HELP! SCHOOLING PROB BIG!

[melissa1787]

Hi, I know that I have asked a few times now for help on this topic, but if there are any other ideas please PLEASE say. :(

My problem: Horse goes around school fine on right rein, walk, trot. :)
Left rein naps in on only one side. Was napping in on both but now on only one. Do not know what to do as the side she naps on was always the worst side of school.

There seems to be no scary things there? ???
Nor is she in pain, as had all checked, teeth done etc... ???
Thinking it maybe my riding? ???
Feel useless riding her in school.
Tryed long reining her which she is ok at.
Tryed turning her when she tries to come in.
Tryed putting poles out on difficult side to stop her from problem, but barges at them.
Tryed trotting down half way only.
Tryed turning her head at opposite bend,
etc... etc...

Will try and get a video of me riding and see if that helps you all.
I feel I am riding the worst I have ever ridden in my life.
Feel like a novice again.

HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP! :'( :'( :'(

I will never hurt her and never make her feel scared in any way.

I LOVE HER.

Melissa1787

[june]

What happens if you allow the nap to happen? Where does she go and what does she do? Are you sitting equally on both seat bones? Does she do it if someone else rides her?

[Vicky&Beenie]

do you feel like your riding awfully because of what she is doing? because it doesnt neceserily mean it is your fault

[melissa1787]

I have not yet properly tried someone else ride her.
I may not be even on seat bones? Feel it maybe a prob, that is why I want a lesson.

If I let her nap, she trots off at all sorts of directions around the school.
Mostly stoping asap. Jamming breaks on.
She does try to jamm breaks on when on hacks too, but place leg on and she goes on.
She is not nasty, just Daisy.

[maggiesmum]

I'm with June, see what happens when she naps, allow her to follow it through and see where she takes you, then take her straight back to work. See what her reaction is once she's had her 'say'. Keep us posted.
Does she do it all 3 paces?

[melissa1787]

Forgot to say, yes I do feel I am riding awfully due to problem.

[melissa1787]

Stopped her doing it in walk, just trot now. Feel really upset and fustrated.

[june]

My horse had a similar problem. She would do sharp right turns when on the right rein. If I let her do it she'd change the rein and would be fine on the left rein, which suggested it was a discomfort issue on the right rein. I had the vet check her out and he could find nothing wrong. I tried circling her so making it more work to turn but that didn't seem to bother her. She just turned a circle and happily turned another one when she got to the track! So, in the end I decided to stop forcing the issue and allow her to turn and quietly ride her back to the track. It helped when I switched to a Rockin S bit - www.bewithyourhorse.com if you haven't seen one of these before - which made the turning signal really clear. I worked on making sure I kept weight on my left seatbone to keep her out on the track.

All those things helped but the turning point was when I put pads on her feet. She's barefoot and has been all her life and gave no indication that she was footsore but putting pads on resulted in a much more forward going horse with no napping. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't rule out a pain/discomfort issue without being really sure.

[butterfly]

I agree with June

Vets dont always see the pain. Remember horses are programmed not to show pain ... they dont want to be seen as weak .... if they do they could die. So if they do show it then it really hurts.

Also you will ride differently on the right v left. Try doing more groundwork .... see if lungeing is ok both ways. If so then it is most likely something you are doing to unbalance your horse.

Dont worry about it though ... we all have this problem.

[Donnalex]

Does she do the same thing with another rider?

[megnum]

IMO if she is not in pain or having any other issues then if you can ride her through it and if she naps then turn her and go again. Sorry if this is not much use but this is how I do it if I have this problem. Push her forward and keep on the inside leg but don't release too much on the outer leg and rein

[numbat]

If it's only on one side of the school, and always the same side, it seems unlikely that this is a pain issue. There's something she doesn't like about that side. So if I had her, I would try carrots. I'd get six or seven cones, or buckets, or milk bottles filled with water or whatever, and place them around the school. With a couple extra on the nasty side. Then on foot, I'd lead her around, and at every cone I'd say, "Good girl!", stop and give her a small piece of carrot, then on to the next one. That going well, I'd do the same thing leading her at trot. Then mounted, at the walk; having placed the first cone on the bad side pretty close to the turn so she gets to it before she even gets started on napping, and the next one after that fairly close too. With any luck, she'd have the idea by now that the cones = carrots, and be keen to get to the next one. Once she seemed to have this idea clearly, then I'd try the same thing at a trot, with maybe four cones on the nasty side so she never has to go far.

All going well, I'd then take away the cones one at a time, finishing with just one cone at the end of the nasty side. I might well say "good girl", stop and give her a treat a third of the way up the nasty side without even getting to a cone, if she was going straight and the mood took me. I'd definitely do that quite early on the nasty side, once I'd finally taken away the last cone. Then after a few times of doing that at random points up the nasty side, I wouldn't. But I'd do it the next time round. Then not. Then yes. Then not then not. Then yes. Until I just phased it out.

Once you're doing the riding part, it would of course be easier if you've got a friend to help move and take away the cones.

[jill]

I had this problem and couldn't fathom it out at all, Caspar was really bad at left bend. Riding him through from behind did help - his skeleton had been checked and his pelvis had been out but was adjusted.
My instructor spotted that, probably as a consequence of his pelvis having been out, he wasn't taking the weight properly on the inside hind leg, and this is something that you need someone on the ground to see.
Shoulder ins, quarters ins, spiral exercises all designed to get him to step under with that hind was the way to go - we did start then I got struck down with flu, so got to begin again.
But the point is, as June says, physical issues aren't always huge and very evident, but you should be looking for them, especially if, like me, you believe that a horse wants to do what we want him to if only he understood what that was and could manage it without pain or discomfort.

[melissa1787]

To numbat: I like the idea of carrots and bucket thing.
If I have some upside down buckets and pieces of carrots on top of each bucket, do you think that it would work as on reaching each bucket she has a piece of carrot and then onto next bucket and so on around school, walk then trot?
Is this the sort of thing you mean?

[melissa1787]

To june, I like the sound of the rockin s bit.
Do you use one? what do you make of it?
Daisy does tend to mouth on the bit a far bit and this does concern me somewhat.

Melissa1787