He could be a bit sore from the work, but it's ok to work him through it if he does loosen up.

When he gets heavy is he also round or is his nose out in front? Is he on the forehand?

You are doing the right thing with the transitions. Even transitions within the gait are tremendously helpful in suppling the horse's back. Also are you sitting trot? Try posting until his back softens up.

You can also incorporate 20 metre circles and three-loop serpentines. Just be patient and let the exercises do the job for you, rather than forcing anything.

Also, regarding him being heavy, and using a lot of leg at the girth, you can use leg, then back off when the horse responds, and keep your legs on his sides in a steady but not clamping contact. Close them when you need them, then soften again. Too much leg can drive, drive, drive the horse onto the forehand and a heavy contact.

I must say, from the way you describe your rides and from your thoughtful post, it sounds like you are doing a really good job with your horse. If everything checks out in terms of teeth, saddle, etc., I would work patiently and methodically work him through it as it seems you are doing. :)

Good advice from Barbara, also, you could try starting out in a light seat for the warm up work. If the horse is a young one keep the circles bigger than 20 m to start with, might help. Cheers Geoffrey

Hi, Lauren:

You've been given some very good advice by both Barbara and Geoffrey.  I'd like to add a little to theirs:

1.  If you've recently pushed up the workload from 3 times per week to 6, you should expect some soreness-related resistance.  Put yourself in your horse's place:  if someone sudden doubled your time in the gym, would you (a) feel wonderful physically immediately, and/or (b) just love going to the gym?  I wouldn't do either!  However, you do need to work through the soreness and resistance, just do it with empathy.  In other words, start to vary your intense work sessions with lighter session which are less demanding - go to the hard/easy principle.

2.  I encounter riders all the time, who, in their desire to do the very best by their horses, over-ride most everything.  It sounds to me like you're overwhelming your horse with very strong legs, and that's creating more rein pressure than either of you are comfortable with or probably need.  Try to ride him with the lightest leg possible, and think in terms of offering him connection in your hands, rather than "holding" him straight.  Small, rhythmic, soft half-halts on your outside rein coupled with a softly rhythmic inside leg will likely create what you're looking for without so much pressure and resistance. 

Good for you for asking the questions, and for being open-minded enough to consider that you might need to change your approach!

HI, Lauren:

Just a little more information:  horses' spines only bend between 1/4 and 1/2" laterally.  Do not ask for more "bend" than that in corners and on circles.  Your first order of business is straightness, and control of the neck and shoulders, not bend.  You are likely asking for Lorenzo to bend like a banana, which he, as a horse, cannot do.  If you start to ride your corners thinking about keeping him straight, rather than "bending" him, I think you'll find that he stops falling through the outside shoulder.

The extra information you provided about him in your latest post was really helpful.  Try to think about suppleness coming out of straightness, even on bending lines, so that he learns to connect both hindlegs to your hands and seat, and then he will offer bend, rather than you having to try to create it.

Good luck!

Hi, Lauren!

This was a very helpful post! 

Opening the inside rein is something many of us, including me, were and are taught to do with green horses.  However, it's just about the worst thing we can do.  When I trained in Europe, in a barn which produces not only GP horses but many young horses for both the European and NA markets, I learned to turn 3 year olds very differently, and they come along much faster as a result, and with much less confusion.

For starters:  your legs are not turning aids.  They are driving and shaping aids.  Your weight and your outside rein are your turning aids, period.  Lorenzo's rushing because your outside leg comes out of nowhere, and he understands it as he should, as a driving aid.  If you use your legs as turning aids, you will be stuck when you want to work on movements like shoulder-in, travers and renvers, and half-pass, because your horse will turn instead of allowing you to shape the energy and send it sideways.  The same can be said of using the inside rein to turn, if you use it to turn, rather than turning the shoulders with the outside rein, riding things like travers, renvers and half-pass becomes nearly impossible.

When you want to leave the wall, or the corner, step strongly into your inside stirrup, and take your eyes onto the line you want to be on.  Beware of allowing your shoulders to rotate inward, as that will actually put your body weight on the outside, and the horse will follow that.  Horses by nature try to stay under our weight, so turning them becomes as simple as putting our weight where we want them to go.  Ensure that you shift your weight inwards smoothly, and without tilting your torso to the inside.  At the same time,  increase the weight of your outside rein half-halts by about an ounce.

It will take Lorenzo a couple of rides to figure out what you're doing, but you'll be amazed at how much easier turning will become.  Remember that what you want to move off the track to continue your circle is his SHOULDERS, not his head.  As you've discovered, you can put the head where you want to go but the body doesn't necessarily follow it!

Keep us updated :)

Clue for you.....you have to ride the outside rein. This clearly suggests that your horse is having sore muscle issues. Find um and fix um, then it will all come together

Hi Spirithorse,

Thanks for the tip but I am fairly confident this is not the issue here.

I have Lorenzo worked on by a bowen therapist regularly, and his movement is fine. After much investigation, it is purely my riding, no doubt, I am willing to admit it - and I am endeavouring to fix this issue. The eventing rider who excercises him twice a week does not have the hard-backed issue, just me.

And yep, Horse-hearted, its gonna be a whooooole lot of fun with the dust!

Well, as my coach always says - no one can claim to be a perfect rider, and as soon as you think you are, you stop improving. And as soon as you stop improving, so does your horse.

I think i have many many many many many many more years of riding ahead of me, before I can claim to really truly know what Im doing :-/

A little off the topic here, while I was reading these fascinating suggestions to your training problem.With respect to contacts and dust. I gave myself a corneal abrasion in just one day riding with contacts in dusty conditions . If you've never done this, it means one to three days of blinding pain, complete intolerance to any amount of light. You won't know it's happening till after you take out the lenses. And it could damage your contacts. So my suggestion is wear glasses or wear goggles if you ride in dust with your contacts.

-- Edited by Marlene on Sunday 7th of November 2010 09:04:18 AM

-- Edited by Marlene on Sunday 7th of November 2010 09:07:01 AM