Rose and Gæfa
Rose is an experienced competition rider and successful horse breeder. She specializes in Icelandic horses but is struggling a bit with her 4 year old mare Gæfa. Judging by her age she has recently been broken in. Gæfa is an extremely talented mare with a lot of spirit. Her owner has high hopes for her and would like to compete with her later on, however her hot temper keeps getting in the way. In addition the mare has a very soft mouth and fights against any pressure from the reins. Gæfa tends to dash off with her rider helplessly on her. The more Rose pulls on the reins the angrier and more resistant the mare becomes. A vicious cycle that has to be broken.
The trainer, Neal decided it best to train on the jumping court. The mare gets a little excited around jumps so it would be a good lesson to practice around jumps without having to ‘confront’ them. As usual Neal asked his student to mount the horse and ride around freely, so he can observe horse and rider.
It was clear to see that Rose was a pro. She rode her mare confidently and determined around the arena, even when the mare made a small leap forward (Neal’s dog had startled her) Rose stayed calm, gave the mare some reins and waited a few strides until she had calmed down before asking her to trot again. Gæfa showed good gaits, stamina and willingness, her rider was intuitive, but a bit hesitant to take up the reins, which was soon revealed why. For no obvious reason Gæfa started to run faster and tense up, Rose kept a good seat but reactively pulled up the reins making the mare shake her head and become faster.
Neal advised Rose to drop the reins and just sit it out “the gate is closed so there is no where she can run except in a circle” he told Rose. The reins were loosened and the mare galloped around the arena twice before settling down. Once she seemed more responsive Neal advised Rose to slowly pick up the reins and slow the horse down to a walk.
“Alright,” Neal started, “You definitely have a horse with a lot of Energy, which you still want, especially for competitions, but she’ll have to learn to channel it in a healthy way and she has to get away from the hand, meaning she has to learn to respond better to weight and leg impulses, so we’ll get started on that.”
To prevent too much pressure in her mouth Neal attached the rein not only to the bit but also to the noseband. That way Rose still could use the rein effectively but the pressure wouldn’t all be on the bit.
“The next step is going to teach her to respond to the leg better. The best way for that, is the leg-yield. This is especially great for young horses that don’t have the muscles or training for collected lateral movements, like Renvers. It doesn’t teach the horse anything about collection, however it schools the rider on lateral movements and is the first step in teaching a horse to move away from the leg.”
Rose rode to the short side of the arena and positioned her horse with its head towards the fence so it could not move forward. ‘Remember your inside leg should push your horse to the side, your outside rein should frame her and stop her from breaking out.” He also cautioned her to be very sparing with the rein as to not agitate the mare further.
It was difficult getting Gæfa to move correctly. Neal grabbed a riding crop and helped from the ground, guiding the mare when needed. The sensitive mare did not need a lot of pressure, just certain guidance on what to do. Once she got the hang of it Rose repeated the leg-yield on both hands multiple times until the mare was loose and responded well to the leg.
Instead of being exhausted Gæfa seemed more motivated than ever to work. Neal suggested that Rose let the mare Tölt or Trot around the arena as a reward. However once back on the long side she started to act up again, tossing her head in the air.
Rose was told to start riding wide circles and avoiding straight lines. The mare fell into a nice Tölt and was guided around in circles. “Don’t make them too small, she doesn’t have the muscles, yet to balance herself out and might over bend.” Neal reminded Rose.
Both horse and rider seemed to enjoy themselves, there was no tension and Rose was very good about avoiding situation where the mare might start to run off. “That’s good, Rose.” Neal noticed, “Turn away before she even starts to act up and ride a circle. Keep her busy.”
Rose was recommended to continue this training, between leg-yields, later more advanced lateral movements, and circle training, to avoid her locking down on straight lines.
However too keep her motivated Rose should also switch between lunging, dressage work and riding outside, “…maybe even a bit of ponying might do her some good”. Neal also highly recommended ground work for Gæfa, since she could not run off as easily and it would help the bond between her and Rose.
The trainer, Neal decided it best to train on the jumping court. The mare gets a little excited around jumps so it would be a good lesson to practice around jumps without having to ‘confront’ them. As usual Neal asked his student to mount the horse and ride around freely, so he can observe horse and rider.
It was clear to see that Rose was a pro. She rode her mare confidently and determined around the arena, even when the mare made a small leap forward (Neal’s dog had startled her) Rose stayed calm, gave the mare some reins and waited a few strides until she had calmed down before asking her to trot again. Gæfa showed good gaits, stamina and willingness, her rider was intuitive, but a bit hesitant to take up the reins, which was soon revealed why. For no obvious reason Gæfa started to run faster and tense up, Rose kept a good seat but reactively pulled up the reins making the mare shake her head and become faster.
Neal advised Rose to drop the reins and just sit it out “the gate is closed so there is no where she can run except in a circle” he told Rose. The reins were loosened and the mare galloped around the arena twice before settling down. Once she seemed more responsive Neal advised Rose to slowly pick up the reins and slow the horse down to a walk.
“Alright,” Neal started, “You definitely have a horse with a lot of Energy, which you still want, especially for competitions, but she’ll have to learn to channel it in a healthy way and she has to get away from the hand, meaning she has to learn to respond better to weight and leg impulses, so we’ll get started on that.”
To prevent too much pressure in her mouth Neal attached the rein not only to the bit but also to the noseband. That way Rose still could use the rein effectively but the pressure wouldn’t all be on the bit.
“The next step is going to teach her to respond to the leg better. The best way for that, is the leg-yield. This is especially great for young horses that don’t have the muscles or training for collected lateral movements, like Renvers. It doesn’t teach the horse anything about collection, however it schools the rider on lateral movements and is the first step in teaching a horse to move away from the leg.”
Rose rode to the short side of the arena and positioned her horse with its head towards the fence so it could not move forward. ‘Remember your inside leg should push your horse to the side, your outside rein should frame her and stop her from breaking out.” He also cautioned her to be very sparing with the rein as to not agitate the mare further.
It was difficult getting Gæfa to move correctly. Neal grabbed a riding crop and helped from the ground, guiding the mare when needed. The sensitive mare did not need a lot of pressure, just certain guidance on what to do. Once she got the hang of it Rose repeated the leg-yield on both hands multiple times until the mare was loose and responded well to the leg.
Instead of being exhausted Gæfa seemed more motivated than ever to work. Neal suggested that Rose let the mare Tölt or Trot around the arena as a reward. However once back on the long side she started to act up again, tossing her head in the air.
Rose was told to start riding wide circles and avoiding straight lines. The mare fell into a nice Tölt and was guided around in circles. “Don’t make them too small, she doesn’t have the muscles, yet to balance herself out and might over bend.” Neal reminded Rose.
Both horse and rider seemed to enjoy themselves, there was no tension and Rose was very good about avoiding situation where the mare might start to run off. “That’s good, Rose.” Neal noticed, “Turn away before she even starts to act up and ride a circle. Keep her busy.”
Rose was recommended to continue this training, between leg-yields, later more advanced lateral movements, and circle training, to avoid her locking down on straight lines.
However too keep her motivated Rose should also switch between lunging, dressage work and riding outside, “…maybe even a bit of ponying might do her some good”. Neal also highly recommended ground work for Gæfa, since she could not run off as easily and it would help the bond between her and Rose.
Before the lesson was over Neal took his time to show her what groundwork would be good for the mare.
One lesson was Turn on the forehand. Rose was suppose the hold Gæfa steady with the reins and coax her hind legs around the forehand with the riding crop. She only had to use a slight amount of pressure from the crop and the mare took a few steps to the side. The pressure was released and the mare rewarded. This was repeated until she turned 180°.
The last lesson for the day could be used as the first lesson for further training. It was very simple but effective. The reins were snapped back on to just the bit. Rose stood in front of Gæfa with the reins in both hands. Ever so slightly she pulled her hands downward and put pressure on the reins. The mare pinned her ears back. Neal suggested giving her slight impulses rather than just pulling, so Rose gave impulses on the rein, the moment the mare gave in and lowered her head a bit Rose stopped and gently rubbed her head. They did not have time to continue the lesson, but Neal told her she can continue practicing until she can get Gæfa’s head all the way down and also practice moving her head from side to side. “An easy way to train her to accept the bit.”
Just to show how much the mare had opened up (mentally) during the lesson Neal asked Rose to pull the reins over Gæfa’s head and walk around. Once Rose started walking the mare followed her every step, the best sign of a good relationship. Rose turned around and gave her mare affection, the best thing after a successful session.
One lesson was Turn on the forehand. Rose was suppose the hold Gæfa steady with the reins and coax her hind legs around the forehand with the riding crop. She only had to use a slight amount of pressure from the crop and the mare took a few steps to the side. The pressure was released and the mare rewarded. This was repeated until she turned 180°.
The last lesson for the day could be used as the first lesson for further training. It was very simple but effective. The reins were snapped back on to just the bit. Rose stood in front of Gæfa with the reins in both hands. Ever so slightly she pulled her hands downward and put pressure on the reins. The mare pinned her ears back. Neal suggested giving her slight impulses rather than just pulling, so Rose gave impulses on the rein, the moment the mare gave in and lowered her head a bit Rose stopped and gently rubbed her head. They did not have time to continue the lesson, but Neal told her she can continue practicing until she can get Gæfa’s head all the way down and also practice moving her head from side to side. “An easy way to train her to accept the bit.”
Just to show how much the mare had opened up (mentally) during the lesson Neal asked Rose to pull the reins over Gæfa’s head and walk around. Once Rose started walking the mare followed her every step, the best sign of a good relationship. Rose turned around and gave her mare affection, the best thing after a successful session.