I have always found that ground work is worth coming back to and weaving into my program. After a basic lesson with Kirsten long lining my very forward mare, I could see how it would benefit both of my horses to begin to engage their hind ends. Well, I was amazed at the response from my horses. After 6 very intense sessions, both are dragging their noses on the ground, stopping and backing instead of going forward. I can see their brains on overload! So, what next?
Yeah, today I went back to the long lines. I couldn't figure out what was happening in the saddle so I dropped back to the long lines to see it they would help. Turns out Jasper had the same balance problems in the long lines as in the saddle. So I'm hoping our work will help out when I next try riding.
"One reason why birds and horses are happy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses."