My horse is very stiff in sitting trot

E

erin92

Member
Joined
12 September 2019
Messages
17
Visit site
Hi guys I have a problem with my beautiful boy :(
He is a thoroughbred of 10 years old and he looks very stiff and short strided only in sitting trot and only with my trainer!!! I dunno how to explain but basically when he trots forward he does not show any signs of stiffness, his movements are actually very loose and nice. The same happens when he gallops, he looks perfect on both reins!!! The problem is only when he asks him something more demanding in the sitting trot. He starts to look uncomfortable, nervous and all of a sudden he changes his gate. His gate becomes very strange, chopped and the whole horse looks very stiff, almost lame!!!!! ;(. This happens when the trainer rides him, with me this stiffness is not so visible, to be honest I do not even feel it.

We had vet check one week ago and nothing serious emerged, negative to all the tests. The only thing which emerged was that his back' s muscles were a bit contracted but the vet said nothing to be worried about and she suggested to do not do anything special but just some massage sessions and he should be fine.
What do u think guys? Could it be the contraction? I m so worried because it is a very strange situation :(
When I do sitting trot with him he does not behave like this, I do not feel him stiff!!!! (I know him very well, and I think I would immediately detect something strange in his gate), even the trainer told me that with me this stiffness issue is not so visible.
Do you think is it possible that he reacts like this because the trainer is asking him something too demanding or with "stronger" manners? Bear in mind that the horse have been ridden exclusively by me for 8 years so he is used to my riding style.
 
It sounds to me, without seeing either of you ride, that your trainer is blocking the horse's forward movement, either with the hands or the seat, which is bound to confuse the horse. Your trainer may be an excellent trainer for you but not such a good rider for the horse, some people can see exactly what is happening from the ground and translate that into what the rider needs to do, even if they can't do it themselves. I really don't think that your horse is benefitting from having your trainer ride.

I would ask someone to video both of you riding your horse, so that you can be sure that he doesn't do the odd gait when you ride, too.
 
Mine does this. It's usually resolved with a pat on the neck.

He tenses in anticipation of a transition making his trot a bit choppy. Give him a pat and he relaxes when he understands that he is staying in trot.
 
I suspect the horse is a bit tight through his back, lacking real suppleness and that when the trainer asks him to work more from behind he finds it hard so shortens/ contracts his muscles which then shows as an unlevel stride and he looks even tighter because he finds it hard to bend and stretch .
This really needs a twofold approach first a saddle check and good physio to look at him, the tightness can usually be dealt with once the physio has started by lots of work on the ground and ridden to encourage him to stretch more over the back, which is what your trainer is trying to do but is possibly too much without the physio first and a bit of rehab to allow his to relax the muscles first.
The other option is to accept how he goes and change trainer but that will not resolve the underlying issue which may get worse if he is tight and starts to block against you if you try to move on in your schooling.

I see a lot of horses that are much like this and they usually improve very quickly and the owner finds the horse is better to ride than before and if they compete the scores should go up because they are moving better than they were.
 
My previous horse lacked suppleness which was very noticeable in sitting trot as he'd also tighten more in his back as soon as I tried to sit making the trot tight and choppy. He did improve but he was always a horse that would show tension if he found something difficult or worrying.
 
Little update:
First of all, thank you very much guys for your replies, I appreciate it!!!
Yesterday the trainer rode him again and he was much better in the sitting tort (still a bit stiff but less than the previous sessions), maybe the contraction is improving or maybe they are starting to know each other a bit better !!!! I noticed that now the horse is more relaxed with my trainer and this is helping him to be more loose :)
 
I don't do a sitting trot until it feels like the horse's back "invites" you in to do it. They have to have the softness of the back in order to be able to allow you to sit. Also the strength. Hence sitting trot not being seen in the lower level dressage tests.

Once I am in sitting trot it is true that I can then get 'better' work, but I would not try to use the sitting trot to get the initial softness. IME that just makes them choppy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top