 Will
you explain some of the cues used to show an Arabian at halter? I have
an 8 year old mare that was shown as a yearling, and she has some issues. |
| I know nothing of halter showing. However when I was
a kid at our Del Mar International horse show they showed arabians, and
I remember being impressed when I saw them using a whip standing in front
of the horse to get it to arch it's neck! I thought that was a bit much.
The only thing I would offer you other then beginning at the beginning
with this mare is to have her mouth checked. It seems that the two issues
can be localized at the head. Also, actually I have heard of ears being
a problem and if you just touch them in the wrong way it can set off a
panic reaction. Ears can have, I'm not sure what you would call them, but
like a tumor inside of them. However, if it is not physical, then I would
just go through the motions of restarting her. Try to find out what specifically
causes the problem and just slow down and work through it.Maybe try and
feed her as you bridle her. You might also want to work her down on the
lunge or round pen before you get to tacking up. And incidentally it just
is never good horsemanship to lead a horse with the halter anyway, so for
now I would let that go and concentrate on the other. I hope this helps. |
| Dear
Dara, lately after jumps especially the last jump my horse puts his head
down and just gallops as he pulls me forward making it hard for me to ride
the next fence or to get a good distance. please help! |
| Nina, sounds like he knows the program! It is jump
off time. You just have to teach him to be patient. Things like; jump a
fence and then make him halt and wait before continuing, also when you
work him on the flat make sure when you bring him back to you you are increasing
your leg support so that you can then release your hands and let up on
the contact for some reward. Jumpers just get axious to do their job and
that makes riders insecure and want to pull back for more control. The
homework, and also keeping him guessing about what you want from him(ie.
not always taking him to another fence) will help to slow him up in the
sense that he anticipates what your next desire is going to be. Just slow
things down for him in your practice. Be patient a good jumper usually
has alot on the ball! |
| I have trouble keeping my upper
body posture in between jumps, is there anything i can do to help this? |
| Try this simple exercise a few minutes each time you
ride: After you have warmed up a bit, do a two point trot. But this time
I want you to try it with a little different twist to it. I want you to
put both reins in one hand. With your free hand I want you to reach
down all the way to the 'point' of the horse's shoulder and 'pat' him there
as you trot around. Pay particular attention to your leg position
as you do this and specifically 'keep your heels down'. Try to maintain
this pose for at least a couple of trips around the ring.After working
with one hand change and do the same thing with the opposite hand. This
simple exercise will go far as to strengthening your leg and that
is the key to improving your upper body! If this is helpful to you write
back later and I will give you some more tips......... |
| I was wondering if you
had any advice on where your knee is supposed to hit on close contact saddles?
I am a tall (5'11") but slim rider and am having trouble determining flap
length, etc. for fitting a saddle to rider. I need to determine where knee
should hit on knee flap/roll (height and forwardness) for proper fit. Any
help would be great. I have ridden all of my life, but haven't had the
luxury of a custom flap length, so my knee has always been at the bottom
edge of flap. I have found it extremely difficult to find out exactly where
your knee should ideally hit when properly fitted to saddle. |
| Well, this is a good question. I myself am only
5'6" and I too have the same problem. But lets just look at it in a commonsense
manner. Obviously the knee should not ride over the flap. If your saddle
has a pencil roll in it or any other kind of padding to help you grip then
your knee should be resting within that framework or it is pointless.My
knee in a 17" saddle with an average flap will want to come just to the
edge of the flap when I adjust my jumping stirrups to ankle bone length.
Preferrably, I would want my knee to be about an inch inside the edge of
the flap.A custom fit would be nice! Saddles can be ordered with a more
forward flap for people like yourself. Since you mentioned that you are
slim you don't want to have to order a bigger seat to accomodate the length
of your leg. You would just be left swimming in a seat that was too big
and then you loose the support you need from the pommel and sloping cantle.
If you have to ride in a saddle that is too short in the flap, to compensate
you can adjust your irons down one inch, much more than that will again
effect your support system. When sitting in your seat with your irons adjusted
just below your ankle bone (with legs dangling on either side),you should
have a hands width rest comfortably on the pommel in front of you, four
fingers width behind your seat to the edge of the cantle and with your
feet in the stirrups one inch in front of your surrounding knee to the
edge of the flap. I hope this helps. Feel free to write back. |
| Dear Dara, I have a thoroughbred
that I show jumpers in the childrens division and he perfect!! The only
problem is that when I ask him to do hunters or a course with no sharp
turns he cuts the corners and gets there at really bad distances. Do you
have any advice on keeping my horse in the corners? |
| Hi, I do have some advice for you as I used to
show an appaloosa jumper named Finnian in the hunters as well as jumper
classes. Finnian would anticipate the next fence and start cutting in leading
with his inside hindquarter.To try and pull him out in to the corner I
would use my inside indirect rein. That however, would only prove to 'kink"
him up even more. I was taking lessons from a fellow trainer by the name
of 'Dee Hartman' at the time to work on my hunter rounds. She suggested
that I not pull on my inside rein to fix him. Instead, she said ride him
forward to my outside rein applying more inside leg to outside feel. Also,
horses
will follow your weight so maybe step into your outside stirrup, and don't
even think about the turn just keep riding straight and forward until you
hit the rail! If he is the type that wants to get a little quick just sink
down into your heels and open your shoulders to indicate that you want
him to settle. I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes and feel
free to write back for more info. |
Question,
Hi I have been having trouble getting my horse to
do her flying lead changes. My trainer and I have been slowly working or
figure 8 and simple changes through the trot. I recently
have been asking for them over a pole by balnacing and then asking for
the new bend before. Sometimes she will change her front but even if we
continue to go over the pole she never changes her back. instead she will
change her front to the outside lead. And even on a circle she stays on
the wrong lead. I dont believe that this has anything to do with lameness
or anything. I have been doing jumpers up to 3'3 and 3'6. In the turn out
you can see her doing them. Can you help me figure out how to change her
back? Thanks |
Try this exercise and see if it helps. Put a pole in
the corner of the arena right on the rail. You want the pole on the ground
pointing diagonally to the opposite corner of your arena. You can even
put the
lengths of two poles end to end so the horse will not
get confused and try to go around them. Now ride the horse down the rail
on a counter-canter.Immediately as you are going over the pole ask for
a flying change, by switching your leg position moving your outside leg
back and pressing it in to your horse's side as you simultaneously
take an extra feel with your inside rein. Make it an obvious shift in position
to clue the horse that you want him to land on the opposite
lead. If she gets the change, praise him. If she does not go back and try
again. Prepare yourself by getting ready to ask just before the pole. The
goal is to be asking as she is in flight over the pole.
The usefulness of this exercise is;
it gets you riding withe more control of the horse's body through your
leg, it gives the horse a different focal point ( rather than her anticipating
you kicking her with an outside leg), and the pole on the ground helps
the horse to elevate her hind end so that she can bring her inside hind
more forward underneath herself. Let me know if this helps. If you can
accomplish this your are on your way to full changes! |
|
Question,
Dara, I have a 8 year old arab/QH mare. She bucked
me off about the 3rd time I rode her. Since then I have been working with
a trainer. She has been riding the mare and has some improvement, but the
horse will still resort back to crow hopping/bucking when you first get
on her to ride. She seems to display this behavior more when she is in
her heat cycle. I have been reluctant to ride her since she bucked me off.
I did get back on her the day she bucked me off, and finished the trail
ride but not since. Overall, her and I get along fine and her ground manners
with me have improved. Other then the
bucking everything else seem to be good. Her previous
owners did not ride her much and used her for a brood mare. I have also
recently found out that before they had her she was abused by the other
owners, to what extent I do not know, but the impression is that she was
handled roughly. Any advice on what to do next? |
Hi Betty, as usual I must start out with an apology for
taking this long to get back to you. However, in my defense the life of
a trainer is a busy one and these questions do require some thought.
In response to your request for advice
there are some things that pop out at me when I reread your question. Firstly,
it was said that
somewhere in the mare's history she had some sort of
abuse. But I ask was her behavior aggressive in the first place,
and did it warrant a more authoritarian response? I must say any
horse that bucks, bites, rears, or kicks with me gets met with a swift
and appropriate to the behavior punishment. When it comes to my own personal
safety I want to be real clear with that animal that those types of negative
behavior are simply not exceptable! However having said that, a good trainer
will look for opportunity in training to give positive reward responses
to get that animal moving in a more positive direction. My second thought
was. Has this mare had this problem all along? And was that
the reason why she was bred in the first place? Many times a person will
decide to breed a mare to try and 'settle' her. I actually believe this
to be a good thing however it may not fix all problems.
So given this situation, here is what
I might try. I would probably guess that this is somewhat tack related.
At least this is how I think
it got started. I would guess that this mare is sensitive
and somewhat cold backed. I would look at the tack and make sure you have
the propper fit. Make sure nothing is pinching. Check to see that saddle
blankets and pads do not have anything sharp enough to cause discomfort.
Once this as been accomplished I would use a round pen or small enclosure
and lunge her with the tack on. I would lunge her in a halter and put a
stud chain over her nose. If she wants to buck I would check the chain
hard enough to get her attention and tell her 'NO' in a very firm and serious
tone. Lunge just a few minutes in each direction just to take the edge
off of her. Next I would use some desensitization techniques. While holding
her on a regular lead no chain unless you really need it. Take the stirrups
of the saddle and start making loud slapping noises on her side. Nothing
that will hurt her just loud and abrubt. During this time keep her head
slightly flexed toward you. If she backs up just keep following her and
continue with your activity, you can also pat the top of the saddle hard
with your hand or pat her rump rather firm. Be careful of your position
so as not to get kicked! If you think you are too green for this type of
work ask your trainer to do it for you. Any way switch sides and perform
the same thing on the other side. Look for her to except what you are doing
. Her initial response will probably be surprise and somewhat fearful.
But alternate this with simply walking her
around in an uneventful way. If she 'sighs' this is a
great response. It is a sign of exceptance, so praise her greatly! When
you feel that you have made an impact and she is no longer impressed, it
is time to try mounting. A cold backe horse will always resent that initial
bearing of weight because it hurts. So when you mount stand in your irons
for the first few seconds and walk her before easing your weight down on
to the saddle. You can turn her head slightly to the left and start in
somewhat of a circle to make it harder for her to get those feet off the
ground!
I know this sounds like alot
just to ride your horse. But if it works you can modify the process down
and hopefully break her cycle of
bad behavior. Remember you are the most important thing.
Take care of your head. Wear a helmet and consult the advice of your professional
prior to working in unknown territory! Please feel free to write back and
let me know if any of this was a help.
Thank you,
Dara |
|
Question,
Would a very old stifle injury on one stifle cause
a horse to continually cross canter on both sides, even if the horse is
never lame or short? And how do you correct that? Help! |
Dara Answers,
Let me take this question in
two parts. First of all in regards to the stifle injury, I feel that
this would be something you might want to ask your vet. However,
if this were my horse and I was pondering this same question, I might put
him on some anti-inflammatory for a period of time and work him during
this time to see if there was an improvement. Your vet could probably
help you with the particulars of this.
Otherwise let's assume this
is simply a training issue. I have recently had two ponies with this
problem and here is what has worked for me.
Strengthening the back end is
what we are after. Some gentle hill work would be helpful.
Lunging and particularly long reining with two long lines, one behind the
rump, in a circle. This helps to get the horse's hocks up under him.
But a word of caution; long reining is a handful of ropes, so if
you do not have experience with this find a professional to help you.
Watch that you don't overdue longing as it is hard on horses, but
remember that used with care it can help build him up.
Once you are riding your horse
I have noticed that when the rider gets caught up riding off the hands,
horses that have this tendency fall right out of the canter. So practice
lots of transitions, downward and upward that get you riding him from your
leg. Remember 70% leg and 30% hand. Also in your corner step
your weight down on your inside stirrup your horse will naturally follow
your weight.
Some helpful exercises would
be shoulder-in, haunches-in, and counter canter. I like to ride the
counter canter in off the rail (half-turn reverse) and back on the correct
lead without stopping. Ride off seat and leg and not your hands!
Good luck!
Thanks, Dara
******************************************************************************************
Question
4/4/01
Thanks
for allowing us to ask you questions - I really appreciate it! Anyway,
I've got a hot OTTB (Off The Track Thoroughbred) gelding, 7 yrs old, that
is in training with me for lower level eventing. The problem that I'm having
is that I have a tendency to not release his mouth enough over a jump when
I don't see my spot and he takes off - I tend to get "left" behind. He's
very quick to his fences and I think that at times, I want to hold him
so much that I don't release his mouth in time. Also, I have a problem
with losing my lower leg - I think these problems are related, since he's
so quick to the jumps that I'm reluctant to really put my lower leg on.
Can you help me? Thanks! |
| |
| Dara Answers,
Well, let's start were you left
off. Off the track Thoroughbreds, as you know, take time and patience
in their retraining. I think you will find that when we address the
issue of his being quick to the fences, your position will improve.
You mentioned you were in event
training. Your horse is probably very fit. In your effort to
retrain him and teach him to jump it might be helpful to back down his
level of fitness. Remember a race horse has been taught to run.
You need to take him back to the basics and teach him the nuances he will
need to be a different kind of performer. Slowing everything down
will be a whole new game for him.
He sounds also way to impressed
by his jumps. So maybe going back to canter poles on the ground.
You can set the poles around just as though you were jumping a course.
Also, trot rails. He should be able to trot in to 4 or 5 rails on
the ground set about 3'6" apart. Make him trot into those without
breaking into the canter. You can also canter around the arena and
on approach to the trot rails, transition downward to the trot and trot
the rails. Then pick up the canter and repeat. Doing this on
a figure eight pattern alternating leads is helpful. When you ride
these exercises, concentrate on holding your leg pressure, waiting with
your upper body and your eyes up. Let the rails come to you!
Work him on the flat quietly,
work on your transitions and your position. You want him to truly
accept and get comfortable with your leg. Get to the point where
you can ride him on a looser rein. When he can do these things quietly
then throw in a trot cross rail or two. After you have trotted one
or two fences, walk him on a loose rein for a few minutes. When we
have actually relaxed pick up the reins and trot a cross rail and then
maybe canter some of your rails on the ground as though they were a course.
Lots and lots of trot fences. Building blocks is what he needs to
think more
slowly!
I hope this helps, be patient
and you will get the job done quicker! I also, encourage a "part-two"
question or an update to your progress. Let us know how it is going!
Thanks,
Dara
****************************************************************************************** |
Question 4/3/01
My horse has a real problem with "Racing" over the
jumps! What are some ways I Can get her to slow down on Stadium Jumping?
(I'm an Eventer mostly)
Thank You,
Melissa and Madison Avenue |
| Dear Melissa,
First let me apologize for taking
so long getting back to you. The show season has started for me limiting
my extra time. Now, let's get down to more important things.
Without seeing your horse jump it is hard for me to capture the essence
of her anxiety or exuberance.
Let's say that your horse is
anxious when she jumps, therefore causing her to get quick. I would
back down to trotting fences. When you trot a fence you want to concentrate
on the rhythm and keep it the same all the way to the base of the fence.
In other words, don't let her canter the last stride. This will teach
both you and her to wait.
If even trotting fences proves
to be difficult because she still wants to race, then try this next approach.
Trot her down to a fence and very abruptly and unexpectedly turn her left.
Then approach the fence again and turn her right (making a figure eight
pattern). Finally approach the fence and halt about 15 to 20 feet
before the fence. When she stands quietly pat her and turn and walk
away from the jump without jumping it. Repeat this exercise again
approaching a fence 10 to 15 times before you ever let her jump.
Then let her go on and jump continuing to two or three other fences at
this point she should be waiting to see what you are going to do instead
of rushing ahead of you. Keep her guessing your every move.
Try these exercises and see if things improve.
And please feel free to write back for more help.
Thanks, Dara
|
Question 12/08/01
I recently suffered a painful fall from a horse I
just started riding and am having second thought about riding. How can
I gain my confidence back, and continue showing and jumping? |
| Daniel T. Brumfield, M.D. Answers,
Some degree of fear and avoidance
after an accident is common. This is most relevant in those situations
where the person injured was not expected to be in full control when the
accident happened. This includes horseback riding where the rider
is expected to share control with the horse. The best of riders develop
excellent communication with the mount. The best of horses seem to
understand what even the novice is asking. Still, accidents happen.
Studies show that most injuries occur in the home, all too often with fatal
consequences. Generally, post-traumatic avoidance of one's
home is uncommon.
Examples of avoidance include
fear of freeway driving, of amusement park rides, of auto or motorcycle
racing, of flying and others. Jumping horses over obstacles is a
dangerous sport, so are many others. It is most dangerous during
the first six months, but increasing experience greatly reduces the chance
of a serious injury. By contrast, hang gliding, a relatively safe
sport at first, becomes progressively more dangerous as the pilot gains
experience and attempts challenging but dangerous maneuvers.
Man has utilized the horse for
millennia. During the Second World War, in the invasion of Russia
alone, the Germans used Six hundred twenty five thousand horses.
In past civilizations equines seemed to be indispensable. For many
of us, riding remains vastly important. So, how does one regain confidence
after an injury? The key is to focus on positives and rationalize
the negatives. Work with a seasoned trainer. Improve your knowledge
base and skills. Spend time ground working the horse where you have
more control and can bully it if necessary. A horse that respects
you during groundwork will generally show more respect once you are saddled.
Timidity will buy you nothing worthwhile and can work against you.
Fearful things and circumstances
are all about us always, but we seldom think about them. The are,
in the main, repressed from our thoughts. This is because we have
learned to rationalize them, for instance: Thousands of people
ride safely every day. Hundreds of thousands of people fly safely
every day. I'm safe at home because I don't leave things strewn about,
I lock my doors, and I'm careful with gas and electricity. Rationalization
paves the way for repression of the fear, which puts everything back into
balance, often with a freshened resolve. Good luck!
(Thanks, to our Dad, Daniel T. Brumfield, M.D., for joining
the Ask The Trainer forum!)
|
Ask the Trainer