# Loping



## PaintGirl7 (May 27, 2012)

Hi everyone! I have a issue I hope you can help me with...
Okay so my mare Squaw is just getting trained and she's not expirenced and nor am I, but I can ride her and so can my trainer. I can walk and jog and that's it. I'm really scared to try loping! I tried it once when I was feeling confident and Squaw tried to throw me off. I'm just scared to try it again. How do you sit to a lope? How do you move? What are you supposed to look like when you lope? Etc...
I need some advice, and you can ask for details.
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## PaintGirl7 (May 27, 2012)

*Help with loping!*

Hi everyone! I have a issue I hope you can help me with...
Okay so my mare Squaw is just getting trained and she's not expirenced and nor am I, but I can ride her and so can my trainer. I can walk and jog and that's it. I'm really scared to try loping! I tried it once when I was feeling confident and Squaw tried to throw me off. I'm just scared to try it again. How do you sit to a lope? How do you move? What are you supposed to look like when you lope? Etc...
I need some advice, and you can ask for details.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Well my very first advice would be to sell Squaw and get an older, broke horse that has been-there-done-that. Probably not what you want to hear, but time and time again, green riders + green horses usually ends in disaster for one or both. 

If you've never loped on a horse before, and Squaw has training issues where she bucks and misbehaves, you two clearly are not a good match. Someone's going to get hurt. 

Is Squaw the only horse you have ever ridden? Have you ever taken riding lessons? How old are you? How old is Squaw? How long has she been in training?

Does your trainer know how inexperienced you are?

I can't tell you how to lope over the internet or what to do if your horse misbehaves. I would highly suggest at least riding lessons with Squaw, if you wouldn't be willing to purchase a trained broke horse who can build your confidence and skills with riding.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Can your trainer ride your horse at a canter without any bucking? If so, your riding is the issue. If not, the horse's training is the issue.

Learning a lope when both of you are learning is tough. I know, because that was how I did it - but my horses aren't buckers.

Can you stand in the stirrups and support your weight with your thighs while trotting? That isn't a traditional western practice, but it can help at times. Some horses quickly learn to expect you to bounce when they canter, and will get irritated at the thought of moving up a gait.

If you can find a horse that has experience to learn on, try standing at a trot. If that is OK, try going into a canter. Once you feel the horse's rhythm cantering under you, it is a lot easier to sink into the saddle while moving with the horse.


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

If the horse is trying to throw you, knowing how to ride a lope is not going to help and its the least of your concerns. Why is she trying to throw you? You have to check all the standard things for pain/discomfort. If there's no pain or discomfort then it's a training issue and should be addressed by a trainer.
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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

My guess if she tried to throw you - there was a miscommunication and she was asking you a question.

Many green horses need MORE rein to canter/lope as they need to find their balance with a rider. An experienced rider or trainer can give and take as necessary. A green or nervous rider tends to be tense and hold onto the face. A green horse will not feel balanced and may feel as though they are bucking when in fact they are loping more up and down (I call it hobby horse loping - my "A" horse will do it when he is really fresh). A 'normal' lope is more forward moving.

Have your trainer lope her and then watch as you lope her to give you pointers.

Good luck!


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## PaintGirl7 (May 27, 2012)

Beau- no, I've ridden other horses, a quarter named Misty when I took other lessons (but never was comfortable loping). I'm 13. She's only been training with me for months (since summer), but she's been previously trained as a trail horse by her previous owners. 
Bsms- my trainer can ride my horse at a lope without problems, but that's why I was asking for help, I do think my riding is the problem... I don't like to admit it, but I do think I'm the problem. And thanks for the video!
DancingArabian- i think she trys to throw me because she knows I'm inexperienced and uncomfortable still. She's a smart girl.
Mls- I may be holding her face, I haven't tried in awhile and I'm not completely sure. Thank you!!!
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## Breezy2011 (Nov 23, 2012)

You should look forward, relax in the saddle, and tell her to go, with a loose rein. At first, let the horse pick how fast her lope is, as long as it stays at a lope, and not a fast trot, or gallop. Once she gets the right lead, collect her and you choose the speed. 

If you don't think you can handle her, get your trainer to ride her at a lope a few times before you. I don't think you should sell her unless you want to, or YOU think you should. 

I ride western too, but I am experienced and know how to handle a green broke horse.


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## ligoleth (Sep 9, 2011)

I'm "eh" on the idea of selling because you have a trainer. But you are green, and so is she, and you are going to get hurt. So long as you can understand that and are willing to take the risks, so be it. 

Your horse probably can tell you are nervous. That nervousness isn't a good thing to have as it tenses you up, and makes you very rigid. Your horse may have bucked because you are making her uncomfortable/ causing pain. 

Breezy is not experienced and is learning to break her horse for the first time. I will not say to completely disregard her opinion, but its times like this to have your bs meter on.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

You need to be relaxed in the hips. If not the you are tense from head to toe which the horse senses. Novice riders, when a horse starts to pitch, will often lean forward and draw the legs up and squeeze. It's not a tube of toothpaste. Horses are sensitive in the area where the heels press, the pitching gets worse and because of the rider's position, they part company. To ride out bucking you need to keep your body upright and push your legs forward and keep your heels down but still relaxed. I suspect the horse hasn't gotten her balance yet when asked to canter and this often scares them and leads to bucking.


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## spurstop (Mar 22, 2012)

You need to be talking to your trainer about this. Let her know about your worries and see if there is another, older, broke horse that you can take lessons on in addition to riding your horse.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

GREEN + GREEN = BLACK AND BLUE

I strongly suggest you either 1) sell the horse and buy something that is better suited for you 2) don't ride your horse until she's had a good solid 60 or 90 days with a trainer, and no longer has this issue 3) take lessons with your trainer and ride the horse while be supervised.

An inexperienced rider with an inexperienced horse often ends in disaster. What if Squaw DOES unseat you, and you fall and hit your head, and end up with hospital bills from a concussion? It could happen. Or when you fall off, she could step on you and break ribs. Or you could break an arm when you fall and are trying to catch yourself. Any number of things could happen._ And we don't want those things to happen; that's why we are trying to warn you_. *We don't want you getting hurt. *

Either way, I do not agree with Breezy's advice. You should not try to tackle this on your own. There's a time and a place to experiment with training a horse yourself, but this isn't one of them. 

Its certainly most likely that you are cueing Squaw wrong for the lope (hanging on her face, tensing up, accidentally bumping her with your legs, etc) and also that she knows you aren't experienced enough to do it (horses are indeed smart. They know who they can get away with) and/or the fact that she is just plain young and doesn't know what she is doing yet. She might not even know that bucking is wrong under saddle.


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## LisaG (Nov 11, 2012)

I have to ask this (and I'm not trying to be rude), but are you sure she was actually bucking? I ask because it's pretty difficult to stay on a bucking horse, and I'd be surprised to see an inexperienced rider hang on (but if that was the case, then good for you). Was she perhaps just lunging forward into the lope (or maybe more like a gallop)? Or could you actually feel her back all hunched up?

I also think you should continue to practice loping on a well-broke horse, and see if you can find a trainer to put some miles on your green mare. I can't really give you good advice on loping over the Internet - you just need to get used to it, relax, and feel safe. Not an easy thing to learn with a green horse. A quiet, well-broke horse will be the best teacher you can have.


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## Barrelhorsetrainer (Jan 7, 2013)

Sometimes if my horse switches leads he feels really weird almost like he is trying to buck but he is not maybe this is what your horse was doing
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## SeeyaLater (Jan 12, 2013)

I think it is interesting no one mentioned ground work. Maybe that has been done...but getting the horse balanced before u get on will be key. Does the horse buck when asked for the canter or lope on the ground?


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## cowgirlnay (Oct 14, 2011)

So this is kind of an older post, but I noticed no one commented so I thought I would try and help! (If yo are still needing the help...maybe you got it down by now!) I can say, that the reason she may have tried to throw you off, is because she felt how nervous you were about getting her into a lope in the first place. Since she is a newbie as well, she needs her rider to feel very confident when asking her into a lope for the first time. She felt your nerves, so probably felt like she should be nervous about something as well. As far as form - you want to sit on your "seat bones", basically like your back pockets. You want to move with the horse as best you can. Remember to keep your heels down, and really concentrate on not leaning too far forward (or too far back). It would help to have your trainer or whoever watch you ride, so that your form can be critiqued. Hopefully by this point you two are loping like crazy, but just thought I would put in my two cents just in case!


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## mollymay (Feb 20, 2013)

Hey so I hope you have it down by now, but if not I could help you a bit. I just went through with a trainer on the same issue with my horse that had never been ridden. He tried to toss me numerous times and succeeded once- I ended up being stepped on that time. The problem might be that your horse just doesnt know what you want it to do. That was Triggers problem. After a few failed attempts, we put him on a line and attempted to get him to lope, he flipped out because he had no clue what we were asking. It took about four weeks working him on the line until he was calmly picking up the lope- without me on him. Now he is in a snaffle bit, split reins, and I wear spurs- just as an extra cue if leg pressure isn't enough on that day(note: only use spurs if you have been trained on their use). He now lopes for me on command, but it took me almost three months to reach this point. As for seat and all- sit your butt as far in the seat as possible, lean back, but not so much its unnatural, heels down, and rock your hips with the movement of the horse, it helps them when you move along with them. I hope that helps! :thumbsup:


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## PaintGirl7 (May 27, 2012)

Sorry guys. I haven't been on in forever! Thank you for all your suggestions and advice. I'm taking all of it into consideration. I'll try my best to answer all your questions!


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## PaintGirl7 (May 27, 2012)

Well, I don't have it down yet . She's even more spastic then she was then! (


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## PaintGirl7 (May 27, 2012)

Wow, I haven't been on in forever guys. I'll try to answer some of your questions as I get to it. Thank you all!


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