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Linda Lashley
Member
Username: Lhenning
Post Number: 107
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Friday, Mar 31, 2006 - 11:13 am: |   |
I want to help my horse become better balanced at the lope. I would like to begin this on a lunge line. Right now, he has a choppy lope with his front end rising high followed by the rear end. He is 4, and I have been lunging him regularly for a long time so I know this is not related to using new muscles. He is in great condition. What exercises might be good to try on a lunge to help his canter become smoother, or is this type of canter specific to him and not something I can "fix"? |
Alden Chamberlain
Member
Username: Alden
Post Number: 298
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Friday, Mar 31, 2006 - 9:15 pm: | |
Linda,
Whether or not it's fixable probably depends on why he's doing it. This is how I helped one of my geldings, maybe it help you.
I can't say why but my 17h Foxtrotter had the worst lope I've ever seen at this age. If you've ever seen a Mule deer bounce, that's what this gelding looked like.
I finally took him into the desert on a very long dirt road and would push him out on a loose rein. I'd just keep pushing him until I felt him stretch out, when he did his lope smoothed right out. I 'd let him stretch out for a minute or so and then slow him staying in a lope. I'd let him lope slow into he went back to bouncing, then I'd push him again.
His six now and has a very nice lope.
Good day,
Alden |
Ann
Member
Username: Dres
Post Number: 738
Registered: 10-2000
| | Posted on Saturday, Apr 1, 2006 - 12:34 am: | |
Just a thought, maybe you should focus on your trot work.. ..making it stronger more balanced .. work on transitions.. walk / trot/ walk.. halt/ walk .. lots of transitions to strengthen his top line and hind quarters.. .all the time concentrate on horse using himself correctly, not falling apart.. after a couple of weeks then work on some canter work.. ask for canter but only a few strides back to the trot.. balance the trot and ask again for the canter only a few strides.. rebalance.. ..strength takes time / balance as well..
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots.. |
Dennis Taylor
Member
Username: Dtranch
Post Number: 164
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 3, 2006 - 9:11 am: | |
Ditto Alden .... I used same method on a long and lanky filly, and now using on a 7yo gelding with same problem. I mixed short sprints in with lope. Each time lope became choppy, we would stretch out into the sprint again and so on. Don't know about your horses, but both of these have been long and lanky horses with lots of energy, and seemed to just get confused when asked to lope. They seemed to kind of out run themselves on the lope and couldn't figure out how to catch up with hind. Letting them stretch out a bit as you put it eventually seemed to make them more comfortable with the lope. At any rate, this method has worked for me.
DT |
Linda Lashley
Member
Username: Lhenning
Post Number: 108
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 3, 2006 - 2:55 pm: | |
It sounds like I might try two things. Stretching him out more by sprinting, then slowing to lope, then back to sprinting. Along with that, building more top line strength through trot/ walk/ halt transitions. We do a lot of trotting now, but I probably spend more time working on flexing than transitions. Interesting ideas, thank you for the suggestions.
Linda |
