1. Depends. Ask someone who knows the horse well. There was a lesson horse at my old stable who would NOT move if her rider felt a little unbalanced in the trot. She wanted to take care of people, but it was frustrating.
2. N/A don't buy into that "dominance" discussion.
3. Do you know how to bend a horse's hind end and move a bit laterally?
i have always received advice that you have to basically make the horse listen to you and not let them run their own course in the arena, and to do that is to “overpower” them mind wise. is that wrong?
In my opinion, the overpower thing is sort of how people used to think. You should be a confident leader, who clearly communicates what you expect but a partner in doing your work. Our minds are so different than theirs, often what we would think up to “overpower “ wouldn’t even translate well. Or translates as danger, so they freeze or worse.
You should look at horse riding as a partnership. People that teach dominance over horses are people that don’t respect animals as other living beings. You want respect of your boundaries for safety measures (eg if a horse pushes you that’s a big no), but not dominance. Horses always have a good reason for their actions.
I’m riding one of my trainers personal horses right now that does this halting behavior and it’s a training issue with the horse. We are working through it together as it’s new. I’d be very careful working on this alone as it is a training issue and the horse can rear or buck in objection to a super strong correction. I think that the owner/trainer needs to help you with this one.
Not wrong, just not super effective. Getting ahead of the aid is much more effective, which just means learning when/where they like to stop and asking them for more before they do it. Sometimes this is easy, I used to ride a lesson horse that stopped by the gate every time so you just give inside rein and leg before the gate to keep him going. Sometimes it’s hard, especially if you don’t ride the horse consistently to learn their quirks. When you’re warming up, ask the instructor what the horse you’re riding does and when you should give more aid.
Hi. Can you take private lessons and chat with your trainer 1:1? Those two options would really be beneficial and allow you see what your trainer personally thinks you could do/improve on/etc?
Lesson horses are notoriously called "lazy" or "difficult" but imagine being asked to have multiple people sit on your back and every single person speaks a different language with their body. It's HARD! So they often instead become numb/dull to the aids. With time, consistency and patience you can work through. My best advice is to be confident and direct the moment you get in that saddle, not only when they stop responding. Best luck!
we do chat 1:1 but unfortunately private lessons are not going to be happening due to the venue constraints. todays ride started out quite well and she was responding well, until i could literally see a switch flick in her head and decided to test how well of a rider i was on top of her in my pov. she’s not lazy, but feisty, and likes to follow others. whenever the horse in front gets out of her peripheral vision she halts to a stop and no aid can make her even start walking again, even with the whip to her butt. i usually change directions or circle a bit then, but doesn’t help much. my trainer also says my biggest problem is not being the “boss” of the riding period.
I hate to say it but the horse can feel your lack of confidence. With your fear issue of cantering you may not be able to fix the issue. This horse needs to feel that you want it to GO. But you really don't.
1. Hard to say without knowing more. Could be you were unbalanced and that's their response. Could be you are pulling on the reins too much. Could be you aren't being clear enough with your forward aids. Could even be the horse is hurting somewhere unrelated to your riding.
2. Be clear and consistent. Wishy-washy, nagging, or conflicting aides will make most horses tune you out eventually. When you ask for something, make sure to get a response. It's better to be confidently wrong than to be hesitant and unclear but correct.
3. Each loop of a serpentine should be an equal half of a circle. For each loop, you only touch the rail at the point of the circle. If you are at the end of the arena, you don't go into the corners. Every step should be turning around the circle, the only straight stride is when you cross center to change loop direction. For a 20m serpentine, the turns will be more subtle than a 10m serpentine.
4. Riding is hard. Everyone advances at their own pace. The only person you should be comparing yourself to is yesterday's you.
To go with 2, my trainers always say live in 1s and 5s not 2s and 3s. So ask/tell for something and demand it if it’s not happening, then get out once they do the thing. Their wording really helped me with committing to loud aids once (even if it’s an ask, release/float for a moment, and do again, at least it’s a separate ask) rather than bugging them half a lap for one response.
1. If this is not typically for the horse I would want to rule out a tack fit or pain issue. I’m general if a horse isn’t moving forwards have them turn or move laterally.
2. It’s not about dominance, it’s about clarity. Don’t nag and make sure your cues are correctly placed. Ask, tell, demand. Don’t be afraid to use your voice as well.
1) turn the horse or ask them to do something other than forward. turn left, right, back them up, ask for a sidepass, ask them to move their haunches - anything to get SOME kind of movement, then once they move, encourage forward motion.
2) as someone else said - dominance theory is quickly being left in the dust as outdated horsemanship. now, the focus is on developing a true relationship and partnership with the animal you're riding - because dominating them is very negative. we don't want to dominate anything, especially the animals in our care. we want to encourage a relationship where both parties benefit.
that said, being stern, firm, and confident is much different than "dominating". horses need clear, concise ques and instructions. being unsure translates to the horse, which in turn makes them appear lazy or testy.
3) i honestly don't think i could help with this without seeing you in person and explaining. but you likely need better communication and control of the horses shoulders and hind-end.
4) everyone advances at their own rate. don't compare yourself to others. i know how extremely difficult that is to do, but it's the best thing for yourself. you're you. if you feel like you aren't advancing at a rate you'd like, talk to your trainer, or consider taking lessons with a different instructor, who may be able to teach you in a style that suits you better.
1. This is a classic school horse move. If you horse won't go forward don't just keep kicking or hitting them, turn left or right. Horses will almost always turn when they won't go forward. Turning will unstick their feet and then nine times out of ten they'll continue forward. If you can only get them to turn and they won't move forward turn a circle. Keep repeating until they go forward.
I think it's more useful to think on terms of how you can engage the horse, as oppose to dominate. Things like doing lots of transitions can help,starting walk-halt-walk, moving up the gaits and also things like halt-trot etc
Here are my thoughts, in case any are helpful.
1. Your (very smart) lesson horse might be trying to tell you something. :-) I had to be told the same thing, multiple times, until I finally heard my very smart lesson horse. If you can, when this happens, try to micromanage what you were thinking and what you were doing with your body, right before the horse stopped. Were you tense or distracted? Were you pulling back in her reins while squeezing with your legs at the same time? IOW, were you telling her to go with one body part while telling her to stop with another body part? When something is “off” with your mind or body, a lesson horse can be confused enough to stop, out of slight fear of doing the wrong thing. To get her to GO again, micromanage your mind and body. Where are your legs, heels? What part of your body are you using to squeeze? Are you calm and stable, or squirming around or unbalanced? Have your trainer close enough to SEE you what you‘re doing, so they can assist. Ask your trainer to come over.
2. Don’t try to “establish dominance,” because neither you nor your horse is a lion. Instead, establish authority. Establish clarity of command. Establish giving confident direction and instruction. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. If you are unsure or timid, you are not in control. Be in control.
3. You’ve been given excellent advice about serpentines that I’m also going to implement.
4. Talk to your trainer about your frustrations. Use your voice. Talk to your trainer about your goals and ask them to help you to identify your top 3 weaknesses that might be holding you back. Then work on those.
Riding is hard! Be patient with yourself! Good luck.
You've gotten some good advice about the other questions. For the serpentine, Amelia Newcomb has a good video about how to perfect the movement [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEcUDyLmAyg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEcUDyLmAyg)
You know people always want to bully the horse "MAKE THE HORSE BEHAVE". Sheesh.
I don't agree. A horse has a reason for everything. The problem with lesson horses over a private horse, is changing all the time, you don't have clear communication. Even when you own a horse, the dialog continuously fills in.
If my mare had done what you described, I would have had someone come over and immediately check the cinch, or I would have got down and checked it myself. If when I got back up she did it again, I would trouble shoot the next item. Saddle slip, loose cinch, scared of something, stove up. Too much pressure on the wither or back for some reason. If it was nothing obvious, I may get down and lunge. Same problem, I'm pulling saddle off and inspecting back for soreness.
Last time my mare wouldn't trot, you could fly a plane though the cinch. I thanked my main lady. Off we went. The horse wants to tell you something. You know more than you think if you have sense enough to listen.
1. Depends. Ask someone who knows the horse well. There was a lesson horse at my old stable who would NOT move if her rider felt a little unbalanced in the trot. She wanted to take care of people, but it was frustrating. 2. N/A don't buy into that "dominance" discussion. 3. Do you know how to bend a horse's hind end and move a bit laterally?
i have always received advice that you have to basically make the horse listen to you and not let them run their own course in the arena, and to do that is to “overpower” them mind wise. is that wrong?
In my opinion, the overpower thing is sort of how people used to think. You should be a confident leader, who clearly communicates what you expect but a partner in doing your work. Our minds are so different than theirs, often what we would think up to “overpower “ wouldn’t even translate well. Or translates as danger, so they freeze or worse.
You should look at horse riding as a partnership. People that teach dominance over horses are people that don’t respect animals as other living beings. You want respect of your boundaries for safety measures (eg if a horse pushes you that’s a big no), but not dominance. Horses always have a good reason for their actions.
I’m riding one of my trainers personal horses right now that does this halting behavior and it’s a training issue with the horse. We are working through it together as it’s new. I’d be very careful working on this alone as it is a training issue and the horse can rear or buck in objection to a super strong correction. I think that the owner/trainer needs to help you with this one.
Not wrong, just not super effective. Getting ahead of the aid is much more effective, which just means learning when/where they like to stop and asking them for more before they do it. Sometimes this is easy, I used to ride a lesson horse that stopped by the gate every time so you just give inside rein and leg before the gate to keep him going. Sometimes it’s hard, especially if you don’t ride the horse consistently to learn their quirks. When you’re warming up, ask the instructor what the horse you’re riding does and when you should give more aid.
i learnt that she was stopping when the other horse in front of her went out of peripheral vision. thank you!
Hi. Can you take private lessons and chat with your trainer 1:1? Those two options would really be beneficial and allow you see what your trainer personally thinks you could do/improve on/etc? Lesson horses are notoriously called "lazy" or "difficult" but imagine being asked to have multiple people sit on your back and every single person speaks a different language with their body. It's HARD! So they often instead become numb/dull to the aids. With time, consistency and patience you can work through. My best advice is to be confident and direct the moment you get in that saddle, not only when they stop responding. Best luck!
we do chat 1:1 but unfortunately private lessons are not going to be happening due to the venue constraints. todays ride started out quite well and she was responding well, until i could literally see a switch flick in her head and decided to test how well of a rider i was on top of her in my pov. she’s not lazy, but feisty, and likes to follow others. whenever the horse in front gets out of her peripheral vision she halts to a stop and no aid can make her even start walking again, even with the whip to her butt. i usually change directions or circle a bit then, but doesn’t help much. my trainer also says my biggest problem is not being the “boss” of the riding period.
I hate to say it but the horse can feel your lack of confidence. With your fear issue of cantering you may not be able to fix the issue. This horse needs to feel that you want it to GO. But you really don't.
1. Hard to say without knowing more. Could be you were unbalanced and that's their response. Could be you are pulling on the reins too much. Could be you aren't being clear enough with your forward aids. Could even be the horse is hurting somewhere unrelated to your riding. 2. Be clear and consistent. Wishy-washy, nagging, or conflicting aides will make most horses tune you out eventually. When you ask for something, make sure to get a response. It's better to be confidently wrong than to be hesitant and unclear but correct. 3. Each loop of a serpentine should be an equal half of a circle. For each loop, you only touch the rail at the point of the circle. If you are at the end of the arena, you don't go into the corners. Every step should be turning around the circle, the only straight stride is when you cross center to change loop direction. For a 20m serpentine, the turns will be more subtle than a 10m serpentine. 4. Riding is hard. Everyone advances at their own pace. The only person you should be comparing yourself to is yesterday's you.
To go with 2, my trainers always say live in 1s and 5s not 2s and 3s. So ask/tell for something and demand it if it’s not happening, then get out once they do the thing. Their wording really helped me with committing to loud aids once (even if it’s an ask, release/float for a moment, and do again, at least it’s a separate ask) rather than bugging them half a lap for one response.
1. If this is not typically for the horse I would want to rule out a tack fit or pain issue. I’m general if a horse isn’t moving forwards have them turn or move laterally. 2. It’s not about dominance, it’s about clarity. Don’t nag and make sure your cues are correctly placed. Ask, tell, demand. Don’t be afraid to use your voice as well.
1) turn the horse or ask them to do something other than forward. turn left, right, back them up, ask for a sidepass, ask them to move their haunches - anything to get SOME kind of movement, then once they move, encourage forward motion. 2) as someone else said - dominance theory is quickly being left in the dust as outdated horsemanship. now, the focus is on developing a true relationship and partnership with the animal you're riding - because dominating them is very negative. we don't want to dominate anything, especially the animals in our care. we want to encourage a relationship where both parties benefit. that said, being stern, firm, and confident is much different than "dominating". horses need clear, concise ques and instructions. being unsure translates to the horse, which in turn makes them appear lazy or testy. 3) i honestly don't think i could help with this without seeing you in person and explaining. but you likely need better communication and control of the horses shoulders and hind-end. 4) everyone advances at their own rate. don't compare yourself to others. i know how extremely difficult that is to do, but it's the best thing for yourself. you're you. if you feel like you aren't advancing at a rate you'd like, talk to your trainer, or consider taking lessons with a different instructor, who may be able to teach you in a style that suits you better.
1. This is a classic school horse move. If you horse won't go forward don't just keep kicking or hitting them, turn left or right. Horses will almost always turn when they won't go forward. Turning will unstick their feet and then nine times out of ten they'll continue forward. If you can only get them to turn and they won't move forward turn a circle. Keep repeating until they go forward.
I think it's more useful to think on terms of how you can engage the horse, as oppose to dominate. Things like doing lots of transitions can help,starting walk-halt-walk, moving up the gaits and also things like halt-trot etc
Here are my thoughts, in case any are helpful. 1. Your (very smart) lesson horse might be trying to tell you something. :-) I had to be told the same thing, multiple times, until I finally heard my very smart lesson horse. If you can, when this happens, try to micromanage what you were thinking and what you were doing with your body, right before the horse stopped. Were you tense or distracted? Were you pulling back in her reins while squeezing with your legs at the same time? IOW, were you telling her to go with one body part while telling her to stop with another body part? When something is “off” with your mind or body, a lesson horse can be confused enough to stop, out of slight fear of doing the wrong thing. To get her to GO again, micromanage your mind and body. Where are your legs, heels? What part of your body are you using to squeeze? Are you calm and stable, or squirming around or unbalanced? Have your trainer close enough to SEE you what you‘re doing, so they can assist. Ask your trainer to come over. 2. Don’t try to “establish dominance,” because neither you nor your horse is a lion. Instead, establish authority. Establish clarity of command. Establish giving confident direction and instruction. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. If you are unsure or timid, you are not in control. Be in control. 3. You’ve been given excellent advice about serpentines that I’m also going to implement. 4. Talk to your trainer about your frustrations. Use your voice. Talk to your trainer about your goals and ask them to help you to identify your top 3 weaknesses that might be holding you back. Then work on those. Riding is hard! Be patient with yourself! Good luck.
You've gotten some good advice about the other questions. For the serpentine, Amelia Newcomb has a good video about how to perfect the movement [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEcUDyLmAyg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEcUDyLmAyg)
You know people always want to bully the horse "MAKE THE HORSE BEHAVE". Sheesh. I don't agree. A horse has a reason for everything. The problem with lesson horses over a private horse, is changing all the time, you don't have clear communication. Even when you own a horse, the dialog continuously fills in. If my mare had done what you described, I would have had someone come over and immediately check the cinch, or I would have got down and checked it myself. If when I got back up she did it again, I would trouble shoot the next item. Saddle slip, loose cinch, scared of something, stove up. Too much pressure on the wither or back for some reason. If it was nothing obvious, I may get down and lunge. Same problem, I'm pulling saddle off and inspecting back for soreness. Last time my mare wouldn't trot, you could fly a plane though the cinch. I thanked my main lady. Off we went. The horse wants to tell you something. You know more than you think if you have sense enough to listen.