RETRAINING HORSES

CASE STUDIES

Case Study - Isola Irina owned by Jenny Rowan

Irina is a stunning 5yo mare by Biotop who Jenny bought at the the Trakehner “Hengstmarkt” in Germany with a view to co mpeting her in dressage. Jenny backed her herself and after a successful start, she encountered problems with napping and some rearing. With a new baby taking up much of her time, Jenny decided to send Irina to us to continue her training and iron out her ‘kinks’!

“After an initial assessment, I found Irina to have a combination of a very soft mouth and a lack of lateral flexion in her neck. This has caused her to ‘lock up’ in certain situations and she has found that by rearing she can avoid going into the contact.

These photos follow one training session about a week into her stay with us.

Before mounting, I lunged Irina in a small circle around me so she can get rid of a bit of her excess energy and for me to check for any stiffness. Again, note the tack I am using… a Fulmer Cheek Snaffle so the bit cannot run through her mouth, and it also provides a little more ‘direction’. The saddle is an Australian Stock Saddle, which provides me with a lot more ‘stickability’ than a dressage saddle. If this mare rears on me, the worst thing that could happen is for me to fall off, providing her with a victory and me with a bigger problem to sort out! Once I am happy with her, I will revert back to her tack.


These series show how I mount a horse. Note the position of my body allows me to get on in one smooth movement with little pressure on the weakest part of her back. Once mounted I let her walk off on a loose rein to relax her.



My main aim at this stage of her training is to improve her lateral flexion. In this first photo, she is resisting. In order to improve this I asked her to move away from my leg whilst keeping some lateral flexion. She seems to take the lesson on board and shows much less resistance in the third photo when I ask for the same flexion.

1. Note the resistance when I ask for lateral flexion in her neck

2. I ask for some bend through her body

3. A lot more softness now

Now on to the other rein – and the same thing happens! After some work on this side, she happily accepts some flexion followed by a chance to reflect on what she has learnt!


Now working in trot, she demonstrates resistance in a different way, by ‘overbending’ and avoiding going forward into the contact. Irina has a lovely natural outline but with her soft mouth, she has to learn that she can take up some contact without any repercussions, which she is beginning to do in the second photo.



Once she has worked in the school, I take her for a hack round the farm, but the training does not stop there… gates are the most useful training tool you have! Note the bend and leg yielding that is being carried out – an extension of her work in the school!”