Anyone got a trotter?

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123sue

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It seems i have bought a trotter x cob. Shes lovely, traffic proof, doesnt spook etc NOT like the previous horse, but she isnt schooled properly and i have having trouble getting canter. Now she goes no problem, my god i have never trotted so fast ever in 30 years of riding! Is it just schooling to solve this, or have i got trouble ahead?
 
I don't have a trotter but I have met one via the riding club, gorgeous horse. She had also had problems getting into canter but had worked very hard with her riding riding instructor and it was improving signifcantly last time we met. I don't have many details, I don't think it was easy but it is possible.
 
I have a trotter :) he's 9 I've had him since he was 5.

Fantastic little jumper, just qualified for pony club novice championships :)

It takes time. When I first got him he paced all the time, I try not to encourage it but don't give him a row as he was probably trained as a youngster (ex gypsy) looks and feels crap in small arenas, round corners and downhill. On the straight he can get a really nice rhythm, when I'm at things with him, the people who know him refer to it as 'trantering' when I canter sometimes he get confused, he paces when I come out of canter and getting into canter isn't always too pretty.

My best advice for riding is try not to ride, the more you interfere the more they struggle, like my sister, she's a better rider than me but can't get him round a 2ft course because she 'rides' him whereas I let him decide how to tackle things and can do a 4.6ft puissance wall without thinking.

You will have so much fun.
 
I don't own any but I do have both trotters and pacers living on my farm. When I've been involved in rehabbing them off the track I've found that teaching them to canter uphill makes it easier for them, so I never ask for canter on flat ground until it is well established on hills. Once in a while with a less experienced rider they might flit back into trotting/pacing but usually if the rider has a secure deep seat they can pull them out of that and urge the horse on into the desired gait.
 
I had a trotter, took me nearly a year to get him into a balanced canter but after that he managed pretty well. He also was one of the best jumping ponies I ever rode, would jump a 1.10m course no bother, would have went higher but I wasn't brave enough, regret not doing it now:P

I used a lot of rewarding for what he could do in canter, and eventually that would go from one side of the arena to the whole arena and so on. Also half halting more than other horses but using the leg a lot more too, because you basically had to hold the canter together, if you dropped the contact he'd trot same with stopping the leg.

Might be different for your horse, but thats the technique I used for mine:)
 
I have a Trotter x Trad. I used to only canter him uphill until he got the hang of it. He is alot better on the flat now. He is very very bouncy , he square trots fab when he on one!!! Has moves that would be fab in dressage arena.

I compete him in Endurance and flies round at a good trot. He is a real work horse, he thrives on big hills and challenging rides.
 
I had my trotter for 7 years and we never really got a balanced canter! She would pace & then set off like a rocket, i was unable to get past the speed of it all, my daughter could but unfortunatley she would race on and get so wound up she would tie up! I gave up in the end and we just did walk & trot!
 
Me too - I've got a 7 year old. Very rarely paces now which is good, only tends to when unbalanced.
Agree with cantering up hill, oh and a straight line - cantering in the school is hard work for them.
Best bit of advice I can give us to ride with your seat and voice - try a really loose rein as you can get into a bit of a battle using your hands to slow down the mammoth trot!
 
I used to have a trotter, he was an amazing horse. I picked him up at a sale for £300, broke him in, turns out he could jump. And I mean really jump! He was the bravest horse I've ever known. Some people said he was stupid, but I think he was just incredibly bold. Literally nothing fazed him! I was loose schooling him one day and he jumped through the window of the indoor school :eek4: had to twist to get through! I ran out to grab him and there he was, quietly grazing on the lawn in front of the stables! I sold him on to a girl wanting to event. I believe he's doing very well.
 
i have a trotter, although a poorly boy at the moment fingers crossed he'll pull through.
Hes 14, and has suffered for his trotting, i believe he was very popular in Ireland in the trotting races, but boy are his joint paying for it now. sidebone and hock spavin to name a couple...He leads a much quieter life now but given half a chance hes off trotting faster than most others canter, its the sort of trot i cant even sit or rise to, i just have to stand up in the stirrups as if hes cantering, lol! But yes, has terrific problems getting him to canter,he just doesnt seem to understand the gait at all, can get a nice canter uphill on straight lines but he much prefers trotting or a flat out gallop!
 
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