Horse evasions to going forward

If there was one area that I would like people to work on understanding it would be the connection of the idea of Being Forward + Back + Hindquarter Energy. This is just part of a series, so please see the Dressage Foundations: Being Foward category link for all entries.

A Working Forward, covers ground. It eats up the dirt. It has impulsion forward and you feel that your horse could go on forever. This is not brought about with nagging leg aids, but flows freely like a mountain stream bursting over the rocks. There is no stumbling, no tripping. With each stride you feel your own butt being lifted into the heavens and then rolled back down as if you were on a wave at the beach.

While riders all too often block this forward movement by using too much hand, horses quickly learn ways to evade getting out of this hard work. Here are three of the most common methods a horse will use:

Behind the Bit – His nose will be behind the vertical. The weight in your hands holding the reins will be extremely light (no contact). Uneducated rail watchers will think your horse’s headset is pretty because it is tucked.

You will feel the horse sometimes get very heavy in the front (on the forehand)  and may fear your horse is about to trip or fall. If the horse goes behind and then down, your upper body often gets pulled forward by your horses’ action.

The horse trained to be Hunter Under Saddle or Western Pleasure is often found to be Behind the Bit and all too often On the Forehand. The smart lesson horse who has learned how to ignore his rider, uses this tactic. And people who use, incorrectly, man-made equipment (i.e. side reins, lunging chambons, tie downs, and draw reins) encourage this type of behavior through their overuse and ignorance of said equipment.

Solution - I have a more detailed post giving information on how to retrain the horse who goes behind the bit.

In brief, what is helpful is switching to a loose ring snaffle, driving the horse forward for more impulsion, encouraging forward movement and if necessary, using a whip with great care and applied only during the moment the horse goes behind, helps correct. None of this will work though if you are holding back in the hand.

Above the Bit – the horse’s evasion to avoid working his hindquarters AND HIS BACK. The horses nose is up and forward – and his back is U-shaped (called hollow). This builds up the muscles under the neck and they often bulge out to be Ewe-shaped.

Watch an untrained Arabian prance about in the field and you have a horse that is not using his back as much as he could.

These are horses that give the feeling they are pulling and you may find yourself jerking your hand downward (using too much wrist action) to “correct.”

They may be overly alert and reactionary; your horse may feel like he is rushing and flying higher then a kite. You may also find this horse trips a lot; he doesn’t really know where he is going.

If the back is hollow – the first thing to check is back pain – and saddle fit. It is imperative that you seek expert advice and not listen to the yokels at the rail on what to do.

This evasion is most used by horses who are younger in their training development and haven’t yet learned how to use his back and release his jaw. I have also found it to be a consistent problem with backyard Arabians, who need to be shaped into a rider-carrying frame that is more athletic.

Solution – Be sure to rule out dental issues, back pain and poor saddle fit.

Teaching the horse to round the back and go forward. My technique is to do this using clicker training on the ground first, and then transmit to saddle. Cavalettis, both on the lunge and under saddle, will also help this horse focus.

Easier methods can be asking the horse to climb small hills and using half halts, seeking better and smoother transitions. There are also back lifting exercises, such as this one that Baba Yaga posted about here. Start slow though as this too is very hard work – it’s the equivalent of us doing situps.

The Horse is not Straight – an evasion to favor the stronger side. You must use the arena to discover if  your horse tracks up correctly. Tracking up simply means that the back hoof enters the footfall left by the front hoof. On a straight line, there should be two sets of footprint trails, one for each side of the horses’ body.

On a bend, these horses will often push their shoulder on the rail outwards (bulging). A good groundsperson can tell you if this is happening. The rider may be encouraging this by using too much inside hand.

Crooked horses have a lopsided feel. You can get one canter lead but not the other. He may fight, buck, rear, balk when going one direction but not the other. This uneveness may be due to training, but if you are gaining severe reactions it is most likely due to pain.

Solution – Remember, to work both sides equally. Working the weaker side more doesn’t self-correct this problem. Be sure to rule out physical pain and use appropriate interventions of medication (vet proscribed), supplements or physical therapy.

A horse generally mimics his rider, so it’s incredibly important that you make sure your own lopsidedness is not making this worse; and that you are not pulling/pushing your horse around with hands or legs.

Exercises -

Activate the hindquarters with your aids or whip. This should always be the #1 response to this problem.

Don’t block the forward movement with your hands – if necessary move them way forward to encourage the stride out. If leading or lunging, keep float in the rope. Don’t pull when your horse misbehaves but drive forward with the whip aid.

Experiment with using the Linda Tellington-Jones TTeam riding equipment such as the Lindell, the Balance Rein and the Liberty Neck Ring. These are all great equipment for the horse who is too sensitive to hand pressure so evades, the rider who is too heavy in the hands, and for learning by Being Ridiculous.

If you are on the ground, you can use a whip to tickle the fetlock and this will sometimes get more leg action.

Both on the ground and in the saddle, experiment with cavaletti. Start slow, especially if your horse is structurally weak. Cavaletti are hard work.

If your horse goes above, include ground poles and cavaletti in the work. This brings up his back, and his head lowers because he has to pay attention to where he is going. Keep his routine varied and interesting but not overwhelming.

Start teaching your horse, from the ground, to bring up his back. You have to strengthen it from the ground (without a rider) before he can do it undersaddle. The easiest way is to start using cavaletti and to encourage head down, nose out, back up during lunge work.

This is all what I would consider basic training, whether your horse is dressage oriented or not. Any horse can benefit from being stronger in his back and learning how to be listening to the aids instead of daydreaming or being lazy.