Help

[Cem]

Ok so there's this mare I ride quite a lot called Penny and she's a really sweet horse, but she is always leaning on the right rein! It's really hard work to try and balance her out and usually takes most of the time I have on her to get her to soften up and lower her head. Anyone got any suggestions other than going in lots of increasing/decreasing circles?

[bapuppydog]

is she by any chance a warmblood? we used to have this warmblood named Honey that was really heavy on the inside rein and well it sounds a lot like Penny. With Honey, we would encourage her to go forward (which was more than anything a result of her being lazy). Once you've ruled out physical pain that could be causing an off balence (or perhaps a farrier issue, such as uneven weight distribution), try getting her to work on her hindquarters. This can be acheived a number of ways, but the main goal is to get her off of her front end and pushing moreso with her back end. Once this happens, it should be loads easier to get her to balence herself, or to balence her out youself. With Honey, we also found that by simply lifting the rein that she was leaning on, it would cause her head to tilt up slightly and she would rearrange herself until the pressure was relieved, which usually got her to quit putting her weight in my hands. Another trick to get her to soften her head and lower it, which i often do with horses that dont hold a frame naturally, is to play with the bit a bit. Seesaw, pulse, or try bringing your hand out to the side instead of straight back. This should be introduced gently, since some horses may not take to it right away. These are really all the suggestions I have, besides doing a transition grid, which could be difficult if its just one rein she is leaning on. Simply pick places in the arena to carry on transitions, such as trot at A, walk at C, Canter at B, Halt at V...ect. Sort of like a dressage test, but design it so that she had no choice but to use her hindquarters, thus lifting the weight from your hands. She might, however, need to carry her neck higher so she can balence herself for her transitions, which wouldnt give you a low headset, but it will stop her from pulling against you and causing you unwanted strain. If she continues to pull against you, especially only on the right rein, then try doing pole work. Try placing 4-5 poles two strides apart and angleing them slightly so that the line that one would ride to them is a zig zag. The wanted rhythm with this is land one stride turn one stride pole land one stride, etc...this encourages the horse to use their hindquarters for steering and balence and to use their chest muscles (and lift their neck off your hands) to their advantage. If any of this is unclear, i'd be happy to clarify. Hope this helps!

audrey

[Cem]

Thanks, it does all make sense, I will give some of it a try next time I ride her.