Don’t try and hold the head in position. Ask get, give. Ask again, get, give. Ask again get give. This is training as they learn from the give. You will find that when you ask and give that they won’t lose it
Hi MVP,Thanks for the information. In the past,I’ve received some bad advice on side reins and I regret using them as I was told to crank them up toward the withers eventually (too tight in my opinion). She works well with the bit. I like the idea of riding her at the walk. One trainer has suggested that I just lunge and do in-hand work with her. I’m having difficulty with the in-hand part with her as she wants to rush forward. I still have a couple techniques to try yet and hope they work. Please send me mental help (prayers) on this. Thanks again!
Hi Senden Horse, Thanks for the response. It’s my understanding that long and low is basically used for training and muscle development, then you gradually bring the horse up when it can sustain its gait quality. I’ll start this soon. I usually have light contact when she’s doing this and she seems to like it. My previous trainer wanted me to crank down on her neck while riding to put her into a frame. I don’t think the horse nor I were happy with this. Thanks so much!
Long and low was a real trend when I first started riding dressage so I experimented with it a lot. The idea is to put the horse in a position where lifting the back comes naturally, and happens in a relaxed fashion.
It definately works so long as hinds are engaged. It is very easy for a horse to fall onto the forehand in this method, or to be lazy with the hinds. I find I saw the most improvement lunging over poles. Also make sure to incorporate straight lines into your lunging.
My horse improved quickly with this method, he was the hollowest horse ever and very tense/tight through the back, now he engages his back more naturally we don’t use it so much as I want to encourage a more uphill outline. So you will need to assess your horse’s weaknesses to see if it will help them. (Ie a more relaxed but downhill type may just fall onto the forehand)
