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At 00:29:11 on 02.01.12, OffTheTrack wrote:
I don't know your horse or his current progress or his personality (obviously!) and I'm by no means a proffessional, but I do have two things you might want to try:
1. Poles. I am retraining a young racehorse mare called Annie and she's very willing but her feet go in every direction know to man! Her hind legs do something completely different to her front ones, clearly this needs sorting. To get her legs coordinated and her gaits established (as racehorses aren't trained the different gaits properly), I'm using ground poles. Look up what distances apart they need to be for each gait I can't remember off the top of my head) and ride Clay over them.
Soon, to avoid clonking the poles, he will learn to move over them in a certain way, which is the proper way to perform the chosen gait (walk, trot, canter). After plenty of practice over poles, he will realise that this is the most comfortable way to do it and will do it naturally without the poles
2. Transitions. Once you've got the gaits nice, the trick is getting from one to the next without a drama! Both upwards and downwards transitions are equally important. The problem with racehorses is that the upwards are far too explosive and the downwards take far too long to put the brakes on! In other horses, the downwards happens with no encouragement and the upwards take a lot of nagging and time (aka, the horse is unsure about going forwards or simply cannot be bothered!). The way to fix either of these problems is to ask for the up/down transition quietly, then if you don't get the desired response immediately, use a firmer aid. E.g. to get a reluctant horse to go up, give him a squeeze. If he doesn't respond, give him a tap with a whip. As soon as you get the desired response, stop asking for it. This removal of pressure is the reward for doing the job.
Start off with giving him a little time to respond, because he may not quite understand what you're asking immediately. But as time progresses or he seems to be just not listening, ask for an immediate response.
Another example; going down a gait (e.g. trot to walk or walk to halt). Sit back, deep and squeeze with the reins. If he won't slow, exaggerate these and stay sitting and squeezing until he does. When he goes down a gait, stop squeezing. This release of the pressure on his mouth will say 'well done, that's what I wanted'
Soon, he will get the idea that when you sequeeze legs, you want an immediate upwards transition and when you squeeze reins, you want an immediate downwards transition. Not only will this make the transitions smoother and more controlled, but they also keep the horse sensitive to aids and listening for them.
Really hope this was useful and I wish you every bit of luck with Clay! x |
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At 05:16:29 on 02.01.12, Reggyroo wrote:
Do lots of turning on him using your legs and minimal hands. Turning of the hindquarters and forequarters are very good because it relaxes the horse, it makes them easier to control and it also takes them of the rein so they don't get heavy! The trick is to make them so light in the mouth that they can turn off your leg alone.
Good Luck |
