Simone wrote:
she was a little bit scarey at times and i felt out of control a little but my friend just kept reminding me to yawn and drop the reins.
Very good, and everytime you did that, you got your reward from your wonderful mare
Simone wrote:
My 1 problem is that i keep my left rein VERY tight to keep her walking straight otherwise if i drop both reins we go off to the right side all the time.
That is the feedback I was talking about. Now that the bit is gone and you relax your seat, you can actually see what is wrong with your horses body, so you both can fix it together.
Now, as you can not fix this over night.
If you hold tight to the rein opposite of the direction your horse falls on to, you are increasing the crouckedness. (Just as trying to fix the bend with the inside rein remember?).
Now, next time, do the serpentines excersize. Stir, with your seat (pelvis) and legs, you horse away from the shoulder she is dropping on to.
This wil help her to straighten her body and lift her shoulders.
Simone wrote:
my Leg is not yet strong enough to push her over (and i doubt she is even listening to it)
No leg in the world is strong enough to fix crouckedness in an individual, just as one can not push a hernia away
As I said, please do not increase the pressure, but keep it light and simple on your self and your horse. If it feels like hard work to you, it is not in any way beneficial to your horse.
Just stop and ask the question again in a light and relaxed way.
Putting in pressure will also destroy your seat, and then, as you have felt, it will make it impossible for your horse to oblige, as the rider gets in the way.
Biomechanics, laws of physics...
And it is not a question of Olga listening to you either.
It is a question of her being able to do what you ask.
And this comes in two ways: 1. is your body allowing her to do what you ask? and 2. Is her body allowing her to do what you ask.
Remember, it is all a question of the laws of physics applied to both your bio mechanics.
Obedience has nothing to do with this... better yet, keep it far from it as it could mess up your careful plan for proper gymnastisation.
Make sure all lines of communication from you horse are open to you.
So just move with your horse and listen carefully to her body's answer and then make sure that you help her getting her body straight again so she can get on to her horisontal balance and from there move towards collection.
Simone wrote:
she was slow to respond when asked to walk after a few trotting strides and i found i could not make her halt....................
Are you sure you made it the most logical choice for her according to how you used your body? Maybe just getting a tiny nerveus and clinging on would give Olga the feeling that she was running down hill and could not stop.
And remember please, to rewards her with your voice everytime she obliges, GOOD GIRL! So she knows that sh can actually react on biomechanical impulses from now on
Simone wrote:
on the postive side she was far more relaxed and calm with only 1 major spook.
There you go, you have your answers cut out for you. Perhaps if you think back you can even recall what you were doing before she spooked and if it was related?
Any more questions... shoot!