, instead of rounding herself out and going with my cues I've tried using my outside leg to keep her turning right. I've also tried a light tap with a dressage whip. I'm stumped and won't be able to take her for help until spring. Ideas?

[JBandRio]

But *where* is your outside leg?

Can she do a turn on the forehand? If she can do it relatively stationary, almost pivoting on her front end, can she do it while walking a circle with her front end?

Most likely the problem exists before you even get to a tight turn, just not to a degree noticable enough to you So, go back several steps and figure out where you truly lose her hind end.

Remember, too, that it's probably just just her hiney that's a problem. If she's dropping her inside shoulder, the hind end will swing out.

[xxcodyappqhxx]

I am not sure if this is correct, but I've been putting my leg back a bit, hoping that it'll make it clear to keep her rear over.

She can turn on the forehand from the ground and seeing as she manages to do it quite well when we turn normally, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to teach

I haven't ridden since I've been sick, but I'm sure that it's very possible her shoulder drops. Hopefully, I can ride soon and check. Thank you though!

[Rhythm 'n Blues]

I agree with JB (big surprise there )

Yes you are correct to use your outside leg back -- the goal is to have it jsut *there* & not *on*, but should she swing her hinney out, then that leg is there to block & put it back where it should go. That being said, you still need to maintain the proper bend with the inside leg & you need to keep contact with the outside rein, while not dropping the inside rein or allowing her to lean on it, steal it, etc. Keep the inside rein light, will help ensure she isn't dropping the inside shoulder.

One other question is how do you ask her to turn? Do you just use the inside rein? If so, there's your problem, as you're pulling her down onto that shoulder. You want to jsut make your "outside rein" more of a wall, and slightly open the inside rein as if to say "please put your shoulder in this space I've created" while again keeping the outside leg back and the inside leg on.

Are you able to do any leg yeilding? That will help you learn how to control the hind end as well.

[JBandRio]

Agree with R&B as well - go figure! Especially with the "how you turn" part. The more you pull with that inside rein, the more you disconnect the front and back ends, causing her to swing around.

Originally Posted by xxcodyappqhxx

I am not sure if this is correct, but I've been putting my leg back a bit, hoping that it'll make it clear to keep her rear over.

Sometimes you have to exaggerate your outside leg in order to make a statement, so keep that in mind. As R&B said, you outside leg should always be slightly behind the girth when turning, ready to push the hind end back in. If there is a big enough issue, as you are experiencing, you should be prepared to make quite a statement with your leg back there. Use a spur if necessary - that is the whip's equivalent of "get off my leg and move sideways"

She can turn on the forehand from the ground and seeing as she manages to do it quite well when we turn normally, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to teach

You reallyreally have to teach her to yield her shoulders and her hind end from the saddle Without that, there is no straightening the horse.

I haven't ridden since I've been sick, but I'm sure that it's very possible her shoulder drops. Hopefully, I can ride soon and check. Thank you though!

Report back when you can!

[endurgirl]

I'm not familiar with you, but do you ride English or Western?

I ride Western, and what I'd do was to back the horse up a few steps to get the hind end loaded and underneath the horse then apply the outside leg and neck rein pressure.

[Horseshoe]

I have a friend who has a beautiful dressage mare with the same problem, she uses corrective shoeing and it really helps the problem. Nothing too fancy, just trailers on her back shoes and the swinging is now barely noticeable.
Hope that helps, good luck!

[JBandRio]

Horseshoe, not to discount what you're saying, but I'm not sure you're talking about the same thing the OP is.

Horses can move such that leg swing in or out as a natural course of things. Whether or not that is detrimental to their soundness is another, deeper issue. If it is determined that it is, yes, trailers on a shoe can help prevent that detrimental movement.

That is entirely different from a horse swinging his whole hind end out when making a turn.

What exactly are you referring to?

[xxcodyappqhxx]

I do ride english with emphasis on hunter/jumper to clear that up.

When turning, I use my inside hand as kind of a "hinge" and put my outside rein on her neck to say "we need to go THIS WAY" as well as my outside leg to coax her bottom over.

When she swings she almost does a complete pivot on the forehand, which sounds really weird but it is what she does! She doesn't remain going forward in the real tight turns and just scoots her rear over and goes forward.

Hope this helps. Couldn't ride today, it was raining.

[JBandRio]

If you are laying your outside rein on her neck, you are likely bring your hand too close to, or even over, her withers - big no-no in the vast majority of circumstances.

If she's swinging out that badly, then the issues are there at the slower speeds, so you really should not do any more tight turns for now until you can get things fully under control there

You should be able to walk and trot on a circle with her haunches in. That will tell you what sort of understanding she has of your outside aids.