Re: RC: developing topline

[sharp penny <penelope_75647@yahoo.com>]

  The tried and true method on walking down hills
stopping part way and backing up a portion of the hill
helps this problem tremendously. This teaches a horse
to use it's back and helps in ending rushing down
hills. Since your horse will start anticapating having
to stop and back and will try to keep it's haunches
underneth thus rounding the back up. When you have
control and can master this at the walk then you can
work on this at the trot. 
   I have also found that if I ask my horse to back up
everytime we stop, eventually she stops with her
haunches underneth herself, ending strung out, hollow
backed stops. She now automatically thinks "I've got
to get ready to back" when I ask her to stop. At the
beginning when I was teaching her this, I would ask
her to back up 5 to 10 steps. Now she's well enough
trained that I only back her a step or sometimes just
a shift backwards in her body without an actual step.
If she stops hollowed out then I will back her until I
feel her soften her neck and round up her back.
   A note to remember is to ask for the back slowly
and calmly. At the beginning reward any step backward
then build on that. You don't want to use the back up
as a punishment. If you horse isn't used to backing
you need to teach the backup first before asking for
it on hills.

Penny
Texas

--- Michelle Fink <michrowe@redwrench.com> wrote:
> In developing a strong, round topline on a horse,
> does walking hills do more
> or is trotting them better?  This horse is normally
> hollow at the trot (her
> back is tense and head is high), she is rounder at
> the walk (her back is
> relaxed and her head is wither height).  I am not
> sure if trotting her on
> hills will teach her to use her back properly, or if
> walking hills will
> strengthen her back so that she can trot hills with
> better form. ???  My
> arena is muddy, so all the work is roadwork at this
> point.  I do some
> suppling/dressage type work, and lots of
> transitions.  I am just not sure
> what the most effective way to proceed with hillwork
> is.  I would like to
> get her moving better before we start doing longer
> conditioning rides.
> 
> My inclination is to walk hills mostly, and do a few
> short trots on the
> hills for the transitions.
> 
> All ideas welcome!
> 
> Michelle
> (Colorado)
> 
> 
>
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