horse doesnt like to bend through his left side

[EqTrainer]

@Karoline

And by the way, I bought yesterday the “Basic Training of the Young Horse” by Reiner Klimke for a friend of mine who is a first time horse mom -baby connemara- and if you have it please check page 70 the section entitled “riding curved lines” and “turns and riding through corners”.

Besides everything else he writes about how to ride a circle and create bent, which is pretty much what you said Tonja , he says: " …the outside shoulder (of the rider) is taken forward a little in order to stay parallel with the horse’s shoulders. The rider should be in a similar position to that when riding a bicycle, using the same actions and distribution of his body."

[I]That paragraph says two different things entirely. Hence my apprehension of the written word, describing the act of riding.

[/I]First he says “taken forward a little in order to stay parallel with the horses shoulders”. Ok, let’s look at that. Where you sit on a horse is pretty darn far back from their shoulders. At least a foot. So you are to advance your shoulder a foot to keep it lined up with the horses shoulder?!!! But no, the words were “a little”. Well, a little gets you nowhere even CLOSE to staying parallel with the horses shoulders. So what does he really mean here? The next sentence says you should be in a similar position to that when riding a bicycle" - that would mean your outside hand would go waaaayyyy forward to turn, and your inside rein would come wayyyyyy back?!! Again, not likely.

Ok… so now one of you find a pic of RK steering a baby horse around like a bicycle! I bet you cannot, because I bet he didn’t do it…

people SAY one thing and DO another all the time. Natural riders don’t even KNOW what they are doing up there, let alone be able to explain and describe it in terms other people can understand. I bet WAZ just finally noticed one day he did not do that, so stopped teaching what he did not do <LOL>

[lstevenson]

@EqTrainer

First he says “taken forward a little in order to stay parallel with the horses shoulders”. Ok, let’s look at that. Where you sit on a horse is pretty darn far back from their shoulders. At least a foot. So you are to advance your shoulder a foot to keep it lined up with the horses shoulder?!!!

Umm… I think you are misunderstanding the idea of parallel with the shoulders. It doesn’t mean “in line with”, it means if you draw a line through the horses shoulders, and you draw a line through the riders shoulders, those two lines should be parallel. Not neccessarily next to each other, but parallel.

Your horses shoulders only turn a little. So your shoulders only need to turn a little.

[Karoline]

I will post after I come back from the barn

The paragraph in its entirety, perhaps it will be clearer to you. Tonja, LStevenson have already tried to explain the matter of degree, but it may help you to have the entire Klimke set of instruction. Unless you have the book, can read p.70 and save me from typing.

[EqTrainer]

Nope, it’s ok… I got it… or I don’t… just rode two horses and at no time did my outside shoulder come forward to bend them. I’m gonna stick w/WAZ. Thanks anyway!

[Karoline]

You cannot go wrong with WAZ

I love WAZ instruction, book and tapes. Its very clear and peaceful. Enjoy your ride.

[cshorse]

No you have it backwards, most horses are naturally hollow right and stiff left, that is wont take as much feel on the right rein and they bend easier to the right so to speak and are stiffer left. That is in general. This is also my experience riding many different horses over many years. This is not always the case however but in general. It is even mentioned in Podhajski’s Complete training of horse and rider but anyone who has ridden lots of young horses would know this is the case. It is always hollow right and like hardly ever hollow left. Trouble with the left bend is a common problem. Don’t think your horse has some huge problem or you need to run out and spend five hundred dollars on acupuncture and chiropractics. I would do that as a last resort after trying to work it out with training.