Keepinging to the outside of the arena

[dannyboy]

Attended another group lesson and struggling a bit Sorry in advance for being so silly.

How do I best keep my horse to the outside of the arena as she tends to cut corners. I know that by putting pressure on your inside leg should make her move in - any suggestions

[Maes Seren]

Put your inside leg on, open outside hand and lift inside hand (this will help with the outside hand aid keeping the correct bend)

If you carry a whip, you could also give the horse a little tickle on the shoulder with it.

[Blonde Donkey]

i think they are supposed to move out when you put the inside leg on. might be just me
have you got a whip that you can keep down the horses side just to keep the horse in line

[dannyboy]

No savkins haven't been carrying a whip but could give it a try if you thought it would work

[Blonde Donkey]

theres no harm in trying it worked with my girl who always wants to miss out the corners
as it says on a sign in the pub you should try everything once exceot incest and linedancing ;D

[aimee]

yeah try the inside rein, outside leg combo! And give her a tap with a schoolin whip to move her bum in if need be!

[fleabitten]

Ohhh I hate it when that happens! There is a school cob at the stables that falls in and cuts the corners really badly and not even kicking with the inside leg works, although he is pretty responsive and not lazy at all. What worked for me was sitting up really straight and lifiting my hands up and legs down long and heels down and thinking ride him from your inside leg to your outside hand, try really hard not to fix your outside hand so he looks to the outside as this is a big problem for me as I try to get him into the corners. It made an improvement but doesnt always work!

[dannyboy]

Hi fleabitten - Will definitely give this a try. thanks

[kitcat]

There was an earlier thread (but I can't find it now - typical) where Brig explained turn on the haunches. My instructor uses this to help keep your horse right into the corner rather than allowing them to cut them.

Found it, look under Horsey FAQs and then the thread called Turn on the Haunches.

[dannyboy]

Kitcat thanks for finding this for me - Itook your advice and looked at Brigs under Horsey FAQs - Boy she's really good but now I'm really confused, a tad technical for me, I'm not too up with all the horsey jargon yet - would love to have Brig as my instructor.

[kitcat]

You and me both Dannyboy ;D

[brigadier]

Hi Dannyboy
thanks for the compliment, sorry about the technical bit but it really is hard to explain without photos etc.
re the school problem- if its a school horse you are riding and its doing this out of habit then its a really difficult one to sort in the space of a group lesson as the horse will be doing it out of habit and lack of balance. I presume its happening in trot and canter?
Concentrate on your own position- sitting really tall and straight with your shoulders pressed back and then try to maintain this position on the straight then as you get to the corner press your inside shoulder back a little further. At the same time, just before the step into the corner do a little half halt to re-balance the horse-do this by asking for a change down in pace as though going into walk but at the point the horse begins to break pace encourage the trot again. This pause will help you keep the horse straighter around the corner.

If you are schooling a horse to correct this and are not having to follow a group lesson then the answer is never to ride around the outside of the school without popping in a change of pace- a small circle or another exercise. I like to do a 10m circle at each marker keeping the horse nice and slow so it can find its own balance, you could try a slightly bigger circle. that way the horse never feels it has to motorbike around the arena to keep its balance. Once youve felt it yeild to your inside aids you can progress from there.
I personally dont like to teach a novice rider to do anything with the reins other than hold them and feel for a nice light contact. If you start raising the inside hand and opening the outside one and your body is not in balance then youll end up as crooked as the horse and will really have problems. Your inside hand allows the bend ie opens slightly in the direction of your movement and the outside one controls the pace, your inside leg encourages the pace and bend and the outside one supports the bend- anything other than that at the moment is just going to be too tricky whilst you develop your seat and balance. Explain your difficulty to your instructor then he/she can let all the participants do individual trots to learn to balance at corners etc.
good luck
brig

[Becca]

brig do you have a menage where you are? i think we should all come down for a schooling day ;D

[dannyboy]

Becca I agree with you - wouldn't it be great!!!
Thanks Brig by the way - gonna give it a wee try tomorrow night at my next lesson, just hope its not a big class. Thanks again.

[brigadier]

Ha ha Becca- I do but Im expensive!!!!

Id love to see Bernie work- he's a lovely type!
brig

[vickii]

it could be that if there is other people in the school your horse might be napping inwards to them, we have a horse at my yard who always tries it, even when no-one else is in the school. its a bit odd but we all think the main cause is because she wants attention. Or it could be that your horse is getting scared of something that is in the corner.. only trying to help.

[brigadier]

Hi Vickii
your comments are valid and sound- everyone has a different view of a problem so its good to write what you think- there's never one answer with horses!
brig