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Regular
Posts: 81
| I have started several colts now and have encountered my first true conundrum. I've never been on a horse where their front end is COMPLETELY disengaged from their hind end. My mare is 3 and I've gotten her to where she will give in her rib cage, cross over on her front end, and work off her back end going to the right (she will also pick up that lead beautifully) <---all of this took a couple weeks and LOTS of patience.
I absolutely cannot get her to do the same going to the left. I understand they work entirely different going different directions (not my first time with babies) - but this one literally just won't do it. She is beginning to get the idea of crossing over going to the left but will really swing her hind end out if I'm not going crazy slow. She also drifts REALLY bad going that direction, and any time I apply leg pressure to straighten her out she swings her hind end out. And I tried for a solid 20 minutes to get her to take her left lead and she absolutely won't. I'm completely stumped. Tried loping her in straight lines, tried trotting her in a tight circle to get in to a lope - still (somehow) is able to lope tight circle in wrong lead ---------- and don't even get me started on crossfiring when she does finally get in that lead.
Any and all exercises, insight, and help would be appreciated!!! | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 808
 
| You need to get control over her hips, a horse always takes the lead with their rear leg first (hope that makes sense) so if you get control over the hip then you can make her push off of it and into the correct lead.
Edited to add this video link
https://youtu.be/IwT5JsMtVA8
It's a good one to see what I'm talking about
Edited by The1CowgirlsEnvy 2016-09-21 8:07 AM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 889
| Have you had a chiro check her out? I say that because my parents just bought an older ranch mare that was a real disaster going one way...and merit, she is really broke...and they had her adjusted and she's so much better. Just a thought...otherwise sounds like you've already gotten some good advice. | |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
 
| I would start with a vet check including testing for EPM so make sure it's something she can physically do.
Does she trot equally well in both directions, soft, accepting of the bit and square through the shoulders and hips or is there a difference left and right there as well. | |
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Regular
Posts: 81
| She trots very well, and stops very well. Very collected except when she isn't - then she swings her hips out and drifts. It's consistently in the same part of the arena and toward the wall - which I attribute to still just being a baby and that's her comfort area (the 2nd area is the gate coming in and out of the arena). If I quietly keep her in a circle until she collects her self (quits drifting) and moves out quietly then she does ok. | |
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Expert
Posts: 1280
Location: Texas | I am celebrating a tiny bit the fact that I am not the only one having this problem!
I would love to hear other suggestions! I am no expert, but I will share my routine-
My 3 yr. old was a lot like what you are describing (about 3 mo. ago). He is much better now, but sometimes, he just insists on staying in the right lead when I ask for the left. This usually happens when I am on-pattern. During warm-up when I am very focused, he picks up the correct lead 90% of the time.
This leads me to believe that there is pilot error on my part when I am working patterns (barrels, poles, games, or reining patterns) I am still having to break down to a trot to switch leads, no flying lead changes for us yet. I have 2 things that I do when I am frustrated with the lead change business. Can't say it is a complete success, but it seems to help.
1) Counter arc, push the shoulder inside, squeeze up into lope, then re-shape. I don’t love doing this, but when nothing else works, this always does.
2) Go out to the pasture and start loping without regard to leads. Do your best to mix up you pattern around natural objects like trees, bushes, rocks, etc. This can be risky because your horse will probably stumble and slip as you pull him into a turn if/when he is in the wrong lead. This can also be done with a bunch of cones in the arena. They WILL figure it out for themselves eventually. I’ve watched my colt out in the pasture playing & he never misses a lead. It is only when I get involved. What does that tell ya?
BTW-I watched that video posted above and its good info, but I was doing all of those things correctly (with a trainer helping) and was still getting the finger from my colt (in the beginning). He is very capable of loping off-lead unfortunately. Sometimes I think it takes time, more repetition, maturity, and some creativity on our part to find a connection with our horse and be able to communicate. We are working on this almost daily.
(my posts are getting longer these days as I have less to do at work  sorry so long)
Edited by tracies 2016-09-21 9:56 AM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | Round pen work can help too. Also, you can block the hip with your outside leg and use your inside leg at the girth to round the rib cage and push the shoulder over. They don't want to take the wrong lead with your spur right behind their front elbow. Can use the corners of arena or start out in a round pen to get the lead and build up strength and consistency. Maybe some of those will help. | |
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Veteran
Posts: 285
| I have the same problem. Mine came off the track and always goes to that left lead. Sometimes I can get her in the right, but its just luck. The only way to get her to take it is to ask her to go faster. I've watched videos and videos and nothing helps. This horse flexes, moves off leg pressure, and everything you'd want before starting the pattern. Except that right lead! | |
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 BHW New Catch of the Day
Posts: 9883
Location: Missouri | I had the same problem with a 3 year old earlier this year. It got to the point where any time I tried to go right he tensed up because he knew a battle was to insue. I finally got off him and handed him over to someone else who rode him during a clinic for 4 hours. Then when I got him home, he was better, but still missed a few times. Now he doesn't get upset when we go right, he still misses sometimes but I've gotten it back. Occasionally he'll cross fire to the right, and that tells me I'm not sitting back to engage his hind quarters. Soon as I break him back down into a trot, sit back and ask again, he doesn't cross fire.
Also a little trick I use.........when trotting say to the right, instead of posting on the outside, post on the inside shoulder and then ask for the lope. They will normally pick up the correct lead (right lead) when your posting on the right shoulder to the right. In your case.......the left.
I feel your pain, I was at my wits end and just knew I needed to get off and hand the reins away. | |
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