Horse rushing on downwards transitions - help!

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perryhillbay

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Hi

Please can someone give me some advice on exercises to do to help me with my canter to trot transitions?

My mare leans on me hard as she transitions, and then continues to lean hard and rush around in trot for a good lap of the arena before she will start to soften again and relax. She works on the bit in canter and trot, it is just the transition where the whole thing goes to pot. I feel bad because I just end up arguing with her or socking her in the teeth to get her to listen and I know that that is both incorrect and very unfair on her. It's like she just ignores me though!!

I have tried riding half halts before the transition, but she resists, I have tried simply dropping the rein so she has nothing to lean on, and she just gets faster in the trot and breaks into a canter again. I am at a total loss! It is so frustrating because other that this everything about her work is going so well and we have out first dressage comp in a couple of weeks and this one transition will ruin the whole test.

Please you lovely people suggest something, anything that can help?

Cheers. x
 
when mine did that my instructor made me do loads of transitons like trot to halt trot walk ect all around the arena to get him to listen. in the end i was abke to do canter to walk so all my trans were better and he waited for wot i was asing instead of rushing, if that makes sense.........
 
It's very hard to advise without seeing the horse- have had a few thoughts- you could possibly try a different bit as well, maybe french link hanging cheek snaffle to apply a bit more poll pressure, rather than socking her one!

If you look to your own position to resolve the problem and keeping it and what you are doing, that should help, think of forward soft, allowing hands, and that your elbows are your anchor so that they are bent and consistently by your sides so that you cannot be pulled forwards and your horse escaping you in the transition.
Maybe start by doing simple walk-halt transitions on a circle, gradually building up to walk trot, then canter etc , but when she is soft you give. When she is softer and consistent and you are happy and relaxed about it you could then try going large- you could also try canter- walk- canter transitions, and exercises to make her use her hocks underneath her rather than the front end. Also in transitions think of the hind legs working underneath you but allowing the neck out in front, if you keep your shoulders back that should also balance her and set her up more. Lots of stretching round and deep so she has to hold herself up too may help. Gd luck!
 
The answer is to do shedloads of transitions!

Lots of transitions between all places, indirect, and direct, never allowing more than about five strides in any pace.

So halt, walk, halt, trot, walk, trot, canter, trot, canter, trot, walk, halt etc mix it up so she can anticipate. If she will rein back add a few strides of rein back too.

Practising transitions will help her balance in the pace, discourage her from rushing, encourage her to bring her hocks under her and go in self carriage. Not allowing her to stay in one pace too long should help prevent her from becoming unbalanced and discourage her from ploughing on.

Concentrate on steadying her through your body and slowing your own rhythm when she starts to rush. Breathe out, steady your breathing, slow your rythm and hold through your body.

Keep practising and she will improve. The mare I am riding at the moment is pretty unbalanced but lots of short transitions improves her no end. If you practise them before your test you should find it helps her responsiveness and balance in the test. The only thing to thing about on the day of the test is not doing too many indirect upward transitions if she tends to be fizzy and not to do too much rein back if it might make her fidgetty in halt during the test.

Good Luck!
 
You dont need to argue with her or sock her in the teeth but you do need to show her the correct way.
The easiest theing to do is to do the transition as you're approaching arena fence and use the fence to help to back her off and insist she comes right back to you- even halt within a few strides. Then praise, reward and repeat.
It's amazing how quickly they learn, especially if you use a quite 'whoa' too.
 
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