# Forward Going strong pulling



## Telma (Aug 17, 2014)

Good day all

i have a rather annoying question, i just want feed back and no arguing, i have an arab stallion whose got the most amazing nature, ie not stallion like at all. his just turned 8 in February and has sired one foal, he didnt have alot of schooling almost none till i got him and we now doing endurance, which he loves and his great at, we did our first novice of 40km in 2.57h average speed 15.62km/h which is perfect how ever i find myself holding him back constantly, he does finally settle but when ever he gets charged again his pulling, i really dont want to be hanging on him and dont want to have him go hard in the mouth because of it, but should i give rein his off like a rocket, i ride him in a oliptical french link and have been told to maybe try a kimberwick straight bar or joint.
not to sure what i should do.

i know its our first ride but even when we train his pulling and the moment we start trotting to canter his pulling to go faster, i know he should finally settle after a few rides, but really fighting for controlled speed for 3hrs is totally exhausting, cant afford to get disqualified due to speed.....


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## gssw5 (Jul 30, 2013)

Sounds exhausting. 

Some horses will not exhaust physically so you have to get his brain thinking about something else. Rather then trying to fight his go, work on doing direction changes, serpentines, go around trees, lateral work down the trail, circles, figure eights, transitions. 

Anything that will get his brain thinking about you and what you want him to do next rather then just racing ahead. The idea will be that eventually he will discover it is less mental work to relax and go forward then to be constantly changing directions, it would also be less physical work to just go forward quietly, but I am betting he does not get tired, just more fit. Which is why you have to work on making his brain relax which will also get his body relaxed. Hope that makes sense.

I don't know about your long distance endurance rides, if it is acceptable to serpentine down the trail, but when your conditioning and working at home you can work on his brain and hopefully it will transfer to the rides as well.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Telma said:


> i know its our first ride but *even when we train his pulling* and the moment we start trotting to canter his pulling to go faster, i know he should finally settle after a few rides, but really fighting for controlled speed for 3hrs is totally exhausting, cant afford to get disqualified due to speed.....



A horse that gets worked up at rides only may settle down with some experience, but if he is doing it at home during training, its a habit and not something I see changing with ONLY more competition.. in fact, as the poster above me stated, he is only going to get more fit and I can't imagine that will be more fun for you.

I second the above poster about finding things to make his brain work on the trail. For now, forget about the physical conditioning and just work on his brain. 

Does he rush/pull at a walk? If not, then do mostly walking, only asking for a small amount of trot that is calm, then go back to the walk. That may be only 1-2 steps of trot to start with. Gradually you should be able to increase the amount of calm trotting. Ask for lateral movement. Ask him to flex his head/neck. Find small logs to walk over and stop with front feet on one side and hind on the other. Practice backing up. Basically anything that gets his focus off go-go-go. You may not get very far down the trail to start with, but remember its about brain not distance.


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## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

I talked to a lady with two stallions she competed on, and she said she'd tried everything with the one and he was still very hot and a difficult ride. She did a longer ride(cant for the life of me remember the length - over 50 miles anyways) and said he calmed right down. Maybe he needs to do a longer ride?

I also second the "keep him busy" advice. Its worked well on ottbs and arab's I've worked with.


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## 40232 (Jan 10, 2013)

BlueSpark said:


> I talked to a lady with two stallions she competed on, and she said she'd tried everything with the one and he was still very hot and a difficult ride. She did a longer ride(cant for the life of me remember the length - over 50 miles anyways) and said he calmed right down. Maybe he needs to do a longer ride?
> 
> I also second the "keep him busy" advice. Its worked well on ottbs and arab's I've worked with.


My farrier has a gelding that used to be like this. She got sick of fighting with him, brought him to a LONG ride, and let him go at his pace. He started getting tired, she pushed him more, and from there on out, he was fine. Once a horse doesn't know how long the ride will be, they seem to want to conserve their energy a whole lot more. I did the same thing with my horse when he became a hot head.. Got on a long, straight road, made him trot out, and made him keep going until he felt physically tired - legs slowing, head lowering, sweating. He hasn't given me problems since either.


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## 2scicrazed (Apr 7, 2014)

I had a rocky mountain that was like that. So I did 50s on her for three years. By the third year, she decided that she enjoyed it when I let her walk - because who knew when we'd stop cantering?!? Became a great beginners lesson horse from that point forward.

I found that she worked well in a wonder bit (gag bit). I've also had luck using a hackamore-tom thumb combination bit when training other hot ones. 

Fortunately the studs I've trained and shown have been calmer Appaloosas. But one thing I miss now that I don't keep studs - is that they never would back down during competition and would always give 110%. A well trained one is an incredible partner!

With yours, perhaps you could cross train in cross country? It would teach him to rate better.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

You could try a mild curb bit like the so-called Spanish snaffle - port mouth, slottled D-rings, make sure it has a nice smooth flat curb chain or replace with a leather strap. Actually use the bottom slot so you do get curb action. I've known several forward horses who had tendencies to "pull" who were much happier and more settled (as were their riders / drivers ) in this bit. You can also use a port-mouthed pelham and ride it with double reins, which gives you separation between bit and curb action. A bit like that is kinder on the mouth of a horse who tends to pull (more overall contact area spreads pressure, avoids direct self-imposed shocks to jaw because the lever spreads the rein action over more time and gives more warning; and as the horse tucks the nose in when responding to the curb it's easier to not have a tug of war, which only the rider can stop anyway). If your goal is to ride with _light_ rein contact, this is often a good option.


















This is the kind of bit I'm talking about. I am not in favour of combining a jointed snaffle with a curb chain - which is one option that comes up when you try to buy a Spanish Snaffle. The Port Mouth is nice and stable in the mouth, and is often good for horses with narrow mouths.

Alternatively, you could also try going bitless, with a bosal or a mild hackamore. The pain of a tug-of-war with a rider tends to increase fretting and pulling. Very important to back off the reins the instant your horse is _starting_ to slow down, and not wait until it's slowed down all the way to where you want it - repeat rather than prolong your aids.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

...and I'd be doing lots of _arena_ work on these sorts of cues, changes of direction etc...


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

While taking the horse on long rides might help him learn to pace himself, there are also other methods to try.

As always, I recommend working at getting both rider and horse to relax in all gaits. Relaxed work can achieve the same results with much less effort. The better a rider is at releasing tension in her muscles, the more likely her horse will do the same.

A horse can only pull on the reins if the rider is resisting or pulling on the reins. It is important for the horse to learn that he must balance himself. This can be achieved by a resist and give action on the reins performed in rhythm with the horse's movements. As the horse shortens its neck in the canter the rider would apply resistance indicating a desire for the horse to re-balance and control its forward movement. As the horse's head reaches out, the rider would give on the reins letting the horse know that it cannot rely on the rider to support it if it leans forward. Subtlety and timing are important, requiring relaxation.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I've had horses like this and the more you work them the fitter they get, the stronger they get, the longer they can keep going at speed for......
I've had horses that were like this out hunting and even if you ran the legs off them they were still up for it again the next time out
He understands the 'whoa' but he doesn't want to listen to it
Changing direction, serpentines etc might work but it might also make him more frustrated and hyped
The French link is a really mild bit so if he was mine I'd be thinking about trying something a bit stronger - the ported Kimberwick might work or what I found usually had a good result was something called a Cheltenham gag which has two reins so you ride on the snaffle rein as much as possible and only use the 'gag rein' when he starts pulling too much


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

The bit you are using may be too big for his mouth if he has a shallow pallet. Have you tried a D ring with a narrower mouthpiece? That was my arab's favorite. If your arab feels like he'll take off why not bring him back around in a large circle. Do this each time he starts speeding up and he'll figure it out. Perhaps he's speeding up to catch up with the "ladies".


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