Advice???

[kigermamma]

Well, everything seemed to be going fine with Missy and then.........we hit a new situation today. I've been working mostly on teaching her to neck rein, pivot, pony other horses, dragging the rope from the saddle horn etc. So, I thought today we would work on transitioning to the gallop. In the past when I asked her to gallop she would hop around and try to buck. After we worked that issue out, I really haven't been concentrating on it. I asked her to gallop and gave her, her head. I just wanted to keep her at that gait for a while. So I didn't direct her in any specific direction around the arena. She would lope for a few strides then try to trot again. I would ask her again to speed it up, and she would ablige. We did this again and again. She would not stay at the gallop more than one lap around the arena. Then after about five laps with on and off galloping, I slowed her to a walk. I let her stop and rest a momment, then when I asked her to move forward again, she refused. I've NEVER had her refuse ANYTHING before. I then turned her head to the left and again asked for movement with my leg. She would pivot, but not set one foot forward. Then I tried to the right. Again the same thing. After trying a few other methods, I went to the quirt. Again I got no forward motion from her. After using the quirt, she stepped back a couple steps though. I tried asking her to move to the right and left one more time, then got off and did some circles from the ground. After that, I got back in the saddle and she hesitated, but moved forward slowly. I still haven't gotten her to stay at a gallop more than one lap around the arena though. I am not sure what to do and am hoping someone can give me some advice. I am new to training, so bare with me lol. I have books and videos, but you can't ask them questions! Do I just keep asking her to gallop and give her time to get it? Or am I doing something wrong?

[DianneC]

My first thought is that something hurt. Could it be your saddle fit? I know when I had a saddle on Chinny that didn't fit right he would get cranky (for him), tail swishing and head shaking and not want to go at the canter. When I pulled the saddle there would be little watery bumps along either side of his backbone. Neither my instructor nor the vet knew what they were! But I knew he would not have behaved that way unless there was a reason. I rode a Port Lewis pad (you can google them) and it revealed the places where the saddle was too tight. The watery bumps were from the lymph system being restricted. For some reason the trot wasn't a problem but the canter was.
When you move her in the round pen at a canter, is there a difference in the length of her stride and willingness to go with the saddle versus no saddle? It could be she's trying to find her balance at the canter with a rider, but I'd bet saddle fit.

[kigermamma]

Okay, I will check the saddle. She does have shorter strides in the round pen. We were in a huge regular rectangle arena today. Maybe I will try it without the saddle altogether tomorrow? At least until I can try another saddle on her. I've never heard of the Port Lewis pad, but it sounds like a good investment! I think I'm going to have to get one. I feel so bad Poor girl. Thank you so much for your help Dianne.

[angelsdream]

Good luck! I know that's frustrating but maybe you could get a trainer to come and help you figure out what is going on. I am thinking maybe you need to just keep doing all 3 transitions for a while until she gets the feel of the gallop. Maybe lope her a few strides then back down to a trot a few strides then back up in a lope and dont expect her to lope the whole arena at first. Maybe she's not so sure of herself in a lope and she's getting scared which is why she sulled up. Lots and lots of transitions is what they have told me. But do check the saddle first -I have had saddle issues that made my horse not want to lope as well. Let us know how it goes.

[DianneC]

Good thoughts Angel. Some Kigers have a strong preference for the trot and rarely will canter, even at liberty. Lark is that way. So you could do the ground work up and down transitions from trot to canter in the round pen. Watch how she moves with and without a saddle. You're not talking about riding the canter bareback at this stage are you?

[fantasykiger]

Do you have anyone she can run along side with ? A buddy with a well broke horse that can canter with Missy. A little competition and purpose seems to go a long way with these Mustangs. I have a hard time just getting Wickee to trot alone in the arena going in a circle to nowhere. But add my daughter on her horse, someone to catch up to or ride along side and it seems to work so much better.
My friend had the same trouble with her Mustang, we found a nice long dirt road to go on a trail ride. I flanked him with my steady trail horse and just had them doing transitions, he just needed a place to go.
Of course she could be like me, you ask me to run 2 laps around the arena and I would be done too...LOL ;D especially if it was something I did not do on a regular basis.

*just a note, my trainer says I am to nice though

[kigermamma]

Thanks everyone! Yes, I did try her without a saddle today. She did stay at the canter for a longer period, and then wanted to trot again. I always warm her up in the round pen asking her to transition through all the gaits before I do anything from in the saddle. That way i can get an idea of her mindset before I climb on lol. Anyway, she is great with the transitions. Super smooth, but it's just holding the gait until I tell her to slow or stop that we are now having a problem with. It's hard for me to tell if it was the saddle fit, or what at this point. I didn't work her as long because I had other stuff going on today, but she still only wants to canter for about two laps then breaks into a trot again. Is that still something that can be solved by taking her through all the gaits? Maybe we just need more practice? I guess I assumed it would be easier since we worked on the trot so much. She can do a slow steady jog, fast trot etc without any problems. I am so thankful for all the help though! It's nice to be able to hear feed back from more experienced Kiger people

[dunbnwild]

Both of my greenies are not found of cantering in an arena and I rarely get them to go a full lap. We are still getting to know each other in the schooling capicity, though--so I consider that a success. They canter out much better on the trail. But that makes more sense to them.

I also have the issue of after a schooling lesson if I stop and give them a nice rest, then they balk about starting up again. I've been chalking it up to laziness and opinionated mare-ness and not letting them get away with it and if that means practicing on backing circles or something, then that's what I do instead.

Neither seem to *enjoy* arena work. But this being their first year under saddle and all, I'm trying to keep my demands fair without letting them get away with being lazy and opinionated.

[desperatehorsewife]

Cantering with a rider is scary for a lot of horses. If your round pen is big enough for a canter without a rider, then it is with you on her back as well. Ride her like she's broke...pick up that inside shoulder and don't let her dig her nose down to where you've not got control.

How many strides are you getting out of her now? Can you feel her start to break down before she begins trotting? Is it in one particular place each time? All of that plays into how you deal with her. If you know where she's going to try to trot, start urging her forward before you get there. Or, try stopping her before she does it on her own, so that she thinks it's your idea.

Sometimes cantering half a circle, turning (towards the rail) and cantering a half circle the other way a few times will help them with their balance and rhythm, which will then translate into being confident enough to carry you further than in the past.

If you're working in an arena, try using one end of it, rather than the entire thing. This will help her balance and get the hang of listening to you, rather than just thinking she needs to run around the rail. You want total control, which is difficult in a large space.

One more thing you may want to try, and that's having an experienced horseman on the end of the lungeline while you ride. I did that for a couple of months with Sandy...it was my safety net!

[kigermamma]

Thanks again for all the help! Just wanted to give a mini update on our progress. I took in all the advice offered, and really looked at everything she was trying to tell me. First, I think she doesn't see the "point" of running around the arena. Basically, she is still green, but I don't really think of her like that because I've spent a billion hours on her back So sometimes I am just expecting to much from her. Second, the saddle may not be the best fit. I rode bareback the past few days to see if that helped. She didn't get sullen on me, but we still faced some issues we had with the saddle. I asked her to gallop for me without the saddle again today. As soon as she moved up into the gallop, I let her go about a half lap then I moved her into a trot again. That way it was my idea she slowed and not hers. We did this several times, and she stayed very responsive. Then I moved her outside the arena and I asked her gallop for me in the fields. She did respond faster, but I didn't want to spend the whole afternoon making her run, so I walked her around the stable and let her cool down. Over all I felt it went really well. Maybe I was just expecting to much to fast. She has just come so very fair sense we first brought her down and halter broke her, that I tend to forget she still has a ways to go! Anyway, thanks again for all the help!!!

[desperatehorsewife]

Glad you were able to see some success!