accepting contact then jogging???

[joy70]

please can someone help me?

whilst out on a hack the other day i was playing with neds reins asking him to soften his jaw and flex at the poll, which eventually he did, but no sooner had he done this, he began to jog. How do i stop him from jogging and more to the point, why is he jogging?

any help/advice please

 

[Piaffe]

were you on your way home? My ned always jogs on the way home - not much you can do - lots of half halts stops it for a little while but he soon starts up again.

Were you using your legs as well as taking up a contact?

 

[joy70]

yeah we were on the way home, but until i'd asked him to relax he hadn't been jogging at all it was like he couldn't manage walk with his poll flexed and his back in a nice rounded position, or maybe my legs were on too much

 

[Piaffe]

I find it best to work excitable horses on the way out - not on the way back. My horse relaxes more when I don't ask him to work, so we try to walk home on a long rein.

I think a bit of experimenting in future - try different things on your way home to see if that makes a difference to his jogging - give a bit more with the rein, less leg contact etc.

 

[joy70]

piaffe

if i'd given him a long rein which i did he was very chilled & relaxed! we had just thraped em round a few large fields think we'd killed em off

the problem on this occasion, was that as soon as he relaxed on his poll and was in the correct outline he would do maybe 2 steps of walk, then it would become very active, and then we would jog, is it possible that he finds it easier to jog, than walk in this outline? or am i making excuses for him now?

 

[tasha]

It could be that he wasnt between your hand and leg. I'd experiment with different amounts of hand and leg and see what happens.

Kal jogs loads or not at all on hacks, depending on her mood. She does it so slowly sometimes that it is slower than her walk. A lot of the time I just have to grin and bear it. The only thing that consistenly stops it is a spook!!

 

[joy70]

Maybe i didn't explain myself very well, he starts to jog once he's got himself flexed at the poll and soft in his jaw! to begin with it felt like a very elevated/active walk, but then became a jog - if im making any sense!

 

[rache]

yes you are making sense!

When he jogs is it a run away jog-short steps or a very active one. Does he seemt to be running away from the softening of the jaw. He may be finding it hard and the muscles are possibly hurting. Does he slightly bring up his head when he does the jogging or stay centre?

 

[joy70]

Rache

the steps felt very active & bouncy!, i think he stayed with his head pretty much centre

he does run away from softening, and i have to ask very softly as i discovered yesterday, as when i asked with a squeezing action (as if sqeezing water from a sponge) he went backwards and put us both in a 4' diftch fortunately we were both unscathed, if i vibrate my fingers quickly on alternate reins, he drops and flexes at the poll, but he does seem to find it difficult to maintain this for any more than a few strides, he then pokes his nose brings his head up & hollows so much its very difficult to sit on if he then starts to jog

 

[ros]

Just a couple of comments/questions:

1. Is your throat latch nice and loose, so your horse isn't throttled when he relaxes his jaw? (Probably a dumb question but you'd be surprised how many people don;t think about it.)

2. If you're using your legs in conjunction with your hands (which all the books drum into us is what you have to do to ride the horse "up to the bit") then as Piaffe says it may be working against you. It's actually OK to ask for relaxation of the jaw first, then ask the horse to "step under" by nudging him with the legs, but if he doesn't understand yet that you mean "step under" and not "go faster" you may have to just say to him "No, I don't mean trot, I mean walk actively". Possibly just a misunderstanding?

3. It's not always easy to keep a horse in a nice, relaxed but active walk; I find it easier in the early stages to get the right feel in trot. If your horse relaxes his jaw nicely, how about asking him to trot as soon as he feels right? You might find it easier to maintain a few strides like that. Then you can praise him, drop back into walk and start again. If you do it little and often he should get the idea that that's how you want him to carry himself. If you drop back to walk just for a few strides, then ask him to trot on again quite quickly, he'll find it easier to do that if he's already carrying himself correctly, so he's less likely to drop back into a sloppy walk. And you should find that if he learns to carry himself properly he'll lighten in front and the relaxation of the jaw will follow naturally.

 

[joy70]

Ros

thank you for your comments & advice!

i have always had it drummed into me that you have to use your legs and hands to get a horse on the bit!

today is the first time since the weekend that i will have to ride, and i think a little schooling session is in order!

I will have a go at trotting him in short bursts, as when were out hacking i can get him to come down for a little while.

His throatlash is loose enough, i can get my whole hand span in there - but thanks for that

Do you think that when i get him working properly thru this will eliminate the problem i have with him dragging his back toes along in trot?

 

[ros]

Hi Joy

Hands & legs? Yes, you do have to use both, but you also need to understand what each means to your horse, and conversely your horse has to understand the signals you're giving him. At first those things don't happen automatically - for you, it's a bit like learning to drive a car: what happens when I put my foot on the brake/shift up a gear/press the accelerator pedal? And for your horse it's probably a bit like learning a foreign language: what does this or that word mean in human? Oh yes, slow down a bit. So why is she telling me to slow down with her seat at the same time as she's telling me to walk faster with her legs? Oh I remember - legs mean step under properly, not go faster! That's why it helps to teach things in easy steps. You ask him to step under; he misunderstands and goes faster; you say "No, that's not what I meant, try again" (without getting cross) and you praise him when he gets it right, even if it's by chance.

Dragging his back legs? Well, if you can get a nice active movement, yes, it will help. But that's always provided there's no underlying tack/physical problem. I do believe that once they know how, most horses prefer to carry themselves correctly, partly because it's easier for them and partly because it makes them feel proud and good about themselves.