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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1008
| My 4 yo colt is pretty downhill.......almost a three inch difference between his hip and wither. I am working to get him patterned and just working him in general and he keeps swinging his rear out. I am attributing this to him being downhill and not knowing how to use himself/being gangly. I've never had a horse that looks like this or that does this. Looking for some advice on what I can do to get his forward motion going and to quit the swinging. I can roll him around on his hind end during slow work and keep him together pretty well in larger circles spiraling down to a point where he loses it. If I hustle him and tap his butt instead of speeding up in the front he just swings around faster. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
   
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Get him really tuned in to your leg pressure and wear spurs. For now, don't do any turnarounds without forward movement, and if he starts to step out, use as much as necessary to push his butt back in. (Calf pressure/leg bump/spur)
I'm working on this now with my project horse--when I got him, he wanted to stop his front end and step out behind everytime I asked for a small circle or turnaround. I am teaching him to 2-track, spiraling down to partial spins, and setting up obstacles that encourage proper engagement. I'm carrying a whip to correct when he tries to stop or slow down his feet, but my legs and spurs are the most useful tool for getting the right body position. I've had him in the woods figure-8ing trees that are close together so if he steps out, he whacks his butt. I set up ground poles 6' apart with cones at one end. I can weave parallel to the ground poles so he has to come right back and keep forward movement, and I can turn the cones so he has to step over the poles as he's negotiating turns. That one is hard and what caused a tantrum last week, but he got over himself. The whole time I'm doing these exercises, I encourage proper use of his body and if he steps out, I whop his butt back in with my legs. After 2 weeks of work, he did it perfectly at a trot yesterday without needing to be corrected.
Now, all that said, my horse is not a colt, he's mature and can handle a lot of pressure without coming undone. With a colt learning to use their feet, I would go a little slower with my expectations. Baby steps, build their skills and confidence gradually. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Just wanted to add that downhill makes it harder for them to be correct, but they can still do it. My finished horse is very downhill, but he was started right and can lift his front end, engage his rear, and keep it under him properly. Part of keeping him tuned is keeping his rear pushing and front feet moving freely, because the tendency is always there to stop the front end. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1008
| Three 4 Luck - 2016-06-21 7:31 AM
 Just wanted to add that downhill makes it harder for them to be correct, but they can still do it. My finished horse is very downhill, but he was started right and can lift his front end, engage his rear, and keep it under him properly.  Part of keeping him tuned is keeping his rear pushing and front feet moving freely, because the tendency is always there to stop the front end. Â
Thanks! There are so many factors here- being a baby, downhill and gangly.....so you are right I don't want to overdo it. He tries really hard to do what I want and so far he does stop on his rear which is a plus. He is very light on his sides and responsive- almost too much as it seems he will sometimes jump from side to side. I've been really working on getting him in correct frame for everything to keep his rear engaged also. I will try to work on some of those obstacles as you've described.
Edited by ImaSparkyAce 2016-06-21 7:42 AM
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | It takes strength and awareness of where their feet are, and that doesn't happen overnight with a young one. Good luck!  |
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  Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7622
Location: Dubach, LA | If you are getting him ready for you and not for sale, I'd wait on the barrel turns until he evens out some. Buy a good built-up pad and work on seasoning him to hauling and just enjoy riding him around. If you expect him to do things that are physically almost impossible due to his conformation, than he'll probably grow to hate barrels. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1008
| CanCan - 2016-06-21 11:36 AM
If you are getting him ready for you and not for sale, I'd wait on the barrel turns until he evens out some. Buy a good built-up pad and work on seasoning him to hauling and just enjoy riding him around. If you expect him to do things that are physically almost impossible due to his conformation, than he'll probably grow to hate barrels.
I don't think it's impossible just harder. I'd rather have him using his rear before going back to the barrels anyway-so get his butt engaged off of them and keep working on his foundation/getting more broke. I'm hoping to futurity him next year.....how long do I wait for him to even out? Bought him as a late two year old and while he's grown two inches since I bought him he's still uneven. If he's not ready that's fine but that was my goal when buying him. |
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Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7622
Location: Dubach, LA | ImaSparkyAce - 2016-06-21 3:03 PM CanCan - 2016-06-21 11:36 AM If you are getting him ready for you and not for sale, I'd wait on the barrel turns until he evens out some. Buy a good built-up pad and work on seasoning him to hauling and just enjoy riding him around. If you expect him to do things that are physically almost impossible due to his conformation, than he'll probably grow to hate barrels. I don't think it's impossible just harder. I'd rather have him using his rear before going back to the barrels anyway-so get his butt engaged off of them and keep working on his foundation/getting more broke. I'm hoping to futurity him next year.....how long do I wait for him to even out? Bought him as a late two year old and while he's grown two inches since I bought him he's still uneven. If he's not ready that's fine but that was my goal when buying him.
I was trying to say that small tight turns on his hiney are going to be very hard and unpleasant for him. Doesn't matter if he's turning a cat! |
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