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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 559
 
| I have a mare that has too much bend in her head & neck .. She will bend her whole body around my leg perfectly at a walk & usually a trot , but at the lope she wants to just throw me her head & neck & not bend through her rib cage .. I'm just riding her on an o ring now .. Any suggestions on helping this ? |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
 
| Stick your inside heel in her, push your hand forward and up picking up her shoulders. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 559
| FlyingJT - 2016-02-04 6:27 PM
Stick your inside heel in her, push your hand forward and up picking up her shoulders.
I am using my inside heel, I will try picking by hand up , keeping her moving forward .. I can straighten her a bit with my outside rein , but I am trying go just use the inside , just like I will on a barrel turn in a run.. But as soon as you go to one hand she just wants to bend in half ..
Edited by Fancy Lass 2016-02-04 6:39 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 509
| Do counter circles in your bigger circle just have enough inside reign that you see the corner of her eye try squares, try Connie combs stability loser bit then do more counter circles trotting and counter cantering |
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 Expert
Posts: 1261
| I have a mare that is like gumby lol trainer suggested I switch her to a lady bug hacks more and it helped a ton. I have also seen it work for other overly bendy horses. |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| ride her in a hackamore or l & w bits sells a thick mouth mullen mouth that he sells to add wadell. dont do anybending and do some spins like a reiner. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 559
| Is the Connie combs stabilizer bit something to try ? I'll buy it , just hoping it works for her . This is a very nice 1 d mare but i need to get her using her hind end more & less noodle neck & dropping the shoulder & swinging the hind end . She has a very light mouth . I have a smooth mouth Jr. Cow horse bit .. But she's still pretty noodle neck in that too
Edited by Fancy Lass 2016-02-04 7:23 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 559
| This mare gets a little ignorant to stop after a run.. So I don't think I'd feel comfortable running in a hack . Could be worth a try though .. |
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Expert
Posts: 1857
| Fancy Lass - 2016-02-04 6:37 PM
FlyingJT - 2016-02-04 6:27 PM
Stick your inside heel in her, push your hand forward and up picking up her shoulders.
I am using my inside heel, I will try picking by hand up , keeping her moving forward .. I can straighten her a bit with my outside rein , but I am trying go just use the inside , just like I will on a barrel turn in a run.. But as soon as you go to one hand she just wants to bend in half ..
You could try a Mullen mouth. Just use the inside rein. Ask her to move out and then use your heel first and then pick straight up on the inside rein, gradually role your wrist to increase how much of her nose you want if she gives to much(which is usually to avoid contact) pick up on both reins at the same time and give her a quick snatch(she'll straighten her nose out and lift her head up) then let go of the outside rein and gradually add pressure again, don't stop pushing her into your hands. Without seeing what she is doing, I'm imagining she's stiff through her body, over exaggerating with her nose, causing her to drop her shoulder and hips to the outside.
Counter arcs are always good too. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 559
| FlyingJT - 2016-02-04 7:42 PM
Fancy Lass - 2016-02-04 6:37 PM
FlyingJT - 2016-02-04 6:27 PM
Stick your inside heel in her, push your hand forward and up picking up her shoulders.
I am using my inside heel, I will try picking by hand up , keeping her moving forward .. I can straighten her a bit with my outside rein , but I am trying go just use the inside , just like I will on a barrel turn in a run.. But as soon as you go to one hand she just wants to bend in half ..
You could try a Mullen mouth. Just use the inside rein. Ask her to move out and then use your heel first and then pick straight up on the inside rein, gradually role your wrist to increase how much of her nose you want if she gives to much (which is usually to avoid contact ) pick up on both reins at the same time and give her a quick snatch (she'll straighten her nose out and lift her head up ) then let go of the outside rein and gradually add pressure again, don't stop pushing her into your hands. Without seeing what she is doing, I'm imagining she's stiff through her body, over exaggerating with her nose, causing her to drop her shoulder and hips to the outside.
Counter arcs are always good too.
This makes perfect sense .. It's just such a hard thing to correct :( |
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Posts: 204
Location: Texas | Hackamore! |
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Curve Ball
Posts: 2256
Location: Pelham, TN | Shallow Creek makes the SC 75 6" with the mullen mouthpiece. The less moving parts in the mouth the less bend you have. |
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Expert
Posts: 1857
| Fancy Lass - 2016-02-04 7:52 PM
FlyingJT - 2016-02-04 7:42 PM
Fancy Lass - 2016-02-04 6:37 PM
FlyingJT - 2016-02-04 6:27 PM
Stick your inside heel in her, push your hand forward and up picking up her shoulders.
I am using my inside heel, I will try picking by hand up , keeping her moving forward .. I can straighten her a bit with my outside rein , but I am trying go just use the inside , just like I will on a barrel turn in a run.. But as soon as you go to one hand she just wants to bend in half ..
You could try a Mullen mouth. Just use the inside rein. Ask her to move out and then use your heel first and then pick straight up on the inside rein, gradually role your wrist to increase how much of her nose you want if she gives to much (which is usually to avoid contact ) pick up on both reins at the same time and give her a quick snatch (she'll straighten her nose out and lift her head up ) then let go of the outside rein and gradually add pressure again, don't stop pushing her into your hands. Without seeing what she is doing, I'm imagining she's stiff through her body, over exaggerating with her nose, causing her to drop her shoulder and hips to the outside.
Counter arcs are always good too.
This makes perfect sense .. It's just such a hard thing to correct : (
Usually if you can keep their shoulders up and rib cage soft the hip will stay engaged underneath them. Counter cantering can help strengthen her hocks and loin and will also make her stay engaged. It requires them to stay up in their body which will keep her off the bit(not leaning on it like she is now) and driving with her hind end. I'd do lots of drills moving her shoulders in and out, yielding her hind end, and roll backs on the fence so she has to move her shoulders around and Use her hind end for impulsion.
Have you ever had her stifles checked for arthritis, she might be avoiding using her hind end because of pain somewhere. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 268
| I had a bendy gelding and a hack helped with this. I ran him in a long shank Jim Warner. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| My little gelding can be like this, for us it was a matter of me figuring out the right leg/hand ratio and working drills to really keep his feet moving. If he losses momentum he folds in half and comes back over the top of a barrel. Barrel Horse News just shared on Facebook a drill I worked the other night that really helped work out some of our kinks - casting the mold is the title
ETA this little gelding is Broke with a capital B. Love it but he can be touchy and much less forgiving than my other gelding. For example if I drop my hand is a turn and pull back, he stops. Wicked turner, do not pull back, it's like an E brake!
Edited by OhMax 2016-02-05 10:52 AM
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  Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | For a noodly horse, I like a bit that either is a mullen mouthpiece or ported mullen....no breaks in the mouthpiece. Sometimes I also get along better with a hack on these type horses. Anything with alot of gag makes them more bendy and doesn't keep their outside shoulder and hip up under them for me. |
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 Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | Fancy Lass - 2016-02-04 7:27 PM
This mare gets a little ignorant to stop after a run.. So I don't think I'd feel comfortable running in a hack . Could be worth a try though ..
Why? Hacks have more whoa than most bits. |
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Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | FlyingJT - 2016-02-05 7:58 AM
Fancy Lass - 2016-02-04 7:52 PM
FlyingJT - 2016-02-04 7:42 PM
Fancy Lass - 2016-02-04 6:37 PM
FlyingJT - 2016-02-04 6:27 PM
Stick your inside heel in her, push your hand forward and up picking up her shoulders.
I am using my inside heel, I will try picking by hand up , keeping her moving forward .. I can straighten her a bit with my outside rein , but I am trying go just use the inside , just like I will on a barrel turn in a run.. But as soon as you go to one hand she just wants to bend in half ..
You could try a Mullen mouth. Just use the inside rein. Ask her to move out and then use your heel first and then pick straight up on the inside rein, gradually role your wrist to increase how much of her nose you want if she gives to much (which is usually to avoid contact ) pick up on both reins at the same time and give her a quick snatch (she'll straighten her nose out and lift her head up ) then let go of the outside rein and gradually add pressure again, don't stop pushing her into your hands. Without seeing what she is doing, I'm imagining she's stiff through her body, over exaggerating with her nose, causing her to drop her shoulder and hips to the outside.
Counter arcs are always good too.
This makes perfect sense .. It's just such a hard thing to correct : (
Usually if you can keep their shoulders up and rib cage soft the hip will stay engaged underneath them. Counter cantering can help strengthen her hocks and loin and will also make her stay engaged. It requires them to stay up in their body which will keep her off the bit (not leaning on it like she is now ) and driving with her hind end. I'd do lots of drills moving her shoulders in and out, yielding her hind end, and roll backs on the fence so she has to move her shoulders around and Use her hind end for impulsion.
Have you ever had her stifles checked for arthritis, she might be avoiding using her hind end because of pain somewhere.
^^^^This. If you haven't had her to the vet for a good lameness check on the back end, I would do that. Usually if they're dropping their shoulders and slinging the butt, it's either hock or stifle soreness (or both). |
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 Expert
Posts: 1612
Location: Cocoa, Florida | I ride my over bendy mare in a hack that had a shank similar to a side pull, I'll have to get a pic but it works great, I also do lots of square work with her when I do slow work on barrels. When I ride her in a bit I try not to use one with to much lift or "bend" and I use more body and leg work then pulling on her face to do anything. Bend is very important in the body but not necessarily in the face/head.
I like the Jim Warner hacks as well for an over bendy horse. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 559
| She's been checked out for lameness of any kind .. She sound . It's a lack of knowing how to use herself correctly.. She wasn't started right & has been an on going project for me for over 3 years now |
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