Medium Trot - we just can't get it

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Gorgeous George

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Having done my first novice test last week :) I would really like to work towards developing something of a medium trot, but neither George or I seem to be getting anywhere :(

I know it won't happen overnight and will need lots of work, but all I seem to get are quicker but not bigger strides.

I have a lesson once a month and last time we were working on collecting him on 10m circle in the corner, going onto the long side, straightening and then asking, but he just seems to go faster and I really struggle to hold him in the front (he's a big lad, 16.3 shire cross). He does have a tendency to go on the forehand (which I know won't help), but he has really improved lately, esp in his trot work.

So does anyone have any hints or tips or exercises that I can work on? I don't expect George will ever have great extension due to his build, but it would be nice to develop a medium that was noticable to a judge!

Thanks :)
 
Has he ever given you the feeling of medium? They often "get it" for the first time on hacks, it's nice to be able to just keep going, moving them on and back, without having to worry about pesky corners. One exercise I find very effective is work in canter, change the rein so you are in counter canter. Ask them to bend to the inside, really pushing them through their outside shoulder, then straighten, trot and quietly push - you should get medium trot.
 
I might not help a lot, but my instructor always tells me to make the horse rounder and lift his head while staying on the vertical, hold yourself tall and then ask for med trot while holding him up all the way so he clearly understands he needs to go uphill+ cannot go faster. As soon as he starts to run, go back to working trot and ask again. At first he may only do 2-3 steps of med, it takes a lot of work. But be careful practicing it too much, my instructor told me it's one of the most damaging movements for a horse, so 1-2 a week max :)
 
Have you got him/another horse into medium at all so that you have an idea of what it feels like?

I found it easier to teach my horse out hacking though as he really carried himself through his hinds (he was a lot less obliging in the school ;) ) then we could attempt to reciprocate it in the arena once I had the feel for it :) I also found it easier to ask slightly uphill or across the diagonal while he was learning.
 
Work on controlling the tempo of the trot through your rise so that you can keep him at the same tempo and push on for bigger strides.

When you ask for the medium sit tall, keep your shoulders back and your chest lifted and widen your hand a bit, don't drop your hand just widen. Then keep the rise at the same speed but rise "bigger" with more swing and put your leg on at the same time to ask for bigger strides. Try to do lots of on and back, as practice and to see whether you are genuinely getting bigger strides try counting them. Go large and ask for medium down one long side and count the strides between the markers, then count the strides in working trot or in a slightly collected trot down the other side so that you can tell whether you are getting a difference. Put circles or figures in to add variety and interest and to help you rebalance.
 
I'd agree with trying to give him a "taste" of it - some horses really don't think it's "allowed" under saddle and can be initially a bit freaked out by the feeling, especially if the rider is a also fumbling with a new feeling. I've also had good luck developing a few steps on the longe/loose so the horse starts to enjoy the movement.

One of the most useful preps I was taught is to do it out of shoulder in across the diagonal. So circle or corner, into shoulder in until the diagonal marker (or equivalent) then across the diagonal on the "angle" of the shoulder in, asking the horse to straighten and for a few steps of medium, coming back before the horse loses balance. It really sets the horse up well and if your shoulder in is correct it "loads the spring" for the initial steps.
 
There's a book called '100 dressage exercises for horse and rider' which we have and it has loads of different exercises to help with things like this and shoulder in, half pass etc, it wasn't expensive when I bought it (think it was just over a £10) and it's brilliant for giving you different things to do to keep it interesting as well, we get the kids to use it a lot as they have a tendancy to just go round and round and round and round and wonder why the horse gets bored!!!
It's got pictures to show the exercise and written information as to what yoou should or shouldn't be feeling. (Think I got it off amazon)
 
Does your instructor ride during your lessons? Might be worth getting him/her to have a go, and see if they can get a medium tune, and be able to talk you through it.

Twiglet had very ordinary pony-like paces (for a 15.3hh!) all round, until it came to medium trot, which would just spring from nowhere and surprise everyone :) One instructor explained it to me as like squeezing a tube of toothpaste with my legs, whilst maintaining the contact in front, and half halts to keep him off the forehand.
He normally found a spanking medium trot going up hills on the road too ;)
 
TarrSteps said:
One of the most useful preps I was taught is to do it out of shoulder in across the diagonal. So circle or corner, into shoulder in until the diagonal marker (or equivalent) then across the diagonal on the "angle" of the shoulder in, asking the horse to straighten and for a few steps of medium, coming back before the horse loses balance. It really sets the horse up well and if your shoulder in is correct it "loads the spring" for the initial steps.
Click to expand...

This is how my daughter was taught to achieve medium trot on her horse. His medium trot scores have gone from 5/6 up to 7/8 as a result, so definitely recommend that approach!
 
I have been taught by a classical dressage trainer for some time and have been taught a certain way of achieving MT which works great but is a bit long winded to explain and I wonder if you aren't riding classical dressage whether it may mix up your horse.

However, I attended a lesson last night with a (non-classical) list 2 BD judge who told me a very simple way of doing it which worked really well:-

Simply to try to build up/save up energy/activity before the medium, then ensure horse straight and balanced, hold horse up and then to ask for med, put your legs back as far as you can and keep holding the front end up. My horse flew on it!!! From my perspective, it would need practice to make it look pretty but it certainly worked!!! Might be worth a try next time you're schooling??
 
My instructor gets me on a 20m circle, sideways in trot (not any particular movement but i guess leg yield is the closest to it) then when you get to a long side/diagonal straighten, shoulders back, sit tall and ask for the lengthen. If he has a tendency to sit on the forehand, this will lighten him by putting more weight behind, engage him and give him the power he needs to move forward. I don't do it for medium trot, i do it just to improve the quality of our working trot as we're still in baby stages but it's coming :)
 
I have always taught this on a circle to start, changing the size of the stride forward and back then progressed to the long side and then once they are balanced, across the school .
 
trying to get it out hacking first is a good idea, either with another horse ahead or when heading for home when he's likely to want to open up a bit. don't worry about him poking his nose if he needs to, he prob will to help balance himself at first. just ask him to go forward, support as much as you need to, and praise a lot when he opens his shoulder and offers more. be happy with a few steps, rebalance, ask again.
i start teaching them lengthened strides fairly early, youngsters usually think its fun to open up a bit, and as long as you rebalance early so that they don't hooley into the corner and end up all over the shop, it remains fun...
 
Until a horse can do medium trot under saddle, it is pretty difficult to get them to do it for a few strides up the long side or across the diagonal.

I have taught all my youngsters by riding the full school as an oval, ie. cut out the corners.
I then ask for a bigger trot whilst maintaining a contact so the energy generated doesn't turn into a canter. It make take a few times for him to understand what you want but once he does produce a medium trot, you will know.
Only when they can produce a MT on the oval consistently do I then go onto ask them to do one as a dressage test requires.
 
Thanks there are some really good exercises and tips for me to try :)

The problem I have is that I've never ridden a horse doing medium trot so am pretty hopeless in that respect, also George is 12 and has never really been asked or offered - hope we're not a lost cause :D

There is a long woodland track where we hack, so I think i will give it another try there and see if it helps.
 
He will get there :). When we taught the yellow one in my lessons we worked on getting the trot back to a collected trot round the corner then pushing along the long side or diaganal for the meduim. He didnt have a shoulder in or any lateral work established enough to do it from there so we just went from the collect then push on a bit. A bit of verbal encouragment may help him. Mine now finds it all very easy from the trot and we got a 7 for it in his novice debut just need to get the canter there now :cool:. We just took a little bit more extension each time and by the end of the lesson he was medium trotting away with me just having to increase my rise.
 
Try doing it on a hack up a hill. Because you are going up a hill they are less likely to end up on their forehand.

I was watching Team Fredericks and she said that was how she taught her horses to do it.
 
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