I am now faced with a minor problem with my riding. I am finally at a point that I can consider riding at an intermediate level more when I ride with my riding teacher, Debbie. It has taken me 3 YEARS to get to this point, because I have had to grow new neurons to replace those taken by the MS. Due to Debbie's wonderful teaching I now have a pretty stable lower leg, my knees are often in the right place, my shoulders are working properly, and I've even managed to ride with a bit all summer. Mia now has a very good understanding of the elementary level of equitation, she has proven it by becoming a lesson horse for a beginner, and doing a good job at it according to Debbie. We are both ready to advance to a higher level of riding, with the aim of good gaits ridden on full contact.

The problem? Mia is of the line of Arabs that do not like full contact. If Mia does not like my contact her first defense is to immediately invert herself, mouth open, head up with the face almost parallel to the ground, top of the neck concave, stiff back, and trailing hind legs. I've also seen her move like this in her paddock, running free. If she thinks my contact is too hard she immediately drops the bit and goes behind the bit. I usually have no problems keeping her on contact at a walk, but since the walk is the slowest gait horses do not "need" the support of full contact. It is the trot that is the challenge now. Mia still consents to contact at the trot when I am not too tired, ie. the beginning of the lesson, but as I get tired and my hands worsen Mia inverts unless I allow her intermittent contact. Intermittent contact is not going to get me to my goals.

I have learned over the decades that if I want to fix a "problem" with a horse while training, I have the most success when I approach the horse with at least three different methods of tackling the problem in my mind. This is the main reason I read all those riding books, so I will know more solutions to the problems I face when training a horse. So I laid on my bed (this type of thinking is exhausting to me) and thought the problem out.

If I was physically able, the first obvious solution is lungeing with a chambon. I used this solutions successfully with my crazy 7/8 Arab mare Suzi when everything else I had done had not convinced her that it would be more comfortable to carry her head properly--not inverted (BTW I was not as good a rider then.) Suzi even trotted inverted while loose in the field. There was no real improvement until I scrounged around my tack and made myself a chambon. It took only three sessions lungeing with the chambon, Suzi then realized that it was much more FUN to trot reaching her head out while carrying it low. She even corrected her trot while running free in the field. But Mia is not my mare and I am completely incapable of standing for half and hour lungeing a horse. So that solution won't work for me now.

The second thought I had was since Mia will trot properly with the type of intermittent contact in which SHE determines when to pick up and drop contact, maybe I should be the one determining when she takes and "drops" contact. I can do this method at the posting trot which is good since I am working on contact at the posting trot. The rough outline of this method is when the inversion starts to use both legs when sitting down at the posting trot, and to do a LIGHT direct rein of opposition with both hands while rising, which I relax as I sit down. This way I am telling her with my legs that I want her to keep going, and the slight strengthening and relaxing of the contact with her mouth gives her the illusion of still having intermittent contact. I have used this method previously, and the key is to find out the proper amount of pressure of both the legs and the hands. This will be the first method I try.

The second technique I thought of is not as ideal for my purposes because it is a technique best suited for the sitting trot, at least for me with my physical klutziness. I alternate hand and leg applied diagonally, I press my leg against the horse's rib cage as it swings out and meets my leg and with the opposite hand I do a LIGHT direct rein of opposition. These aids I alternate for as many strides as needed to get the horse out of inversion then I go back to normal contact. If the aids are too strong, especially if I use a stonger leg, I occasionally achieve collection--something I DO NOT WANT. Mia has arthritis in her hocks, she does not need to be in collection. I also do not know if I can do this physically while it is still hot, the combination of following the horse's back softly with my seat, using my leg aids with the proper pressure, keeping my hands still AND giving a delicate enough rein aid--this might be a bit too much for my limited physical and mental abilities. For me this is more of a technique to use during the winter when my nerves work better.

The third technique is something I used successfully with my crazy mare Suzi, just to keep control during her outbreaks of non-cooperation. With this method I hold my reins up so that they are nearly parallel to the cheek strap of the bridle (watching out for the horse's eye!!!) This technique works quite well for getting the head to go down. The problem is that often the head goes down in a QUICK dive, with the nose going all the way down in a full stretch, then the horse brings its head up MUCH more relaxed, enabling a short period of successful schooling until the next inversion. Since I have been working so hard on stabilizing my lower leg I can probably use it when it gets cooler, but it still will be a challenge to my balance!

As Mia gets to carrying her head properly (not inverted) while being ridden the proper muscles in her neck will develop. As these muscles get stronger Mia will be able to keep proper contact longer. I am aiming towards free moving gaits with good forward impulse, head/neck angle of 45% or with the nose poked out a bit more, and good consistent contact with a relaxed tongue and lower jaw. I wish I could lunge with the chambon since that has proved to be the quickest way around this problem, but at least I have 3 other solutions to my problem in my mind when I next ride Mia at the trot. I'll let you know if any of them work at all with her.

Have a great ride!