meandering

[ceej]

Harry tends to meander/weave along (normally away from home) and a bit in the school for the first 15 mins. It is obviously a resistance to the work and a kind of 'hmmm, dont really want to go this way hurumph' but i am finding it hard to keep him between my legs and hand in a straight line, and I am tending to go overboard (oversteer) which means we meander the other way!

Any hints/excercises I can do to help us?

[maximum]

anything that gets him listening to the leg! lots of transitions, turn of the forehand, leg yield. etc

try some demi - voltes really working on getting the correct bend on the curve and then being very straight on the return to the track.

try riding with your hands slightlt wider than normal and imagine your hands and legs are creating a corrider to ride him along and dont allow him to move of it, place poles in 2 lines and ride between them to begin with so you get the feel of the straightness.

Be aware that when you use one leg that you are supporting him with the other leg which will help to prevent the moving too far over and sit very square yourself. think of keeping his shoulders straight rather than his head and neck to prevent oversteer.

[martine]

Remember how important it is to look where you are going, and not watch your horse.

[brigadier]

All of the above, he may just want tapping up with the whip a bit if he is rolling- its a bit of laziness in the hocks and maybe becoming a bit numb to the leg!
brig

[midori]

Can I ask if you are careful to sit equally on both seatbones?

I had a Welsh cob once who I could ride (in a school) with no saddle or bridle, and I found him incredibly sensitive to weight shifts. I could turn him just by drawing my shoulder back in the way I wanted to turn, and he would move away from a seatbone shift too. Just a tiny movement could change what he did.

Cheers, Midori

[ceej]

Thanks everyone..

Midori...I do work with him in the school going on a straight line and moving off it byt seatbone alone and he is quite good at that but I am also pretty aware of my weight so I dont think its that (save that I probably shift out of neutral to correct the meander and go to far...oversteer!) I think it is mainly lazyness, as he only does it on the way out! I could hang off one sode on the way home and he woudl keep ploughing forward!!!

[kitcat]

Maxi - this is probably a silly question but please can you explain what a demi-volte is.

[fallible]

Hi

imagine riding off the track, on the long side, in a half circle then inclining back to the track so that you end up going round the school in the other direction. hope this helps.

[kitcat]

That's great Fallible. Thanks.

[maximum]

what fallible said!! - smarty pants!!!

basically half circle from quarter marker onto the centre line then back to the track between halfway marker and quarter marker

so on the right rein half circle at H onto center line at G returning to track between E and K. make sure the change of bend happens once the half circle is complete and leg yield back to track with a slight left bend you can then do the same from K to D back to track between E and H!

[kitcat]

Thanks Maxi, I can really picture that now.