Hi there,
I recently rode with a gold medalist dressage rider/trainer. My horse was a bit naughty and got angry he was in the indoor alone and his friends left, so he was calling and fighting me asking for contact and his attention. He’s powerful, strong, and has a huge neck. He can run around with that neck and head up even with me really trying to push him forward and asking for contact. He often exhausts me in 20 minutes when hes like that, it’s like wrestling an alligator… I’ve got tendon issues in my hands/elbows so it’s really frustrating I struggle with half halts and grip strength. The trainer talked to me about that this is an issue with submission. She did give me things to work on & tools but curious if others have gone through this and have their own tips. How can I improve this?
Transitions and circles come to my mind. A huge number of transitions between and within gaits, and circles, with transitions on them, to bring his concentration in to you. Require immediate response, no shuffling along for a few extra steps.
I’ll be interested to read other peoples’ suggestions. I’m sure we’ve all had a similar problem at some point.
I am going to guess by your screen name that your horse is a halfinger? That would explain the neck, strength, and pulling. 
I’ve trained a few Fjords, and they have similar issues. It is the breed. They are bred for pulling and have huge neck and shoulders for that purpose. Teaching them to carry more weight behind can be a challenge, as I’m sure you know. What tools did the trainer give you? When I run into a horse like you are describing, I do lots and lots of circles. The smaller he can manage, the better. It’s harder for them to blow through your rein aids if they are focused on bend and balance. It may be harder for you to maintain the forward, but you must. Hopefully, someone with more experience with Haffys will chime in soon. Good luck.
Well said I need to hold him to higher standards not say can we turn right, WE ARE TURNING right. He could go gran prix, stop treating him like he’s marginal and ride him like hes a gran prix horse! She said he is unlimited in what he can do, he is capable. Due to my handicap with my arms and hands said I need to train with some extra equipment (german martingale/draw reins) to help me out with getting the right feeling with less of a struggle on my end. He knows what to do, he knows what contact is, he’s been a riding horse for 8 yrs now. I was very upset at the thought of the extra “equipment” I am afraid of aids like that but now but I am understanding there are times and places for them and it is a tool. They helped me in clinic by introducing the equipment to us during the clinic and don’t you know about 10 minutes into the ride he softened, chewing, relaxing his jaw, and stopped calling/craning to look for other horses. He was there and listening and responding to me, my aids were light and he was responsive. Also recommended working within the gaits transition, leg yield into canter, our movement under saddle is either stretching or collection, no shuffling along. I’m jogging my brain for the other features and tips. Thank you for responding, I really appreciate it!!!
Thank you and you are spot on!!!
I’m thinking that the real issue is that he became so concerned when the other horses left the indoor that he stopped listening to you. That seems to me like it’s a bigger issue (or more foundational issue) than the weakness in your wrists and arms. My sense is that, even if you were quite strong, you still couldn’t out-wrestle him, and putting draw reins on him may just cause him to curl back behind the bit. And he might still be able to out-wrestle you.
Have you tried addressing this with groundwork? Getting him to focus on you and work with you? I mean I know that sounds kind of woo-woo, but if the horse doesn’t trust you to keep him safe once his buddies leave, this could always be an issue.
Love a lot of the suggestions already made but along with transitions go sideways with the inside flexion, do transitions in shoulder fore and shoulder in. Use some leg and seat aids to help relieve you arms etc. Knee timing is great to get them to lift the shoulder etc. Find some exercises that keep his brain busy when he’s calling for the others
I am not knowledgeable with ground work. I can talk with my trainer about it and see what we can do! I do think that would be helpful. The issue is I get exhausted just asking/trying to keep him in contact bc he is so strong. The draw reins were not tight, his neck is very short and I don’t think he could curl under without cutting his wind pipe lol, he likes to go up and look around. I get tired and frustrated trying to counter that and getting him to listen, by using all my aides, legs, seat, arms etc.
It shouldn’t be exhausting having a horse in the contact. Is he leaning on the bit? Pulling? Are you pulling or holding?
How can you improve what? Attention, focus and obedience??? It all starts on the ground.
How does this horse lead? Can you turn into his shoulder and have the horse step away from you? Does the horse ground tie? Can you lead on a loose lead and have the horse stop when you stop?..I could go on.
When a rider is out of control in the saddle, they are likely out of control on the ground. I would start there.
You have your answer. I would start with a trainer who can help you…this is training the rider, not the horse.
- this is not an approach that I would take
- is the issue all the time? Or just when he gets frazzled? I’m a little confused there. I’m also not sure what level you are riding at. Shoulder in, haunches in, and renvers are GREAT exercises to get a horse soft and through, but I have no idea if he has schooled that.
I would not “push him forward” in these moments (unless he was doing something truly unpleasant such as rear or buck where forward IS the answer). My approach with these horses is to bring the anxiety down. I would walk and do lots of circles utilizing inside leg and a wide opening (inside) rein. Give on the outside rein and ask Dobbin to yield to inside rein. Not like “one rein stop” but along that same vein; flex through the neck, which brings the head down on about a 10m circle. Straighten for a few strides and circle again. Left right, half circle, serpentine, I don’t care. Just give and soften to my aids. By maintaining an active walk you are allowing an outlet for the energy. No prancing. A proper four-beat walk and listen to my aids. This also gives you the advantage to save energy. No pulling or fighting him.
Once the anxiety is down a notch then move to trot. Is he still soft and supple? Can you move him left? Move him right? Is he listening? Can he move forward and back within the gaits? Check? Lets canter. Still there? No? Maybe back to trot, maybe a few transitions. It sounds like a back-to-basics with this guy.
Not gadgets. Not Grand Prix (but maybe the clinician wants you to come back because they said he was a Grand Prix horse 
)
This is a horse that is out of control and who does not acknowledge the rider. There is no “gadget” that can control a horse’s mind. I suggest on working with a trainer that can help you gain this horse’s brain and attention.
You might be able to momentarily physically control a horse with gadgets, but this is an illusion.
You are going to get a lot of flak from people for draw reins and running martingales. While they can be used very poorly they are also just tools and aids and can also be used to help. If you have a handicap, you are getting exhausted, and you are spending 20 mins being unsuccessful, and safe and correct use of these tools helped your horse relax and soften then that was a successful session.
Ideally you will wean off them over time as your horse learns the correct reaction and his submission improves. I agree that exercises like lots of changes of bend (small circles, small serpentines) and lots of changes of gait (between and within gaits) are good ways to get the horse to focus on you and give.
With distractable types, especially when they get heavy on the forehand, I like to do “unplanned rides”. Just pick up a nice easy trot and then do the most random things every few steps (try to do it when no one else is in the ring, or there’s a lot of space to share).
The idea is to be kind, but keep him on his toes so that he’s so occupied thinking about what’s next that he’s not worried about his friends, and I find it also helps them rock back on their haunches because they don’t know if you’re turning left or right or when and for how long. If you ride in a ring with jumps, weaving in and around the standards can be helpful. Try to be unpredictable and not follow your usual “paths” in the ring.
Often we follow the same tracks in the ring every time we ride and the horses just anticipate and zone us out even more.
“Lateral suppleness fixes longitudinal disobedience” (and vice versa) is what one of my trainers says. If he’s taken the neck away from you and is then running forward or completely balky, you fix the issue with something lateral. It can be as small as asking to see the corner of one eye and then straight again or it could be a 5 meter circle or TOF with a bent neck.
With my older horse who could get stuck in the neck going straight, and then I’d complain about him pulling or not listening to a half halt…it was always fixed with a bending line or lateral work.
Make sure you aren’t always bending with just the reins but once you can move the nose laterally, are creating the bending line with your legs. That’s what will eventually fix the throughness and missing half halt on straight lines.
Also, I had a big name judge/clinician suggest one draw rein to fix a bending issue in the right canter pirouette and it did make sense. I didn’t have draw reins and ended up gradually fixing it although it probably took a lot longer.
My young horse uses a bendy neck for evil - I lose control of the shoulder and he will drag me to the the arena entrance with his nose pointed in the opposite direction. So really horses just choose the easiest method of evasion.
So bend the neck in the direction towards where he is dragging you.
It sounds to me like this horse has your number about your physical challenges. (Let’s face it, all our horses have our numbers, some are more generous about how they use that information than others…)
Under the circumstances, I dont think the trainer’s suggestion of draw reins, judiciously used and not becoming a permanent crutch, is a bad thing.
Yes to groundwork and all that, but at some time you’ve realistically got to be able to get on this horse and ride it under control so no-one gets hurt.
Circles, transitions til you are sick of them, teaching this horse he can break up his body and movement into disparate parts (so lots of lateral work turns on forehand, haunches, steep leg yields) so he doesn’t just forge through you.
Its a lot of work. So if you are physically challenged, an artificial aid that helps you make your point more quickly and more effectively seems like an OK idea.
There are 3 aspects to getting a horse going nicely
You need to manage the energy level (too hot, too sluggish)
You need to manage the mind, the emotions (herd bound or buddy sour, in this case, or spooky or angry or whatever).
Only when you have energy and emotions where you need them, can you start schooling how the horse works.
A hot horse is not made calmer by gadgets, nor is an anxious or angry horse made happier by a stronger bit. A very powerful rider can make such a horse “behave” for the length of a ride, but isn’t changing how the horse feels.
You have a buddy sour horse. It’s anxiety, not “being naughty.” And yes, you solve this on the ground first before you try to ride through it. You can’t school a horse having an anxiety meltdown.
You need a groundwork trainer like Warwick Schiller videos or any local groundwork person who is most likely from a Western background. Or a colt starter. Very little cross over with English sport horse coaches unfortunately.
You will learn an enormous amount. And you will learn how to communicate so that your strength is not such a big issue.
I’m not going to pretend I can give better advice than someone who has their gold.
But, something I thought when I read your post is that this horse sounds waaaaay to heavy in the bridle/contact. Like, half halts shouldn’t be dependent on hand strength… ever. Does he always tax your grip strength when you ride? Or was this an unusual event because he was being a bit of a turd and you were desperately trying to maintain control?
Not the “correct” answer, but if you have hand limitations, you may just need to school him in a bit with leverage if you aren’t doing so already. Personally I would think that would be more effective then draw reins.
Transitions, transitions, transitions. If you’ve sort of lost control, try counted walk, which is a walk/halt transition every stride.
You need to put this horse on your seat. Transitions, transitions, transitions. Transitions are not just between and withint gaits, but also between lateral movements and on circles and serpentine lines and within leg yields and half passes and varying the angle in a lateral movement. Don’t stay in any one thing for more than a few strides. Your horse must learn to wait.
