# Would you let me ride YOUR horse? :)



## laurapratt01 (Oct 3, 2012)

Hey All,
My hubby took this video this evening of me riding my grade QH, Jack. 

Usually, I use Jack as a "ranch" horse. Primarily, I team pen, trail ride, and use him around the farm (sorting cows, checkin fence ect.) but I also showed him huntseat at a local show this past summer. We did green horse, as it was his first horse show and it was only walk/trot. He did well and I'm *hoping* to do the adult W/T/C class this coming year. Do you think we should try it? 

I rarely ride Jack in the "ring" (aka only flat area on the farm, which happens to be in a cow pasture) and it's not his favorite thing. He a safe horse but not necessarily an easy horse to ride in an arena. We've been working on his canter alot... Let me know what you think!
... and then tell me if you would let me ride YOUR horse and why or why not!
ALL criticism and advice is welcome! Be mean, I can take it!  
My little grey QH - YouTube


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

I like the way you have done this 

Yes.

Well, I no longer have my own horse, but I would have let you on him.

You have very quiet hands, which to me is extremely important. But I would remove those spurs before you set foot on my yard. Your lower leg isn't stable enough, IMO, to wear them as you kick with every trot step. 

Although you have nice quiet hands, they sit there, rather than "work" to assist the horse to come round. But, it's a lot easier to learn on a horse that has that in place.

Your seat is also secure, but I would drop your stirrups two holes, crank your shoulders back and do a lot of work minus stirrups to help get that feel with your leg


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## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

Sure, I'd let you ride my horse, but I'd take away your spurs and your dressage whip and make you lean how to make her move without them :lol: 

Overall you seem to be a decent rider. If I were you, I would be asking him to bend at the poll to keep that face vertical. You seem to rely heavily on your spurs. I don't think he took a step at the trot without you squeezing him with them. You're going to need to teach him to go forward without them, he looks like he's about to die all the time even with you poking him with the spurs, so he's obviously learned to ignore them very well.


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## QHriderKE (Aug 3, 2011)

Well, to ride my horse, that leg would have to be A LOT more quiet or else you would have a run-away train, so no, you would need to change things to ride my Squiggy. (who is also a ranch pony, sorting, pasture roping, the works) 
That being said, I wouldn't mind putting you on a couple of the other horses we have here as they are far more tolerant/broke, and my personal horses are all greenies.


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## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

Yes, I think you could do fine on either of my twittery beasts for a nice trail ride or something, although if the spurs were left on you would have either a runaway or a major tantrum from either of them. You have areas that need work, but I recognize my limitations so I'll leave them to others to explain.


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## frlsgirl (Aug 6, 2013)

Overall pretty decent. I agree with QHriderKE though, ideally you want your leg as quiet as possible and only use it when needed. Otherwise the horse will start to tune you out and you will need to increase your aids to get a response.


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## BreakableRider (Aug 14, 2013)

It depends on which horse ****. 

My Arabian, Izzy? No way, even after considering putting you on a lunge line, taking away your spurs and your dressage whip. Your lower leg isn't very stable, and it seems your boy is pretty lazy so you're used to kicking every stride. With that kind of leg you'd have a runaway on my mare. Your hands could use some work as well. You have soft hands, too soft, the contact is fluttery. On my arabian she'd be flipping you the bird and tossing her head constantly, if you did get her stopped she'd be rearing with that kind of contact. Besides your contact being too soft, you have stiff arms that aren't independent of the rest of your body. Your posting is a very up and down motion, not a softer moving your hips forward with your horse. Your entire body moves up and forward with every stride, with isn't helping your hands. As you come up, your hands go forward, as you come down, your hands come back, lightly bumping your horse in the mouth with every stride. Going back to the stiff arms, bend at the elbow a bit more, you have your entire arm pointed downward at times, created a very disconnected contact by not having a straight line through the bit and through your arm. All of that being said, you aren't a bad rider at all, I just happen to have a very sensitive mare who doesn't put up with any sort of nonsense from a rider. She's a great teacher, if you have room for your ego to be deflated, plenty of bravery and the modesty to listen to your horse. 

My quarter horse, Friska? I wouldn't hesitate. She's a lesson horse and used to all kinds of mistakes. She'd happily pack you alone doing whatever you asked without complaint. I'd still take away your spurs though. She'd teach you not to nag though. Friska is a lazy sort anyway and if you would keep kicking like you did on your grey, pretty soon she wouldn't take you seriously at all and you'd be lucky to keep her walking. You need to be more serious about asking your horse to move forward. Squeeze lightly with your calf, cluck then use that dressage whip to give a firm tap on the butt. Before you worry about anything else, you need a forward horse who stays at the pace you ask for until you ask for something else. 

My paint, Cookie? I'm not sure. In the grand scheme of things she's much more green than my other two but I am marketing her as a kids horse. I've done everything I can think of but i'd like to see someone else ride her to see how she goes. No spurs though. I'd anticipate with those hands however that she would defensively be way behind the bit to try and get some relief.


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## TruGing (Nov 2, 2012)

You'd have to quiet down that leg and lose the spurs and whip to ride mine or she'd turn into a freight train, as others have commented. All in all you're a pretty stable, balanced looking rider though and I wouldn't be too worried, she'd just make you work hard


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I did not see it as critically as the others. I do see your lower leg moving some. but you will see the ankle of great dressage riders moving softly as it absorbs some of the motion. if you were to be a bit looser in the hips you would absorb more there and thus your lower leg could be quieter. you can see the ever so slight tightness in your hips as the canter. But, hon, I am being nit picky becuase in general, you ride well and with a sympathetic seat. your contact could be a bit firmer, but I did not see an unhappy horse at all, rather a pretty nice fellow who was very (almost too much) relaxed and trusting. I'd put you on Z any day!


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

I would let you ride Gibbs any day, I would not let you ride Emmy, because as others have said, on Emmy you would be in the next province with those busy legs.

Can I come ride your horse he looks like a good honest if laid back boy.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Overall, not horrible. For the most part you ride quietly and have your horse executing maneuvers well. 

But I agree with the others. Your lower leg needs to be more stable. 

And overall you need to engage your horse more. More collection in him and more softness in your body. 

I myself am not a fan of spurs and whips. I like to be able to get my horse to do everything without those. I understand that spurs can make you lighter in your cues but I don't use them. 

With your lower leg right now, I certainly wouldn't use them. 

At this point I would not let you ride my horse Red. He's got VERY sensitive sides to leg aides and you'd confuse the heck outta him. But fix that lower leg; then I would.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tracer (Sep 16, 2012)

I would 

My old boy needs a loud leg to keep him moving, but I have no idea how he'd react to spurs. I'd expect your legs to be killing you by the time you finished though if you tried to make him move like your boy xD Dozer is a lazy old fella; the only time he goes fast is if food is involved or he thinks he's finishing up.


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## hemms (Apr 18, 2012)

I've seen this pulsing leg thing with the trot before... Not a fan. It would have my boy DULL in two laps, even with spurs. Aids need to be very deliberate and clear, with silence between for him to respond best. Nag him and he just motors right through your noise, lol! 

I do like how soft your seat is at the canter - very empathetic to the horse's back.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## laurapratt01 (Oct 3, 2012)

Thank you all for your responses! I'm grateful for the advice and constructive criticism and it's cool to hear about your personal horses. It definitely gives me a feel for the type of riders that you all are along with the nature of your mounts. 

All of the things that you pointed out as faults are things that I noticed as well. When I watched the video, the activeness of my lower leg is what sticks out to me and bothers me the most. Having to push him along with every step seems to not only give me a very unquiet leg but I think that having to constantly squeeze him brings the stiffness from my calves all the way up through my hips, back, shoulders and even arms. Riding Jack feels a lot like driving a truck with the e-brake stuck on. I can push him up into the bridle, but at this point it is an insane amount of work to do. I've been trying to get him more consistently forward before I start asking for that.
Jack is my first lazy horse. Before Jack, I had a OTTB that I bought as a 5 y.o. I had him for ten years and you better believe that that horse taught me more that any instructor ever could have. He made me a better rider. He was ultra sensitive and forced me to be a quiet, soft and balanced rider.... 
After spending a couple of years away from horses and riding, I got Jack. Jack is the polar opposite of my last horse. I think the combination of taking so much time off and not having had a riding lesson in about 10 years has contributed to all of the back habits that I've developed and the bad habits that I've allowed Jack to fall into. 

This has definitely been a learning experience for me. As difficult as it is to ride a "hot", very sensitive horse, I personally have found it MUCH more difficult to ride a lazy horse. At least with a "hot" horse you have forward movement, you have something to work with. Ideally, I would like to have Jack move into the trot and then stay in the trot until I ask something else of him (without having to constantly push him along). I would love to hear the ideas that you have to attain that 

Also, I hope you know that I'm not trying to make excuses...just giving some background 

I also hope that with all of the talk on the whip and spurs that you all don't think that I was misusing them or abusing my horse. It could appear that I was poking him with the spurs with every stride but I promise that's not true. I do not ride with spurs or a whip most of the time. I was actually trying to work with him on getting more responsive (to no avail). My technique was to progress from squeeze, apply spur, tap with whip, hoping that he would start moving out better when I just squeezed with my calves. It wasn't the most effective technique, I'll admit.

Thanks again for all of the responses!!!


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## Ridepainfree (Sep 24, 2013)

Nope, not without a helmet.


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## SEAmom (Jan 8, 2011)

I'd let you ride mine, but without the spurs. I use a whip as an aid for a green horse that has control issues (doesn't like forfeiting it). He's got plenty of speed on his own, so your leg would likely be quieter anyway with not having to constantly bump. The tightness in the hips would be an issue as would the inconsistent contact with your hands. Mine does much better knowing that you're up there and helping him learn how to move and support himself. If you don't keep him thinking and learning what you want him to learn, he'll find his own way of amusing himself - it's only ever amusing to him.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BreakableRider (Aug 14, 2013)

Getting a lazy horse to be a responsive partner is a very easy process but it takes consistency. I'm a western gal so bear with me, forget about even riding on contact for now. 

Two of my three were the laziest things in the world to start. My little project paint mare? It took forever to find something she'd move from. She'd been so desensitized to pressure it didn't matter what I did. It took a LOT of imagination to find something she'd move from and it ended up being a spray bottle. On the ground I would point, cluck, wave my whip, spank the ground with my whip until I was close enough to whack her then squirt her on the butt with a stream of water. Within two days she would lope off from a standstill with a point and a smooch noise. However at first, it was leaving her alone if she took a step forward. 

This works best if you can use an arena and not even steer so all of your focus can be on him moving forward. If not, only worry about steering if he's getting near the barb wire. From a halt give a soft squeeze. Cluck next and if he hasn't moved off into a forward walk, tap him with your whip, as you tap with your whip keep lightly squeezing. Don't keep your leg on after he has moved off, just keep your leg relaxed. For a trot give a light squeeze with your calf again, and your vocal trot cue ( my is a cluck cluck), if he doesn't move off into a trot tap with your whip. Tap, getting progressively firmer until he trots off. The instant he trots off leave him alone. Letting him break down to a walk is fine. After all you need to make sure his upward transitions are snappy so the more times he breaks to a walk the better. At first don't worry about immediately correcting him, right now you're just teaching him HOW to trot off without being lazy. Repeat the squeeze, cluck cluck, tap until he hits a trot. Then leave him alone. Every time he gets to the speed you want release every bit of pressure on him. Once he is moving into a trot without the whip then you can get more picky. Now when he hits a walk, get after him until he trots. 

Only when he he staying in a trot should you ask for a canter. Again, squeeze, smooch ( or whatever your cue is), then use our whip. It's the exact same process as the trot. Don't worry about leads either, if he's cantering, all of that comes later. Don't even worry if he's been trotting or cantering like a giraffe, again that comes later. 

Within a couple of rides he should be getting the idea and moving off without near as much pressure. A few more rides and you'll notice he isn't breaking gait anymore if you're being consistent.

Depending on how sensitive he is, you may notice an immediate difference with a loose rein. I wasn't kidding about the contact, i'm more concerned about that than your leg. If you were riding with me, i'd have you riding in a halter until it improved.


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## rhosroyalvelvet (Sep 5, 2013)

You seem to have your shoulders in front when in fact you need to lead with your belly and bring your shoulders back. Your hands need to be back at the saddle and you need to have a better contact in my opinion. You also seem to be sitting on your fork and sometimes your leg looks to far in front of you and then you move it back.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Surprisingly, yes I'd allow you on Sky except I'd want you to not wear the spurs because to me those should only be used to refine aids. I'd not want you to dull my horse by squeezing him with your legs each stride. He is quite sensitive.

Also you'd need to wear a helmet, because when riding a horse anything can happen. 

I'd ask you not to widen your hands either. My horse is still pretty green and everything affects him.

Noisy lower leg is fine as long as you aren't using your heel to cue. Seat and calf cues are fine.

 Not a bad rider, just ride THROUGH transitions instead of avoiding them.


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## iRide Ponies (Aug 10, 2012)

I'd let you on Shakira. You ride fairly good, not perfect obviously but not terrible. And in my mind, I want anyone who I can get on pony because she needs to get used to other riders.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Your lower leg is moving so much because it's not far back enough, either the fault of how your stirrups are hung or your thighs aren't open wide enough. Sure, you can ride either of my horses, come on over tomorrow, I will saddle one up for you!


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## howrsegirl123 (Feb 19, 2012)

I like this idea. I may have to do one of these 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

Yes, I would.

My horse is a sensitive 3yo Thoroughbred but I have had riders who I really REALLY don't like on her. Busy hands, the sort that pull and see-saw to get a horse "into frame". She is very patient and very forgiving and has even put up with a beginner rider on her back for one or two lessons - BUT, you are the sort of rider I would allow to ride her regularly. Lovely sympathetic seat, nice soft hands - though they aren't doing much about giving your horse something to work into he is lazy and I don't blame you - basically the only criticism I have is that yes, that lower leg is very busy.

If you were on my horse I would take those spurs right off, you don't have the lower leg for them and I don't want her sides getting dulled OR her taking off - though I have spent a lot of time training her NOT to!

I really wish you were closer, I would offer you a ride on my horse in a good dressage saddle and really sort out that lower leg!


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## laurapratt01 (Oct 3, 2012)

I did these exercises for about an hour yesterday... my legs still feel like jello today and my back and abs are sore. The girl in the video makes it look incredibly easy. Let me just tell you that it is not! I was feeling like my leg position was much more secure by the end of my ride though. I would highly recommend watching them if any of you have leg position problems like me!


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