Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Bulging against rider's leg

From: Norma

Dear Jessica, my horse and I are both seventeen years old. I have been riding for two years and have owned my horse for almost four months. A long time before I bought him he was very well trained in dressage and won a lot of ribbons, but then his owner went to college and planned to ride him on vacations and when she graduated, but she got married right after college and moved and didn't take her horse, so he stayed in his pasture for another year until she said it was okay for her parents to sell him to a good home. So he basically had five years when he didn't do anything except hang around in the pasture. I just love him, he is so sweet and nice. I have copies of two videos where his old owner was riding him in shows, and he is just a beautiful mover. He doesn't move exactly like that now but I think it is because he isn't used to being ridden any more and he doesn't know me as well as he used to know his other owner.

I keep him at a dressage barn and the instructor (she owns the barn) is giving me lessons. Right now we are having a problem that my horse is somewhat stiff. My instructor says that this is normal and all horses are stiffer on one side. I feel that he is pushing his belly to the left and bulging against my left leg. I am frustrated because my instructor has given me clear instructions about how to use my left rein and leg to push him back into straightness, but he doesn't always cooperate even though he is basically so sweet. She said it would take at least a few weeks to get him straight, but I have been trying for almost six weeks and he is still bulging against my left leg. Do you think he is doing it on purpose to try to get out of work? Or do you think I am doing something wrong to make him bulge? My instructor just laughs and says "keep working at it" which is what she says about a lot of things. She doesn't seem very impatient but I am! She always says "don't be in a hurry", and I know I am young and I have time, but I think I am a pretty good rider and should have fixed this problem by now. He is listening to my left leg better but he still isn't the same on both sides, and he still bulges his left side when we halt, etc. Can you make some suggestions about what things I could do?

Norma

Hi Norma! I'll have to go along with your instructor's advice - keep working at it. Don't expect miracles to happen, which is what you WOULD be expecting if you thought you could straighten a horse in three weeks - or in six weeks. "Few" is a relative term, and if your instructor is as good and experienced as she sounds, she knows that. Even if you were a very experienced, educated rider, and even if your horse were ten years old and well-conditioned, this kind of change would probably require several months. You're on the right track, and you're making progress - you said it yourself: "he's listening to my left leg better". If your instructor were not satisfied that you were making good progress, she would be asking you to do different things instead of saying "keep working at it". She also says "Don't be in a hurry" - and I'm going to say the same thing. If you went to a gym and worked with a personal trainer, you would not be allowed to try to hurry through a fitness program - you would have to work systematically, one step at a time, using progressive methods so that you would increase your strength and flexibility instead of risking damage to muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Someone without good advice might try to do too much too soon - and could get badly hurt in the process. That's why personal trainers are so useful.

YOU are your horse's personal trainer - it's your responsibility to bring him along carefully and help him regain his strength and flexibility in a way that builds him up instead of tearing him down. When your instructor says "Don't be in a hurry", she doesn't just mean "Don't be in a hurry because you're young and you have time," she means "Don't be in a hurry, do it right and don't hurt yourself", and she also means "Don't be in a hurry, because YOUR being in a hurry can HURT YOUR HORSE."

Remember that your horse is seventeen years old, and you've been riding him for only four months. For the last five years before you bought him, he did nothing at all under saddle. NOTHING. He was once very well-trained - and very FIT. Then he spent five years as a "pasture potato". He probably hasn't forgotten anything, but just because he can remember what to do doesn't mean that he's physically able to do it - not yet, anyway. For dressage horses to be able to carry a rider easily, move beautifully, and offer instant, correct responses, they need to be fit, strong, balanced, supple, and flexible. All of those things require steady gymnastic work over time. During his years in the pasture, your horse probably did enough walking around to keep himself sound and healthy, but he certainly didn't spend time every day deliberately working and toning and stretching his muscles to maintain their strength and flexibility.

He's probably doing his best to give you what you're asking for, but it will take time for him to regain the sort of fitness he had when he was twelve. Also, seventeen is considerably older than twelve, and it will take longer for him to become truly fit and flexible NOW than it would have when he was twelve. So - be patient. It will pay off for both of you in the long term. Every time you ride, ask him for the best work he can do on that day (and it won't always be the same from day to day). Every time you notice a slight improvement, spend the next week or two confirming that improvement. But don't try to make big changes, or too many changes at once.

It will help if you either keep a riding diary, or have someone videotape a ride or a lesson every few weeks. Sometimes, especially when you're relatively new to dressage, it's easier to SEE an improvement than it is to FEEL it. If you just can't figure out why your instructor thinks you're improving when you haven't noticed much of a change, being able to see yourself and your horse on tape can make everything clear. If you still can't tell the difference from one tape to the next, ask your instructor for an OFF-the horse lesson so that she can watch your videos with you and comment on what she sees.

I don't want to suggest many specific exercises, because it sounds to me as though your instructor's program for you is a sensible one, and it's based on working with you and your horse, not on answering an e-mail. She's there, she SEES you and the horse - she's in a position to make much better suggestions. But do talk to her about these two things, because you'll want to pay particular attention to incorporating them into every part of your riding program - IF your instructor hasn't already incorporated them into the program, which I rather expect she HAS done. ;-)

1. Transitions. For building strength and balance and prompt response, there is nothing quite so useful as work on transitions. Transitions between gaits, transitions within gaits, transitions on straight lines, transitions on the circle - LOTS of transitions. Always strive for the best possible quality - prepare your horse for each transition, be sure that your own balance and position are correct, so that your own body is ready to go with the horse.

2. Circles - with and without transitions. Since the horse will naturally enagage his inside hind leg more on a circle, circles are wonderful opportunities to strengthen and stretch horses.

While you're working hard to help your horse become stronger and straighter, don't forget that your own balance and position have an enormous effect on your horse's movement and performance. If you work out at a gym, try the various leg machines and do some exercises with ONE leg at a time, noticing and recording the difference in what you're able to do with your right and left legs. The difference may surprise you - and may help you understand more about your horse's unevenness. Humans are crooked too - we all have a stronger and a weaker side, and we have to work to make ourselves more even, balanced, and level. Your horse will make progress much more quickly if you are also working on yourself. In fact, if you give your horse a week or two off, and let him play in the pasture whilst you work on yourself, you will be surprised at how much your horse will have improved by the next time you ride him. ;-)

Jessica

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