QUESTION:Are there any exercises to help with this. Yrs. ago Parelli had an
exercise called hill therapy, It was circling him on a slight slope,
He seemed to be getting better and I got sick and couldn't spend as
much time with him. Just wondering what you would do with this.
Thank you.
ANSWER:
I was hoping to get some photos from you to be able to address the
solution more specifically, tailored to your horse, but since not,
I will generalize.
Usually, a noisy croup is the result of a very naturally gaited
horse that has never really been taught to collect., or collect
properly. Sometimes, it's a conformation problem whereby the horse
can't really perform the "bascule"(rounding of back, with rear
follow thru)correctly.
Since this horse only had 30 days of professional training prior
to your purchase, that isn't enough time to do more than the very
basics of greenbreaking: going forward, turning, stopping,
walking, and transitioning to an intermediate gait, which in the
case of Paso Finos, is usually corto….and perhaps, getting on a
trail or 2 as well. So, if you haven't yourself ever done any
collection training, that is what is causing your "noisy croup"
problem.
A horse with a totally natural, even 4 beat gait is definitely a
prize, and as the breed should all be. But, collection isn't meant
only to keep less than perfect horses in gait, it's a matter of
having the horse travel in such a way as to improve its balance
while carrying our human weight, and preserve its own soundness
and longevity as a using, happy, painfree horse, throughout its
life. The bonus is…it also optimizes the smoothness of the gait
for us, as well as makes the horse perform with much greater
agility. It can greatly help improve the "thread" of a horse's
gait…from tighter corto, to very fast largo, and also make the
horse more stable and less apt to fall or injury when ridden in
difficult terrain.
Collection is NOT about pulling the head in, or just about
training a horse to take a shorter step. Collection is about
optimizing balance-to get the horse to use its hind end more
"under" itself to support weight, improving its balance, and more
or less having a stronger "rear engine," what is known as
"impulsion"-ability to go FORWARD. I think its important to get a
correct mental conception of what true collection is, and what its
NOT, to stay on track when training your horse. I think a lot of
horses have been damaged because of the misconception of what
collection really is, and therefore, being subjected to incorrect
and sometimes abusive training that is "pseudo-collection," not
true collection, and a most unnatural form….and this often gives
collection a bad name. True collection is NOT a tight rein, an
overly arched neck, a short tiny step only…not at all!
Well, this is going to be a LONG response, so I might just do it
in stages……so this is STEP ONE….I'll put each step in a separate
article….and you should spend at least a week or 2 on each step,
anyway. Training is not just about teaching a horse, but also
about conditioning its muscles, tendons, ligaments to improve
performance…as in humans, practice makes perfect, because learning
extends beyond the brain, you're training the body of an athlete,
too.
First…start by training the collected walk. Start by doing a flat
walk, which should be done with lowered hands so that the horse
can drop its head to truly relax. A horse can't do a relaxed free
flat walk, without dropping its head. To get the collected walk,
you do want raise its head, just a little bit at first, but
ultimately, halfway between the dropped head and higher headset of
corto-but at the same time-or, a split second after, get the hind
legs to stay under the horse. To do this, then you simply use your
legs to gently "squeeze up" the horse's hind end under you.
If you don't use much "leg" to help guide your horse, you should
eventually, your horse will respond to the very degree to which
you squeeze your leg/calf, in him, as to just how fast you want
him to go. Using your legs are a language, whether you use them
for impulsion, collection, or turning…depending how hard, and for
how long, you leave your leg on a horse. They will very quickly
learn to respond to recognize and give you exactly the degree of
turn or speed forward that you want.
The main thing when you raise the head, is that the horse does it
from the root of the neck. If you coordinated the use of your legs
with the raising of your rein properly(and NOT pulling the rein
back!), then the horse should raise from the root, from the wither
and shoulder, while, his hind legs get under, forming a more of
rounding of the back as the horse moves forward. This is the basis
of collection. Basically, the horse has "gathered" its own weight,
and yours on top, more under itself, to better help balance to
work WITH the effects of gravity. It doesn't matter what speed it
is going-if it maintains the way of having control over its body
in optimizing its balance in this way, even if its in the largo,
its still a collected gait. In fact, a horse has to maintain a
collected state to stay in the largo and not break into andadura,
or pacing, or cantering, etc.
Practice going from a flat walk to a collected walk, first on a
straightaway, and then, on a turn…then do some lateral exercises,
such as circles, spirals, figure 8s, weaving in and out of cones
(in true circles, connected), both directions. On the turns,
improve your horse's muscling and condition for collection by
using your inside leg at the girth, and if necessary, outside leg
behind the girth if the horse is very stiff…Often, you can first
start raising your inside rein slightly(but do NOT tighten or pull
back)and don't let the horse "dive" down to the inside front
shoulder and leg….if he does, he'll "fishtail," staying stiff and
swinging his rear end out, making hexagons instead of circles……
instead, his "pivot leg," the INSIDE HIND, is what should be the
one holding most of the weight, leaving the rest "free" and agile
to turn properly.
This rudimentary collection in the walk, is VERY important, in
developing the musculature and bone structure, tendons, ligaments,
to strengthen to be able to stay in the collected frame at faster
speeds….its not just knowing what to do for the horse, its also
having the condition and physical ability to achieve and maintain
that frame. Also, you then also instill the habit of the horse
carrying himself this way, and help develop what is called,
"self-carriage."
OK, go practice that for awhile! Next step in another week or so,
but you'll be well on your way to a MUCH smoother gait(yes, you
haven't yet experienced your horse's "ultimate!")and greater
abilities in many respects that a horse able to collect has… not
to mention, keeping the horse sounder for many more years to come.
Stella
-
Noisy Croup
-
Doesn’t gait very much
Question:
Have been working on getting him soft in the bosal, flexing, leg
yield, stop and back. He doesn’t gait very much, mostly trot, but he
does gait at liberty. How do I get him started to frame up? He will
drop his head and flex in the poll. Should I be using the curb rein
more for this and keep driving with my seat? Would the use of draw
reins during lounging be beneficial in giving him the idea? I don’t
want to get heavy handed. Thanks
Dear jap1123:
In looking at the photo of your horse, I think he needs to develop
more strength throughout his topline, and one of the best ways to do
that, in a “convex”(bascule)rounded manner, is doing some lunging in
the canter.
Make sure, also, that your saddle fits properly(you can always send me
pix of that too!). That is also often a reason why horses don’t gait,
because they ‘hollow out” to avoid pressure points.
Under saddle, start doing some lateral exercises…circles, spirals,
figure 8s, serpentines, which will also help his topline, and mainly
start building up the underpinning of his hindquarters to eventually
drive better from the rear, and be able to lighten in the forehand.
Start this at the walk, and then start, a wee bit at a time, to start
developing a “collected walk.”
What you want to do is, start raising the head, and yes, you can use
the bosal from the curb rein, giving a gentle, yet abrupt ‘pop”
straight up–not back, with the inside rein on a curve-of some sort of
circular figure, whether a circle, serpentine, etc.-while giving a
squeeze with your legs, and yes-driving with the seat, so that the
hind end comes under, and the head is raised a bit from the topline
part of the root of the neck–the leg keeps him going forward, and his
inside hind should come under his body as the “pivot leg,” and he
should therefore lighten somewhat on the forehand. You should be using
your inside leg at the girth on the turn…you can use the outside leg
behind the girth, if he is stiff and wanting to ‘fishtail’ in the
rear, but that can be also remedied by not allowing him to “dive” to
the inside shoulder.
You want him to learn NOT to “drop” into the inside shoulder, to start
‘keeping the forehand free,” and you can keep that inside curb rein
raised somewhat in the turns…
NOT with ANY pressure on that rein…they can feel that “raise” with
just the curb of the bosal doing it, but if he tries to “lay” on that
rein with his head/neck, then he’s wanting to transfer weight to that
inside shoulder, stiffen….don’t let him! If he tries laying on the
rein, “bop” him off, lightly yet abruptly, giving an immediate
release, as soon as he raises his head.
Eventually, when you are ready to go from a flat walk to a collected
walk, you should be able to just gather the rein just a bit, and
raise, ask with your leg and seat to go into a collected walk.
It may take several weeks, even months, to really build enough of the
topline up, but also this will start giving him ‘frame,” and
eventually, from the collected walk, he should eventually be able to
go into gait with just some more leg. Start first asking for even more
collection at the collected walk, as a transitional phase, but just by
raising the head more-that helps shorten stride, too…but asking with
the leg, too….but not so much that he’ll hollow his back/neck if not
quite ready yet.
Collection is more about the back rounding out, and displacing
forehand weight(which, by nature is heavier, plus your weight more
there)to the hindquarter to achieve more even “balance,’ and let the
horse develop impulsion from the stronger hindquarters. To gait, a
horse must be able to drive forward from the hindquarters, but with a
rounded back…and drive forward INTO the headgear, not be pulled
back….but, from reading your post, I think you know that from your
previous riding experience!
I think he’ll get into gait, especially since he gaits at liberty, so
I’d say its either the saddle, or just not being in condition to carry
a saddle and rider—and maybe, never have been taught before to
properly do so. Many trotting horses are never taught, either, but
their roughness isn’t questioned…but nonetheless, is there.
Keep me posted on your progress!
Stella
PS. Do NOT use draw reins! You don’t want to pull the horse back, put
restrictions in any way on forward movement. Collection is really
about the horse always going FORWARD, just rebalancing its weight.
Raising the head (correctly)actually ‘brings the ears closer to
you”….does the “shortening” for you, by the very nature of how the
head/neck are inserted and work within the body(raising forms a radius
movement)… bringing the weight of the head/neck closer, and more
above the body…but not with restriction. #1 is strengthening the
topline, getting into condition to achieve the “bascule”
successfully…one step at a time, is best!
-
Colombian bosal
Question:
How should I adjust my Colombian bosal on my horse’s head?
Answer:
First of all, you should adjust the placement of the bosal on the horse’s nose via the bit hanger. The noseband should rest on the widest part of the horse’s nasal bone. You can find this by taking your thumb and forefinger, and running it down the bone of the skull above the nasal passages: it will start narrower, widen to a diamond shape, then narrow again. its on that wider part the bosal noseband should sit across-which, for some reason, on EVERY horse, the bottom of the noseband will sit exactly halfway between the sharp point of the cheekbone and the top of the nostril. (no matter what shape their head is!
As far as adjusting the curb, that depends on the use-either, just starting a horse, or, later, helping to “set” the head in obtaining correct frame. If you are first starting a horse, then you will use 2 reins. One, the upper, will be attached to the noseband rings on the sides, giving “direct” rein to the noseband. The second set will be attached to the lower curb strap. For starters, its best to set the curb strap like a curb chain (2 finger rule), so its loose without the rein engaged, but quickly comes up to touch the chin when the rein is engaged. That way, the top rein helps keep the horse from rearing (a horse must be able to get its head up in order to rear) or running away, help stop it, and less apt to be able to do more than crowhop, not buck, with the curb adjusted like a curb chain, because a horse must be able to get its head down in order to buck, and you can use the curbstrap to keep its head up.
Later, once the horse knows the basics of going forward, stopping, simple turns to the right and left, and basic but uncollected acceleration, and is basically responding in a safe, calm manner, the bosal may be readjusted to start the basics of collection- working in a balanced frame, depending more, in this case, on the shape of the horse’s neck, how the neck is set into the body, and the horse’s individual response. While most horses prefer to “use their strengths,” so that a horse with a strong upper neck (topline) will continue in the bosal set with the curb similar to a curb chain, and the horse with a stronger underline and/or high insertion of the neck into the body will respond better if the curb is very much loosened not to make any contact, so that the only possible pressure is all to the noseband. This often helps keep this type of horse from “stargazing” and hollowing their backs, and instead helps them get elevate in the more correct convex bascule at the base of the neck and shoulder.
Illustration
The bosal should rest at the midpoint between the top of the nostril and the bottom edge of the check bone
This defines the widest point of the bridge of the nose, which you can feel and usually see, and no matter how your horse’s head is shaped, this point Aways occurs in this same midway place!
The horse above has a long poll, with the topline of the neck considerably longer and better muscled than the neck’s underside. This type horse will more likely raise its head & collect if the curb strap of the bosal is set simularly to a curb chain; to quickly “bump” the horse’s chin/head up, using thelower rein. The upper rein may be used separately to give pressure to the nose, either for greater control, as in initial training, or to help bring in the nose with short, quick, abrupt “pull & releases.”
Frontal view of tke bridge of the nose; bosal. will lie centered across the widest part, if you lay the bottom edge at the midpoint between the top of tke nostril and the bottom edge of the (prominent) cheekbone. Setting tke bosal. too high gives less control & communication., too low can cut the horse’s wind off, creating overflexing or other bekavioral problems in an effort to regain proper breathing ability – which is a MUST!
The horse that is short in the poll will often. respond. better by using the underside of the neck, his stronger feature, so that control is better kept by affecting the top of the nose. In this case, keeping the curb strap quite loose, so that the curb effect is actually disengaged, & the lower rein actually affects the noseband as well to create correct collection. Chin pressure in this case can wrongly hollow the horse’s back when a horse uses the underside of their neck to raise it, the nose pressure instead helps create a flexion from the poll with this type action … still use the bottom rein for primary control, and the top rein for added control and to correct “stargazing,” should the horse try evading pressure or command in this way – just discern first whether that’s the case, or too much steady pressure by YOU that its trying (justly!) to get relief from!
