EXTENTIONS,help needed

[sandraban]

i am trying to teach my horse to do an extended trot but not very succesfully, when i apply leg he just charges off even when i have a strong contact with my reins the other day we got a few strides of extended trot then he broke into canter and i havn't had much luck since...his normal trot is just a very average trot although the horse is very striking and stands out, is there anything i could do to make his trot look more athletic or elegant as i am thinking of taking him to a higher level dressage and doing more showing on him therefore i would like him to stand out just that bit more i am prepared to put the effort in but i just don't know how to get the desired effect

any help appreciated

 

[Horses24-7]

Does he really sit on his hocks and work from behind? To get a good extended trot you need to work on this to enable him to carry himself forward without falling on his forehand and rushing.

Have you done any medium pace work with him? Would definitely do this first before moving on to extended.

I would be happy with a couple of strides to start with. Just ask for a couple then bring him back.

Good luck!

 

[SeasonalSituation]

It's difficult to get the extended trot down without a lot of hard work, It's taken a while to get my boy to do it. The way I did it was in sitting trot, therefore my rising was not going to interfere with the increase in stride. I worked on collecting his trot before extension, so I would collect him extremely on a short side of the school, coming on to the longside I would give with me reins, and ask for the extension. When I say give, don't let your contact go but enough that he knows it's something different. I never have to use too much pressure with my legs, but enough to create implusion.

Hope that helps. It might not be the way everyone would do it but worked for me.