What are some things l can do to get my horse to bend to the right? He is really good at going to the left but he will not go to the right! l do not know what to do! We do eventing so l really wanna get him bending before the show season starts up. Any ideas?

try to gradually teach him to bend that way and reward him if he does

There r several things u can do, but be careful not to overwork them or ur horse may become sore.

Flex the neck to one side & the other using the reins. The horse should give immedately when u move the rein back. If not, give a light snap as reinforcement. Make sure to give rein on the other side. Once the horse does this at all, u can work on getting him to do this for longer periods. Do not overbend.

Once this is down, u can actually ride the horse both bent & counterbent.

You can also improve hip response using turn on the forehand & haunches in & out.

The bend just combines the neck bend with the bend from the haunches in & out, so u can then practice these on circles, using both bend & counterbend.

Hope this helps!

get a mint or treat and in his stall put it to his side untill he brings his head to the said then give it to him.

do that everyday.

than bending will come easer






also try geting a massage for him.. may his neck is soar

Mark had some really good suggestions. You may also want to look at how he is muscled too. Chances are he is more developed on the left than the right. If this is true, then you need to work on developing the positive muscle, not resistance muscle on the right. You can also start doing a lot of various ground work as well as flat to develop and balance him going right.

Good Luck

you have to work on your right side then. when you bend to the right, you do not just pull on his mouth to make him turn. this will make him bulge to the outside, and it will look uncomfortable and not very smooth. you have to push his body over with your inside leg, and lightly pull with your inside hand. keep your leg on at all times, and make sure not to twist your body when you pull.
good luck showing!

Here is a great way to help ur horse bend with some simple ground exercises that r also a good bonding experience as well!!!

First is to get some treats (carrots or small little nibble bits work well) & put the treat next to the horses girth on his side. He will bring his head around to get the treat & be stretching & strengthing his neck muscles. Then bring a treat to the other side & do the same thing. Next bring a treat underneath the horse to right about his front knees, so he has to almost bow to get the treat. This will stretch his topline. Do these in sets of three before or after u ride.