Hi everyone!

Recently I have seen a huge improvement in Dino. After hitting a brick wall in our training finding it hard to overcome a few schooling issues we have finally started to overcome these. Since finding one very simple exercise Dino has stopped rushing when cantering and become much more ridable, so I’m going to share the exercise with all of you as I wish someone had told me this when I was struggling with a him rushing. I’m also going to share a few other exercises and tips I’ve been told and things that have helped me.

The Exercise

One afternoon I took to YouTube (where I generally go to learn how to do something 😂), in the hope to find the answer to my problem and if not at least to find some new schooling exercises to try. Typing “how do I stop my horse rushing” into the search bar I really wasn’t filled with confidence that I would find anything as I have been here before and not found anything that helped us in the past.

However after watching a couple of videos I stumbled upon the video which has changed my schooling routine for the better! I will warm you it leaves you with a real hand to forehead moment🤦 cause it’s really that simple. The video explains the exercise and the pupils problem and how the exercise works. Like the lady being discussed in the video I saw results immediately!

Heres a link to the video incase you missed it earlier in paragraph https://youhttps://youtu.be/LZLCkWPMoectu.be/LZLCkWPMoec

Dino’s Progress

Before watching the video and trying the exercise out as soon as Dino got into canter he would get faster and faster. We’d been through a number of bit and noseband combinations including hackamore, gags, a Waterford and some different snaffles but never got the result we wanted. He was in a hackamore before I found the exercise and this was the best for control and he tended not to rush off in it either or at least not as bad.

The Reason Behind Dino’s Rushing?

I’m not one hundred percent sure of the reason for Dino’s Rushing but I do have a bit of a theory on it. When j first got him he was still green and not really developed but his canter was always really nice and slow. Yes he poked his nose but he was young and a thoroughbred so his head carriage is always going to be that little bit higher naturally. Over time his canter started to get more rushed for no reason really. He had got a pole between his hind legs when jumping one day which had happened before we had noticed him really starting to rush. We first though it was due to giving himself a bit of a scare and knocked his confidence so we kept him sweet and didn’t jump for a little while but he still continued to rush off. Later we got his back done as I had read that rushing can develop when they are misaligned in their pelvis so our physio came out and confirmed his pelvis was misaligned. After he had had a short break and followed the physio’s instructions he was much better though over time he did start to pick up speed again. Earlier this year he had the physio out again as I like to get them check a couple times a year by him and his pelvis was out again so that’s now back in and he was much better again after getting that done.

Then about a month ago I found this video on YouTube and though we’d give it ago. I done the exercise a few times in walk, then trot a few more times till he felt like he could stop at the corner. When I asked him for canter I was gobsmacked at his reaction. He just cantered so quietly and I could feel a huge difference in his back. He was so much more relaxed and his head carriage was totally different. I’ll also add that at this point I had moved him into a loose ring snaffle with a French link as I was starting to feel like he needed some more breaks than a hackamore. He was also in a cavason noseband, the first time I’d ever rode him in such a simple noseband as he tended to cross his jaw.

I’ve now rode Dino for a week and he’s remained the same calm and happy horse when cantering with no rushing!

Where Next ?

For us I really want to go onto to stop him rushing into and away when jumping. I’m going to try the same exercise over poles to start and see how we go and then progress onto jumps. At the moment I want to keep him on the flat so we don’t undo the work we have achieved so far but looks out for updated on jumping on our instagram and I’ll be sure to blog about our attempts! Hopefully the weather will have dried up a bit and the farmer will have cut their fields by the time we are ready to try some poles (the poles are not visible the grass is getting so long).

Other Helpful Exercises

Trot or canter poles on a corner, this was something I found really helped Dino to settle over poles. I set up three poles on one corner with three of my strides between them to make them into canter poles so we could trot or canter over them. As he improved the poles where raised to change things up a bit and work him in a different way.

Shallow loops and serpentines, these two exercises really help to get them listening to you and the aids you are giving whilst keeping them thinking all the time. Both exercise can easily be done in any gait and shallow loops are a good way to introduce leg yield.

Poles before and/or after a jump, having a placing pole before and after the jump gives the horse something to look at making them back off the jump. The poles also mark the ideal take off and landing so it makes it much harder for the horse to take off too early or late. As your horse stops to rush you can gradually remove the poles or move them further out so the horse is less reliant on them.

The half hault, its good to establish that your horse understands the half hault in the slow gaits like walk and trot before moving on to faster work like canter and jumping. Practice your half hault to get your horse listening to you before cantering and jumping so your horse will understand better.

Other Things to Consider

1. Fit of tack, rushing is often associated with pain so make sure your horse tack fits especially saddle and check where you bit is sat and that your bit is correct for your horse
2. Have your horses teeth done by a dentist regularly
3. Keep it simple, try tacking your horse out of the big bits and nosebands some strong horses much prefer softer bits
4. Teach your horse to react to your seat
5. Think about how you are using your hands, I found this video really helpful
6. Go back to ground work, don’t be afraid to go back to basics like long reining and lungeing there a great way to vary your horses exercise routine
7. Make sure your horse isn’t getting bored of schooling try to mix things up
8. Check your horses feed their feed might be making them fizzy. If your unsure on what to feed your horse consult a nutritionist from your feed company. Their advice is usually free and you can normally contact them in a number of ways
9. Transitions are also a great way to get your horse to think slower

I hope that reading this has helped you or inspired you on some way to go work on your horses rushing problem. If your horses doesn’t rush then I hope you can apply this information whenever you may need it or even pass it onto a friend who has a similar issue😊

Have you tried any of these exercises?🤔let me know in the comments if they have helped your horse.

Why not share your tips in the comments for riding a horse that rushes🏇💨

Thanks for reading!🤗

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