I am fortunate to be riding a young 7 year old TB who has been out of work for about a year. He is sweet, smart and happy with life. I am riding him two to three days per week, 1/2 hour session. Nice slow walks, nice long trots. He is definitely stiff on the right side. He struggles to bend and give on the right. Our rides for now are including, long straight, long gentle curves, very basics staying straight or slightly bending around the leg. I asked him for a leg yield at the trot and he knows this. Very responsive when his hind end or forehand get out of line. Yesterday, I started transitions in the trot, trot on, trot slower, using half halts to regulate cadence. So far,so good. I am not a trainer, just a happy rider excited to get this horse in shape. What exercises under saddle will help with that tight, stiff right side?
Think more about stretching the left side - poll, neck, shoulder, and right behind the elbow. I do a lot of counter bending to the right tracking left on a small circle at the walk. A shoulder in on the rail with increasing and decreasing angle and bend. Changing bend and lateral directly often but deliberately.
I do most of this at the walk.
I agree with counterbending. That’s always my go to for stiff horses. I like counter shoulder ins and counterbending on progressively smaller and smaller circles as the horse warms up. I do a lot at the walk with changing the bend, riding figures, etc. Basically I warm the horse up laterally at the walk and then save the trot for warming up the horse longitudinally, if that makes sense.
This can also be from weakness in the right hind - he can’t bend properly if he can’t step under to support with the right hind. You might try some turn on the forehand from the ground to get him activating his RH and stepping under. When asking to bend while riding, make sure to keep the inside hind activated and don’t throw away the outside rein.
I just went through this (well, still going through it, but big improvement) with my 4 year old mare. She did not want to turn right, and then she would start bobbing her head almost like she was lame. I found that it was essential to keep her going quite forward, with a steady tempo and outside rein contact. She was then able to offer some flexion and relax over the topline and yield her ribs on the inside.
Okay, I can see the curve in his neck muscles clearly on the right side. I hadn’t thought to keep in mind stretching the left side. There is some confirmation concern with him as well. There is a noticeable dip above his tail, probably a hands width up his croup. The owner told me briefly what it was but I don’t think I understood. She said, think of him as being heavily right handed in a human. He does have chiro treatment for this. When we start riding, there is a noticeable gimp in the hind end. It works out after about 10 minutes of steady light trot. He has not been ridden steadily in a year. When I focus on straight lines, curve, as in 1/2 20 meter circle, he does get straight and that’s all I really want for now. He probably has to build up strength and flexibility in his back. He’s a TB with a relatively short back, nice wide springy barrel, nice wide healthy hooves. He is not shod.
Circles are your friend but make certain you work both sides of the horse. As said above, stiffness on one side can be symptomatic of problems on the other. Start large and only decrease circles gradually: 20 metres are much easier for the horse than 15 etc. Spiralling in and out is very beneficial. Ride the horse underneath you, work him but also give him breaks on a long rein to relax before you pick up the work again. Making him bored and tired is not beneficial. If you can, keep his brain engaged - because he is a TB.
