Helping my pacer learn to trot

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jadem123

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Hi. I brought a horse about a year not knowing he was a pacer. Long story short he has had a few health issues and he has shown me he can trot but he has reverted into pacing and not being able to trot at all. Anyone got any tips on how I can help him out
 
My mares got pacer in her too. Never really understood it until I brought her then wondered why she trotted weird and cantered even weirder at 100mph!!

With mine it was just flatwork, flatwork, flatwork, and lots of circles and transitions. Walk trot, trot walk. If she started to pace in trot I immediately brought her back to walk and started again so she learnt that 'pacing' was wrong and 'trotting' was right. Trotting poles are a great help, teaches them to put their feet in the right place and really sorts out those back legs. I'm guessing you've cantered as well? He'll find this really hard and will start off going like the clappers! Pacers have no understanding of canter (pacers are punished as rule for breaking the trot) my mare would canter with the front legs and pace with the back. It was circles (lots, even now) that taught her to bring those hind legs underneath. To be honest I didn't do much cantering at all in the beginning not until we got the trot right.

If your horse is still young you've got a fighting chance of getting her right, mine was 4 when I got her, she turned 9 this year and you'd never know now. Her canters not 100% but good enough for a dressage judge not to notice.....
 
Tory27 said:
My mares got pacer in her too. Never really understood it until I brought her then wondered why she trotted weird and cantered even weirder at 100mph!!

With mine it was just flatwork, flatwork, flatwork, and lots of circles and transitions. Walk trot, trot walk. If she started to pace in trot I immediately brought her back to walk and started again so she learnt that 'pacing' was wrong and 'trotting' was right. Trotting poles are a great help, teaches them to put their feet in the right place and really sorts out those back legs. I'm guessing you've cantered as well? He'll find this really hard and will start off going like the clappers! Pacers have no understanding of canter (pacers are punished as rule for breaking the trot) my mare would canter with the front legs and pace with the back. It was circles (lots, even now) that taught her to bring those hind legs underneath. To be honest I didn't do much cantering at all in the beginning not until we got the trot right.

If your horse is still young you've got a fighting chance of getting her right, mine was 4 when I got her, she turned 9 this year and you'd never know now. Her canters not 100% but good enough for a dressage judge not to notice.....
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Thank you for your help. He's 6 but had very poor training previously. We've done a little bit of the canter work but he only seems to really struggle within the trot. He has had back issues so I'm doing a lot of walk work to get that muscle there to help him use his back end. He also has had times where he can trot perfectly well and then revert back to pacing. Did you find this a problem?
 
I retrained a pacer who was about 8 or 9 I think when I started riding her. As Tory has said, lots of transitions, circles, polework and keeping everything balanced - they break back down into pacing from the trot if it gets too rushed or they can balance. Try to gradually build up the length of time he trots rather than waiting until he breaks back into pace himself - it will take time to build up the correct muscles and balance. Work on asking him to bring himself under from behind as it is harder to pace when they are not able to stretch out.
 
'Work on asking him to bring himself under from behind as it is harder to pace when they are not able to stretch out.' - I agree with this DollyAnna.

jadem123 - if you can work on getting him into an outline it will really make him tuck up his hind end up, strengthen along his topline and work off the quarters, he will not be able to pace with a round neck. He'll find it jolly hard as he'll be using muscles l he didn't know he had so little and often to start then build up gradulally.

I also had the problem of her reverting back to pacing, especially on a downward transition from the canter. Like dollyanna said, they rush because they cant balance, when he rushes think 'slow' and use your seat to slow him down, sit really deep into the saddle to bring him back under you with little 'tweaks' on the reins - dont pull you'll be off agian.. lol.
 
Tory27 said:
'Work on asking him to bring himself under from behind as it is harder to pace when they are not able to stretch out.' - I agree with this DollyAnna.

jadem123 - if you can work on getting him into an outline it will really make him tuck up his hind end up, strengthen along his topline and work off the quarters, he will not be able to pace with a round neck. He'll find it jolly hard as he'll be using muscles l he didn't know he had so little and often to start then build up gradulally.

I also had the problem of her reverting back to pacing, especially on a downward transition from the canter. Like dollyanna said, they rush because they cant balance, when he rushes think 'slow' and use your seat to slow him down, sit really deep into the saddle to bring him back under you with little 'tweaks' on the reins - dont pull you'll be off agian.. lol.
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Thank you. Due to him having had a so sprained sacroiliac before I'm having a vet out to double check as I don't want him in pain. By 'reverting back to pacing' I mean him not being able to trot at all from being able to trot perfectly fine. We are doing lots of muscle building walk work at the mo to help him use his back end
 
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