|
|
 Veteran
Posts: 152
 
Location: wherever my gypsy soul lands | I recently bought a new gelding and started him on the pattern. He does great loping consistent circles around a barrel, about a 20 ft circle, but as soon as I start to spiral him down to about a 6 ft circle he'll break down into a trot. Even doing rollbacks on the fence. WILL NOT lope into a sit, drawback, rollback, lope off. He works extremely well off my legs and picks up his body and will lope around really round and soft. What can I do to get him to lope around a barrel or lope a small circle? He has been adjusted and I have tried him in several different bits. Cannot ride him in spurs. (Extremely cold backed and bucks like a fool with spurs! Learned that the hard way! lol)
 (1469782_668581669831594_1477019921_n.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
 1469782_668581669831594_1477019921_n.jpg (45KB - 310 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
 Expert
Posts: 1218
Location: South MS | I carry a dressage whip on me - when the start slowing I tap the shoulder or rump to get them rolling vs breaking down - usually works good for me - I spiral circle and do rollbacks on the fence with it and I smooch so they understand that smooching and go/whip are all associated together! |
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 152
Location: wherever my gypsy soul lands | Lmichaels - 2013-12-30 9:05 PM
I carry a dressage whip on me - when the start slowing I tap the shoulder or rump to get them rolling vs breaking down - usually works good for me - I spiral circle and do rollbacks on the fence with it and I smooch so they understand that smooching and go/whip are all associated together!
Thanks I'll give it a try. Anything to get him moving. He's extremely fast but also a little on the lazy side riding at home. |
|
| |
|
 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 392
Location: CA | One thing i do is move them out to a larger circle around 15-20ft off the barrel and push them forward. It does not need to be crazy fast but faster then they normally go. I want to be sure they keep good body positioning too. If they can't keep their body right then either make your circle bigger and if that doesn't work they may not be ready yet. Once they are doing that confidentially then I will pick a point and drive them out of the circle as if it was a barrel. I feel like this helps teach them how to power out of the turn and not break down. |
|
| |
|
The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I will say the horse is not broke enough to be working the barrels.
If it was my horse I would only do dry work until he can do all the dry work flawlessly then I would put him on the barrels.
My dry work consists of placing pylons in a 100 foot circle and loping around the big circle then picking one and rating shortening the stride getting pistil then lope around the pylon then back to the big circle. I will also put my pylons in a triangle shape and work them like first and second, then move to the next set. I emphasize rate shortening stride shape before I turn the pylon. When my horses can do all this then I take the pylons away and lope a big circle then a little circle emphasizing rate shortening the stride shape and position. After my horse can do this then I will put them on the pattern. |
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 152
Location: wherever my gypsy soul lands | cheryl makofka - 2013-12-30 11:39 PM
I will say the horse is not broke enough to be working the barrels.
If it was my horse I would only do dry work until he can do all the dry work flawlessly then I would put him on the barrels.
My dry work consists of placing pylons in a 100 foot circle and loping around the big circle then picking one and rating shortening the stride getting pistil then lope around the pylon then back to the big circle. I will also put my pylons in a triangle shape and work them like first and second, then move to the next set. I emphasize rate shortening stride shape before I turn the pylon. When my horses can do all this then I take the pylons away and lope a big circle then a little circle emphasizing rate shortening the stride shape and position. After my horse can do this then I will put them on the pattern.
I'm not necessarily loping a pattern. I have 6 barrels set up like 1 & 2 and then no third, just lope off down the fence. I've been working back and forth across them and just loping a big circle around each spiraling in then back out and across to the next. Or have three barrels set up in a straight line with a 4th off to the other side. So I'll lope a spiral around the single then across to another, spiral, then back to the single and just work down the line. He's super broke, I can pick up a shoulder and counter lope all day. He's just having problems holding a lope at a small circle. And it's all at a nice slow even lope. Not like I'm flying around at a good clip then suddenly asking him to rate and turn quick. Just want to get him loping a slow even small circle without breaking down. |
|
| |
|
Fire Ant Peddler
Posts: 2881
 
| cheryl makofka - 2013-12-30 10:39 PM
I will say the horse is not broke enough to be working the barrels.
If it was my horse I would only do dry work until he can do all the dry work flawlessly then I would put him on the barrels.
My dry work consists of placing pylons in a 100 foot circle and loping around the big circle then picking one and rating shortening the stride getting pistil then lope around the pylon then back to the big circle. I will also put my pylons in a triangle shape and work them like first and second, then move to the next set. I emphasize rate shortening stride shape before I turn the pylon. When my horses can do all this then I take the pylons away and lope a big circle then a little circle emphasizing rate shortening the stride shape and position. After my horse can do this then I will put them on the pattern.
I agree on being broke. I work mine on cones but set up a little differently. I make sure that I have control of both ends of the horse. |
|
| |
|
  Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | The broker they are the easier it is to put them where you need them at what speed you need them. BUT balance also plays a part in it too. You can have every bell and whistle in the book on them but if they can't stand up while you're doing it, then it doesn't do a whole lot of good.
The first question I would ask is can he lope a 6' circle on a lungeline without a rider on his back and keep it up and not quit/break? My guess is that he probably has a hard time doing that -- a lot do. So that's where I would start, is on the ground and get him proficient there first and then ask for it under saddle.
Transitions are good for gaining balance. Loping circles are fine but what really teaches balance on a circle is up & down transitions on that circle. Plus, you get to work on moving out and rating. |
|
| |
|
Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | is your ground good? maybe it is too deep or shallow for him.
also, how old is he? Sometimes green or young horses don't have the balance to hold a circle well IME |
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 152
Location: wherever my gypsy soul lands | barrelracr131 - 2013-12-31 7:47 AM
is your ground good? maybe it is too deep or shallow for him.
also, how old is he? Sometimes green or young horses don't have the balance to hold a circle well IME
My ground is decent. We're hauling out to ride at a friends place this weekend. I'll have to pay attention to how he does on her ground. He's 13 going on 14. I want to have his hocks X rayed and see if maybe he needs injections. He's been taken care of and not rode too much but with his age I feel it would be a safe bet to have him looked at. |
|
| |
|
 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | How does he do when you approach the barrel at a lope as it is the first barrel in a pattern?
My youngest also had this problem, it was more of he was off balance and not strong enough to move his body around. Fixed the problem by approaching the barrel at a lope, spiraling out, then back in. And i also used an over under to keep his feet moving. |
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 152
Location: wherever my gypsy soul lands | He'll pick up his shoulder and move his hip in when I ask him to but if I lope a circle smaller than 8 ft around the barrel he'll break down. I do a lot of exercises where I get him to push his hip in and travel down the fence in almost a 2 track. Even when I'm loping big circles I can get him to pick up his shoulder and ribs and push his hip in. Maybe he's just not strong enough through his stifle to hold a lope in a small circle yet. |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 2685
| JFlynn - 2013-12-31 7:45 AM
He'll pick up his shoulder and move his hip in when I ask him to but if I lope a circle smaller than 8 ft around the barrel he'll break down. I do a lot of exercises where I get him to push his hip in and travel down the fence in almost a 2 track. Even when I'm loping big circles I can get him to pick up his shoulder and ribs and push his hip in. Maybe he's just not strong enough through his stifle to hold a lope in a small circle yet.
honestly it sounds like a muscle thing. I agree with the small bat and smooching to encourage him to move it along. I also recommend a bunch of transitions and the lunging thing without a rider on a short lead rope. I would also have his joints checked and make sure they are taken care of. The other (most important thing to me other than health) is REWARD him when he tries. If you ask him to "go on" while in that small circle and he does even for a step or two reward him by asking him to stop (not jamming him in the ground but start asking him to slow to a trot if he hasn't already and say whoa) sit there and pet him and walk off and do something else for a while. Come back and do it again and when he tries again REWARD... ect
I see a lot of repetition which is good but I rarely see people really reward their horse where you see that horse go "oh that's what you wanted" |
|
| |
|
I AM being nice
Posts: 4396
Location: MD | I will say that I think you're doing a ton of things right in trying to strengthen him enough to be able to lope that small circle JLynn. For some of them, it takes forever to build up that sort of strength. I've also had some that never were able to lope that small of a circle, but sure could run in there and turn with the best of them. |
|
| |
|
 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | it may be a momentum thing. I will be honest, I am not big on loping circles around the barrels. I was shown a way of teaching them the pattern where they double wrap the barrels at a trot… I will trot to, stop, double wrap, move on. Then I can lope to, stop (or if they are super ratey we just break down to a trot) and double wrap. Then I high lope and rate at the spot and they start to figure out the turn… sure they will break into a trot for a while but they learn to turn on their own. I do make them lope big and small circles around in the arena, and lope barrel sized circles away from the barrels, but I can't remember the last time I've just loped circles around the barrels.
ETA- I guess what I am trying to say, you don't need speed to have a snappy turn. They have to learn to move their bodies efficiently with power so they can carry themselves through the turn without breaking down to a trot. I don't do it by loping circles around the barrels I guess is what I am getting at.
Edited by casualdust07 2013-12-31 9:33 AM
|
|
| |
Folks on-line