Crooked Horse....

[OliverG]

My horse has just come back off loan, and his old tricks have crept back in.

He is very crooked, and is really backing off the contact. He has alot of muscle under his neck rather than at the base of it.

Also when I rode him last night I felt like he was bannana shaped although he didnt look it, and one side of his barrel pressed on one leg more than the other. His neck was scrunched up too....he was also very upright in the front and his action was horrible!!!!

After reading things from  all you other dressage buffs i realise just how boring and ineffective my schooling must be!

Can anyone give me a schooling plan to work to?

I want to get him working down and into the contact - last time we did this with  we worked on straight lines and gettign him taking the outside rein. Also ALL transitions had to come from a soft round horse and he had to STEP into everyone - or i had to do it again.......

He wasnt so crooked then though......

Any tips - PLEASE.

Bit of background. He has been badly schooled for his younger years, and over schooled int eh GP movements. He sits behind the contact and scrunches his neck.
He is a big lad.

He also seems to have lost alot of movement in the front - is this to do with the crookedness and scrunched neck?

I want to get my old horse back!

He is getting teeth and back done asap.
 

[Cookie]

Just a thought - why not switch to in-hand? See the post on the thread about in-nahd DVDs; the same guy that gave me the guidance also told me to not rush into anything fancy, but wait until we had straightness.

Maybe it would help break the cycle you're in if he worked without a rider on his back, especially if, as you imply, it was the other rider that's messed him up...  Just straight line stuff, and with a friend to observe now and then (better still, video) from in front and behind to tell you exactly what he looks like and where his feet are falling.