Brydie wrote:I think I'm too easy on him. I used to create energy but "let it escape" out the front. My instrcutor always says don't let it out in front! I feel if I pushed my hands forward he would just become long as that's the way he'd rather be. My shoulders are my most hated position flaw
ugh it's all feeling too hard right now and I'm only at prelim!
Brydie, don't despair! Things will start clicking soon enough! In any case, I've highlighted this particular part because it's part of the key. Your instructor is right in asking you to set a boundary and ask him to work within it. However, backward pulling tends to override leg aids (preaching to the choir, I know
). So, how do you contain without pulling? SHOULDERS! SHOULDERS! SHOULDERS! and back. and seat. He is changing his frame when you give or push forward because he's not being held on your back.
Have you ever done the exercise where someone puts a longe line around your hips, stands in front of you and pulls the line while you're in rider position (knees bent, stacked spine, elbows bent etc)? If not, have someone do this, or do a refresher. You will find that when someone pulls on that - you will either stay put or fall forward. If you are falling forward, it means that you have given in the core, or given in the back (hollowed back and tipped pelvis), or given in the shoulders or all of the above.
To resist... shoulders back and down, and engage the core - you'll stay put against a fair amount of pressure. Then, have the person let go suddenly - if you fall back - it means you were leaning back. Rinse - repeat until you don't fall backwards on the release. THAT is what you need to have in the saddle. Now - have that same person pull on you with your shoulders back... now round your shoulders slightly... you will instantly fall forward. Shoulders are key in stabilizing yourself against a horse that is wanting to be heavy - which enables your hands and arms to stay pushing forward. See. It's not the HANDS that create the boundary - it's the shoulders, back and seat of the rider. I say seat because if the thigh is not anchored (NOT GRIPPING, just anchored) in the saddle, you will also fall forward. That's not to say that I won't take a firmer pressure in my hand for a second to ask for softening, but by and large, the horse should be held by the seat. You will also find that you will work less in your leg if you have hands that have forward intent. Again.... the goal is NOT the make the mouth of the horse light - it's to make the shoulders light.
In terms of roundness - so you can have a horse that is yielding to the bit, but are doing so with a flat topline - dropped in the base of the neck/chest. That is what he's doing - you have to get the energy, to ride him up and over the bit - we've all heard the string the bow analogy. More foward will help him change the angle of his neck and be round because he's powering up, not because he's just yielded to the bit. The more energy ties to the above.
Moral of the story - FIGHT FOR YOUR SHOULDERS! It will be huge for you.
but that's no excuse...not yet anyway.
She worked marvelously. 
.