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So what do you do when your plan for the days training goes south?

J*ckSprats Mom said: So I'm curious how all you folks out there deal with your training sessions. I'm working on transitions in canter (within and between the gait) and shoulder-in at the moment as these are our weak points. Generally I'll work on both so some degree each time I ride as it seems to keep him happiest to switch things up a little, so when he gives a good SI I'll stop on that and go to something else. Today I started on his canter work and his left lead was, well....horrible. However I'm curious what you all do when you just know that its not gonna work today. Keep trying? or just move onto something else? We ended with a medicore left lead, and I just wonder if it would have been more productive to call it a day and go work on something else as for whatever reason it just wasn't happening in the canter today (he's still at the stage where its hit and miss, some days he right on form others so so). So how do you deal with it when you just know its not gonna happen as planned;)

J*net said: I go back to basics. I would try to figure out WHY the canter is bad, and work on that, Is he not straight? Then I would work on straightness at w and t. Is he not forward? then I would work on forward at w and t. Is he not listening to you? Then I would do lots of w t transitions. I can't tell you how many times i have started out with one plan, but changed it based on "the horse I am riding today" ETA htat quite often this means going on a hack outside the ring, and oten I CAN work through the problem in the different context.

slc2 said: If there is a problem, fix it. If you don't know how, get a trainer to help you. Having a problem in training is just no big deal. With the right response from the rider, the problem will improve over time. The 'bad ride' is a very, very important part of having more good rides in the future. One learns far more from a difficult ride than an easy one.

tw*fatponies said: I go back to basics. I would try to figure out WHY the canter is bad, and work on that, Is he not straight? Then I would work on straightness at w and t. Is he not forward? then i would work on forward at w and t. IUs he not listening to you? Then I would do lots of w t transitions. I can't tell you how many times i have started out with one plan, but changed it based on "the horse i am riding today" Ditto.

R*an said: Ditto. Double ditto. When my horse and I are having a bad day, I either go back to basics or, if it's a really bad day, take her out for a trail ride then go back to basics. Sometimes the trail ride is so relaxing and fun we can pick up where we left off when we get back and no basics review is required. Or I even do some basic work while we are riding out and about. She usually gets a trail ride when we are done working anyhow. It's fun. Eileen

c*ddym said: I completely agree with Janet. If the plan isn't right for the day take a step back. This will happen ALL the time. I'll plan on schooling some flying changes but my horse may get tense and anticipate so I'll work on the counter canter instead. with my other horse, I may plan on riding through parts of the I1 test only to discover a hole in training. Memorize the training scale and when things aren't right think rhythm looseness then straightness etc. If you can't do it at the canter, try the trot.

L*mbie Boat said: if his right lead is better, I would have ended on a right lead canter, praise and walk out. Why end on mediocre anything? you post sounds kind of 'drilling'. I would go outside the arena and work on it on the trails,a different surface, pop over a few jumps, ship to another arena, take a lesson, get some eyes on ground, loosen my reins, ride in front of mirrors, go cubbing with the local foxhunters......anything to change it up. It's best to have a plan when riding, and a contigency, and a back-up, and a few other ideas too. And be flexible with whatever presents itself. You don't always fix the canter by cantering!

F*ntastic said: Always keep your rides positive! IMHO, a ride should never be "bad" - never let it get to that point. Never drill or push that hard to make it bad. Dabble here and there in various gymnasticizing movements (you mention SI and canter work) between good, solid basics. Get in, get out; move on to something else. Mix it up with a bit of more challengeing work in the arena (or better yet do it on the trail), and then a hack outside the arena. Then, back into the arena you go for a bit. Keep the horse happy! I'm not sure what your exact canter problem is, but how about doing the canter work on the lungeline? Let the horse master it first without the rider, as taking the rider out of the equasion can be so much easier for teh horse to master. Do canter/trot/canter trans at least two times on a circle; working up to more if your horse can do it. Teach him the voice comands canter-trot-canter, then use the voice for under saddle work. You can also do the trans within the gaits on the lunge - forward (extend) and back (collect) - very easily.

F*ntastic said: You don't always fix the canter by cantering! Exactly! You improve it through the trot! Canter-trot-canter!

H*llysHobbies said: I've had some success working with my OTTB on slight hills (in the field) with his canter--I work out there regularly now (he 4-beats and RUNS through his downwards into the trot!)

m*rrygoround said: I go south with it. I back up and rethink things. I seldom work on the same things two days in a row, and hack out days are frequent and never boring.

n*ts4cowboybutts said: Horses have good days and bad days, just like we do. Sometimes they just aren't concentrating and working with you. Don't practice and practice the thing that is wrong since that wrong behavior might be imprinted. Instead, change and do something a bit different. Go to basics or just ride. Always end the training session on a good note. Do something that the horse can do well and quit. Never quit when you are frustrated and angry. You'll never know how many times we've quit while we're ahead and then gone in for a long grooming session. Somehow, grooming and stroking a horse calms me a lot and it calms and soothes the horse also

Gl*ria said: Don't be too hard on yourself. Horses are like humans. Sometimes they wake up grumpy and tense, and sometimes they wake up happy and loose. You will have great days when everything goes smoothly and others when everything goes south. When things don't go the way I want, I either reevaluate my expectation (maybe I am expecting too much on THAT DAY), break things into smaller pieces (maybe my horse does not really understand what I want), go to do something else (maybe it will be better when we come back), or do something easier (maybe he is sour after yesterday's great ride). What I found not working is to drill on it. When you drill on it, it usually goes worse, seldome better. You know, horses really teach us to be flexible in our thinking.

*quibrit said: Go for a good blast and blow the cobwebs out !

p*ntopiaffe said: I seldom work on the same things two days in a row, and hack out days are frequent and never boring. I actually try to NEVER work the same things two days in a row. Of course, you have to use the same movements as they are needed, but if I'm working on canter transitions on Monday, then Tuesday is a hack/hillwork, Wednesday is lateral work into collection, and Thursday we might be back to canter tx. (or, more likely, a LSD day, then canter on FRIDAY... ) Most especially I do NOT work something the second day that was GOOD the first day. If it was excellent, chances are, horse is sore to some extent (in a good way--like us after a good lesson or workout!) and we need to be doing something completely different. Hack, jump, trail ride (I HATE Trail riding, BTW, and only tolerate riding on the road, but it is necessary for the HORSE, so I do it. :dead: ) Given my druthers I'd do ringwork daily. Until you are an upper level rider who can successfully work different things VERY specifically on different days, you really have to break it up somehow. Even changes in footing are useful and needed...

mp said: Double ditto. Make that a triple. What Janet said is what I've learned from my instructor during lessons: Figure out the most basic element that's missing and work on that. For my gelding, it's usually releasing his back and being forward. For my mare, it's stepping under on her weak side and moving straight. For both of them, once I've gotten what I need (and on "bad" days, all I'm looking for is willingness and a little improvement) we go outside. The gelding and I blast it out. The mare has the nicest, swingiest walk and we just visit her friends in turnout. But it always improves my attitude and theirs, too.

Dr*ssage_Julie said: So I'm curious how all you folks out there deal with your training sessions. I'm working on transitions in canter (within and between the gait) and shoulder-in at the moment as these are our weak points. Generally I'll work on both so some degree each time I ride as it seems to keep him happiest to switch things up a little, so when he gives a good SI I'll stop on that and go to something else. Today I started on his canter work and his left lead was, well....horrible. However I'm curious what you all do when you just know that its not gonna work today. Keep trying? or just move onto something else? We ended with a medicore left lead, and I just wonder if it would have been more productive to call it a day and go work on something else as for whatever reason it just wasn't happening in the canter today (he's still at the stage where its hit and miss, some days he right on form others so so). So how do you deal with it when you just know its not gonna happen as planned;) Sometimes when I go to the gym, I do not feel like working my arms, so I don't. I certainly avoid schooling the same things every day with my horse. I have a young horse, under saddle for one year. Some days I work on canter, somedays lateral, somedays I work stretching, some days I strive for more collection. My biggest concern is not making my horse dred the work. Right now she likes it and when I go out of town and leave her for two-three days, she is mad at me when I get back! If there is a movement that she is not being receptive to (moslty confusion), I change the subject. I think of her like a little kid. When she starts to get worse, I change the subject, and come back to it. Depending on how she reacts to the subject change sometimes I go back to that movement and some days I look at it like I don't feel like working my arms and the gym- so I don't. I come back to it an other day. It really depends on your feeling and knowing your own horse. I feel a lot of problems stem from strength issues. Sore muscles, or under developed to do what we ask. Honestley, sometimes the horse is in a mood (that is when we do a few gallops around and play). I do not think that pushing the horse to do something is always the right answer. To me it depends on what type of reaction I am getting. Most of the time a simple change of subject works the best and avoids a big blow out. To me risking the trust my horse has in me to "force" something that isn't working today just isn't worth it. Good luck!

snb*ss said: I start channeling my trainer and start asking what is feeling "wrong" and what needs to happen in order to make things better. Is she just feeling stiff today and we need to do more suppling exercises and not try for the harder stuff today? Does she not understand what I'm asking and I need to break it into smaller steps? Is something hurting? It's taken a long time to get to this point instead of just feeling frustrated. I'm glad I've got more tools to use now. A note: others have said it too...schooling the same things each and every day can make for sore muscles. Good to change things up and work on different muscle groups, allowing the others to recover some.

J*ckSprats Mom said: Thanks all for the replies...I guess I had two lines of thinking when I wrote this post. The first being I have a certain amount of time to ride in, so sometimes when I'm 30 mins into the ride and just realize that this isn't the day to work on this particular thing I kinda wonder if its better to call it a day on that (but hate ending on a 'bad note' on that issue) and do something else. I often won't have enough time to go back to basics and get back to where we were to finish...maybe this doesn't matter? The other being that if I don't ask for improvement of some kind for what I'm working on he'll think thats what I wanted. as I try and finish an exercise on a good note? (thats normally when we move on or end) I totally agree with the folks that say that like us they have good and bad days. I try and get a feel for how he's going and work with that so get the best I can out of it. Just on the days when I get it wrong I wanted some opinions on the best way to deal with it. Seems like the general consensus is, leave the bad and go to something good. He's a horse that seems to go better with throwing a little bit of stuff in daily rather then just doing it once or twice a week although I tend to fucus on a certain area more one day a week.