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  Discussion on Stiff side
Author Message

Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 1999 - 8:31 am:

Hi Dee,

you are right. If your horse has trouble bending to the left then it is actually the right side that is stiff. Working to the left will stretch out the right side and help it to be more elastic. YOu need to be careful in working this side because you don't want to overwork it. With my horse I gradually increased the amount of time working on that side. For example: 2 minutes to the right followed by 1 minute to the left, back to the right, etc. Also, I would ask for the bend around the inside leg for only a few strides and then let him stretch out. By doing it this way and being very patient he is now quite elastic on his stiff side.

good luck

Teresa

Posted on Sunday, Jun 13, 1999 - 11:10 am:

Yes but again you need to be careful not to overwork it.

Posted on Monday, Jun 14, 1999 - 2:45 pm:

Hi again Dee,

I answered rather quickly earlier, but I was curious, what exactly are you referring to when you say "weak" side? Is there a specific problem you are having or is it just general info???

Teresa

Posted on Thursday, Jun 17, 1999 - 9:05 pm:

Help me out Marlane,
Just to add to the confusion, here is my interpretation:

1. stiff side: the horse will have trouble bending around the leg on the opposite side (e.g., stiff right side means the bend to the left is hard). the horse will try to go straight.

2. weak side: I tend to think more of weak legs/stifle, then entire side. So, if a horse has a weak hind left leg, when cantering to the left he will try to swing his hind end to the inside to take the pressure off his hind leg and carry more of his weight on his stronger, right leg.

To further add to the difficulty, these will often go together so that it might be hard to tell exactly what's going on. (e.g., a horse with a weak right hind leg will tend to canter more on the left when free therefore never really stretching out the right side so it becomes stiff). this is not really any different then people haveing a hand preference.

If you ride your horse and pay attention to how they feel going both directions and try to work them equally on both sides then you will fix the problem(s) regardless of whether it's stiffness and/or weakness.

If Marlane reads this she will let me know if/where I'm off track.


Teresa

Posted on Friday, Jun 18, 1999 - 12:58 pm:

Hmmm.

I've always equated "stiff side" and "weak side" to be nearly the same.

For example, in going to the right, my horse is reluctant to engage her inside hind (weak?) and therefore doesn't easily bend through the body and stay off my inside hand. She is more likely to bend left. She would like to use my right hand for "support."

To escape working the right hind when going to the left, it may swing out a bit.

As far as becoming aware. A horse is narrower in the front than the back. (Trapazoidal) So it is easy to get a neck bend and think you are bending properly. If the horse's outside shoulder is bulging, this would suggest the bend isn't honest, through the body. Think about placing the horse's shoulders in front of the hind legs to get straightness - so the bulging outside shoulder would need to be repositioning in.

Tracking straight on a circle is very challenging.

Hope this helps. Someone correct me if I'm way off.

Posted on Sunday, Jun 20, 1999 - 8:09 pm:

Hi Chris,

I don't think that you're way off at all, the problem is knowing exactly what people mean by the terms weak and stiff. You are absolutely correct about the "false bend" that horses will tend to do to not engage the inside hind. Doing lots of figures will help the horse to learn to bend to the inside. Leg yielding and shoulder-in should help as well. Having someone on the ground who knows what to look for will help a person who is unsure know when the horse is bending and should be able to learn to feel the bend.

Teresa
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