I need a strong bit

[pardenx3]

Quote:
I second that one. Go back to some basic groundwork, and ride in some enclosed area until you gain some control.

 

[CountryMom]

I see a lot of horses with this problem. That and never being taught to break or bend at the pole. I do a lot of work in my 100 X 100 round pen to get a bend and a stop on a horse....speciall the young ones. I love to play the hurry up and wait game as I call it. Start with your basic snaffle like you have....then let the horse begin to move out. Once you have a nice walk going ask for the stop with your seat and legs forward a bit. Make sure you say the word "WHOA" nice and loud. Mind you I ride western here. If the horse does not respond then my hands come into play. I don't stop with release just at the stop though, but immediately ask for a back. One or two steps. What that teaches the horse to do is start to think of stopping from behind as they need to get off the front to go backward. Continue this and alternate with doing small compact circles each direction and flexing that head side to side. Once you get the flexing side to side, the horse will learn to give to the bit by bending nose under and in. Thus it translate to the horse to bed and give the nose in the direction of the pressure.....and I add outside leg to the rib cage to help that along. When you then ask for the stop you begin to see the horse want to bend at the pole and tuck that nose under to give to the pressure. Continue these exercises at the walk until you and the horse have it down. Then go to the trot and repeat and repeat and repeat.....transision down to the walk and repeat and repeat....transition back to the trot and repeat and repeat....did I mention repeat? Did I say lope or canter....not yet. Now, once you have that down at both walk and trot I begin at the lope. I NEVER try to stop the horse the minute he gets into that lope. In fact, I try to lope larger circles over and over until that horse is getting pretty tired of loping. Why stop a horse that has a lot of energy? You are only fighting it and then that is when you start to hang on a horse's mouth trying to hold them back. Lope that horse until it starts to give you a bit of a sign of being tired. Then apply the seat, move the legs forward, use your words and say "WHOA" and then add in the rein. Once stopped ask for a couple steps back. You maybe surprised to find your horse will be MORE than happy to stop. Conitnue on a few more laps and start that hurry up and wait game at the lope. Transition down to the trot and walk and vary it up and down from gait to gait.

If you are unable to control an energetic horse at the beginning and need some of that taken off, go to the lunge line. Some well trained horses do not always need to be lunged to begin their work. Many of the ones I have riden do just fine with training if you just get on and lope the energy off. Ground work and voice commands on a young one helps with transitioning that command under saddle. So if that was missed in the beginning (which is the reason I see a lot that need correction in stopping) then go back and round pen or lunge that horse until you have all three gaits down with voice commands and most importantly WHOA by voice command. Then go for the hurry up and wait game under saddle.

A lot of riders also have issues sitting a lope and will slap their backsides in the saddle. This is a hard one to correct with a horse that is overly sensitive. My suggestion is to get into a small pen and lope and learn how to sit that lope in a circle. Then maybe your weight won't be causing that horse some pain or fright from all the backside bouncing if you know what I mean. If you still have issues, then maybe see a trainer or riding instructor that can teach you how to sit it and how to help your horse. They may even have a smoother horse....or slower paced horse that you can practice on. Every horse is different and not all are blessed by being the smoothest things in the world. God knows I have riden a fair share...and one of the roughest was a Peruvian Paso of all things....yes that gaited horse that everyone claims is so smooth. Ha! LIke i said, every horse is different.

Another issue that comes up a lot with people learning to lope is too long a stirrup and too much gripping with their legs and seat. That will throw very mixed messages to your horse. You goal is to be one with the horse and be relaxed in the motion and never to grip or contridict their motion. Relax your lower back, BREATH....never hold your breath and work on staying with the horse instead of gripping or bouncing. I have had kids and adults come to me after their so called dead broke horse ran off with them. Get them riding and find they are death gripping their horse and completely out of balance and sending messages to their horse to go like....well fill that in. Most run offs I have found are rider error. Most of those horses are good ones that just get spooked or are in pain by the way their riders are sitting.

Oh I could go on....

Anyhow, lots of great advice and I hope mine wasn't too confusing.

edited for clarity:

When I get a horse to stop....even if it is first at a walk.....give them about 20 to 30 seconds to sit there......giving them a time to wait. When you get working at the lope you may want to wait a bit longer. Let them catch their breath. Horses are lazy by nature and rest time will help this lesson sink in more.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

A lot of riders also have issues sitting a lope and will slap their backsides in the saddle. This is a hard one to correct with a horse that is overly sensitive. My suggestion is to get into a small pen and lope and learn how to sit that lope in a circle. Then maybe your weight won't be causing that horse some pain or fright from all the backside bouncing if you know what I mean. If you still have issues, then maybe see a trainer or riding instructor that can teach you how to sit it and how to help your horse.

One of the very best ways to teach yourself to sit a lope is with the help of a person on the ground and the use of a well-trained school horse. Put a lunge line on the horse and take the stirrups off the saddle. Lope in large gentle circles. Imagine yourself as being made of chocolate that is softening in the sun. Then allow yourself to melt over your horse, softening and relaxing the small of your back, your hips and your seat, until you and the horse are one unit. It takes practice to relax and release the stiffness and tension in your body, but it is worth the effort.


Rusty​

 

[pardenx3]

Quote:
One of the very best ways to teach yourself to sit a lope is with the help of a person on the ground and the use of a well-trained school horse. Put a lunge line on the horse and take the stirrups off the saddle. Lope in large gentle circles. Imagine yourself as being made of chocolate that is softening in the sun. Then allow yourself to melt over your horse, softening and relaxing the small of your back, your hips and your seat, until you and the horse are one unit. It takes practice to relax and release the stiffness and tension in your body, but it is worth the effort.


Rusty

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!! I graduated from Merideth Manor in West Virginia, and it took me almost eight months to get it right.

 

[CountryMom]

Quote:
One of the very best ways to teach yourself to sit a lope is with the help of a person on the ground and the use of a well-trained school horse. Put a lunge line on the horse and take the stirrups off the saddle. Lope in large gentle circles. Imagine yourself as being made of chocolate that is softening in the sun. Then allow yourself to melt over your horse, softening and relaxing the small of your back, your hips and your seat, until you and the horse are one unit. It takes practice to relax and release the stiffness and tension in your body, but it is worth the effort.


Rusty

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!! I graduated from Merideth Manor in West Virginia, and it took me almost eight months to get it right.

I have to agree, time in the saddle is really the best way to "get it" while loping. Rusty's training is a very popular method and one I have used also, but I still don't see the ability in those students until they have loped many miles. If you ever get a chance to see a cutting go check out the practice or warm up pen. You will see people of all stages of their education in loping. Some are way better than others. The ones that are have been there done that for many many many many hours on many many many different horses. Once you have done so you can lope pretty much anything and make it look easy. Rusty's training method is a great start, but don't think you have it mastered until you put some hours in the saddle at a lope.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

but don't think you have it mastered until you put some hours in the saddle at a lope.

Hours? H-ll, it took me years!

 

[WriterofWords]

Training in an enclosed area with you and your horse together until you work as a team and no galloping full out until you are the one in control. That is an accident waiting to happen.

 

[CountryMom]

Quote:
Hours? H-ll, it took me years!

And I still hate a rough horse.

We had a guy keeping track of my oldest who was warming up horses at a 3 day show one day. He figured distance of the circle she traveled and how many hours she spent each day. (edited to say he tracked only hours she spent loping...not walking or trotting) Came up to something like 85 miles that weekend. He told me he was keeping track from the beginning and we were all curious. By the end of the weekend I think many of us were amazed. And what did she do when she got home each night? Go work her young ones in our arena. LOL That was one daughter one weekend. This weekend both my daughters and I will be putting on mileage. (and as always my old bones will be dying by Monday!)

Hard for a horse to run off with you when all you do is go in circles.

 

[KinderKorner]

When I got my first horse he had been left out in a pasture of a 7 year old girl. And he was as stubborn and denfensive as heck. He had a huge bit, and it took every ounce of my weight to get him stopped. I rode him like that for years. Of course I tried different things. He would ride with hackmore. (sometimes)

He was a good boy, but he was so braced all the time. I rode and loved him anyway. Just fighting through it.

Well after years and years, and hours and hours of training, and hundreds spent on professional training, he now rides in a super light bit.

I tell him whoa, and sit back, take pressure off with my legs and he will stop within 4 steps. No bit contact.

But being an older horse when I got him, and stubborn and set in his ways. Everytime I ride him I still have to do vertical and laterial exercises to make him remain supple.

He didn't get ridden much this winter. So he needs a refresher. I rode him last week several days. And it only took a little bit of circles and work to get him pretty light again.

But I feel your pain. To this day if I am cantering or galloping I still have some trouble getting him to stop. It's going to take a lot more time and patient to get it down perfect. But he has come a very very long way.

The just of the training is. Teach latieral flexion.

Then ride out at a walk. Sit back, say whoa. Take legs off. If they don't stop within 4 steps, take one rein and pull to laterial, applying leg pressure and make them do a few tight quick circles then ride out again. Keep repeating. It does take a while for them to understand. But my Toby hates extra work. And he knows if he doesn't stop when I ask him gently, he will be doing extra work by doing tight circles.

It took a lot more training and groundwork, but that is a main point. It's hard to understand. Heck. Maybe I'll have to upload a video sometime of how I work him. It might be helpful to others.

 

[Akane]

Don't back a horse every single time you stop. I've had horses trained that way and they are a pain the rear. Every time you stop them at the end of a pattern or exercise they fly backward and tuck their head breaking all contact with the bit. I spent months using my seat and legs to slam a gelding forward in to the bit after every stop because he was so darn set on backing. I've had plenty of horses I had to retrain because they would not settle after a stop. Their rider/trainer had always pushed them right in to the next move as a trick to engage the hindquarters so when you ask for a stop the horses just go hyper looking for the next signal or escape. They won't be still but bounce backward and take half steps various directions trying to figure out what you are going to ask them to do. When I stop a horse I want it stopped. Not back, not spin, not jump forward again... just stop. Doing those things occasionally is a good idea but all the time is a very bad idea. Alternate it. Do a series of stops with backs or turns out of them and then a series of calm stops that you just sit for a count of 5 and then walk out of. Always vary things because whatever you do the most is the habit the horse is going to learn and it may be a bad habit eventually.