[QUOTE=Scribbler;8592484]
Well, first ask the trainer who saw the video what he recommends, ask him for details on specific exercises. And ask him for recommendations of trainers in your area, who could at least get you started. IME, these things are best learnt in person; we often get a slightly wrong idea from books or even videos.
In general, I would suggest starting lateral work in hand. How much schooling has she had so far? If she has been off work for ten years, you probably want to just assume you start from scratch.
First you will need to teach her to turn off the forehand, that is shift her haunches away from light pressure. Then you can proceed on to teaching shoulder-in from the ground, on a circle and then on the straight. You want to aim for her to be stepping under her body and crossing her hind legs, which will build up belly muscle. You can also proceed to do this at trot, but it is quickly tiring for the human! You can do this with a snaffle, a halter, or a longing cavesson.
You can also work the horse in a “stretchy walk” by teaching her to lower her head to the snaffle and seek contact. This will develop the neck muscles (there is another current thread on here with a nice photo of a horse in stretchy trot). Again, you could do this in-hand at the trot as well, depending on your own fitness level.
Once you have control of the hindquarters in-hand, you can start longing on a small circle, and ask the horse to shift the hindquarters out, essentially ask for a bit of shoulder in or at least shoulder-fore on the longe line. Then you can gradually let the longe circle expand. Use a cavesson on the longe, with the line clipped to the top of the nose. That way, little tugs on the line will tilt the horse’s head to the inside.
It is very common, totally normal, for an unschooled horse to counter bend the neck to the outside of a circle. You will see them running that way at liberty all the time.
I am not a gadgets person, so I am not recommending sidereins or drawreins; I think you can get all the results you want from in-hand work.
I’ve seen a program of in-hand lateral work and lateral poll flexions make a lot of difference in a horse’s musculature in the course of even a month, maybe 20 minutes or half an hour a day of focused in-hand work at the walk. Although it is slow work, it is really asking them to use themselves correctly and is effort.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the detailed response; it really helped. After my daughter provided some initial training when she was young, we sent her off for 5 months of professional training. I just watched an in-hand video by the trainer who provided the evaluation. I had also asked him about a local trainer and didn’t receive a response, so I’m thinking he doesn’t know anyone in the area. I’m glad to hear that it takes so little time. I guess I’m off to buy a cavesson. I’ll probably also call a local trainer (there aren’t many in my area) and ask for a lunging lesson. I hope we have the same approach.
