New to this area! Trotter help?

[poiuytrewq]

Been on HHO for ages but never venture in here as tbh I've strangely been ok just hacking and never felt the need to do any more or improve.
My current horse is trotter type, he was bred to drive originally. He did drive but bolted and had a nasty accident so was broken to ride instead, sold onto someone that had him about 2 years i think *very possibly less, dates don't really line up!

When i got him he was incredibly upside down and hollow, I've actually had mane (neatly pulled!!) in my face, he'd almost double back at me and tends to pull with his front and then flick his hind legs out rather than bring them under.
So, with my complete disinterest and lack of experience in the school, we hacked and hacked. He is now a very different shape and naturally go's much lower and more relaxed. The underside of his neck is no longer rock hard with nothing above, Its not as I aim for one day but infinetly better. His back looks better and he looks less trotter in general.
Until he gets wound up then we revert to head like a giraffe and flicky hinds.
I'm having and really enjoying lessons- super basic but am seeing results already. I don't have a school so try to do bits in the field. My instructor has given me advice of course and things to work on at home to get him using himself even better, more from behind and to bring his back end under more.
He will go in an "outline" if he has his head sawed in but that's not a me thing and we are very much working on relaxing him into a contact which he is starting to do and each week can hold it longer so that's really pleasing and probably whats spurring me on to want to do better for the first time ever!

I just wondered if anyone else has had a horse like this and any hints and tips (in simple terms please!) on how I can work on improving him.

Thanks

 

[Highmileagecob]

Ummm sort of. My daughter is loaning a standardbred. He looks like a two year old, bum high, no topline, poor shoulder definition - but is actually nearer ten years old. She is struggling to fit a saddle, so that she can start doing some work with him, but to be honest, I am not convinced he will change shape all that much. This one seems quite flighty, but then I am comparing him to our piebald cob. He is easily distracted, immature, doesn't appear to speak the same language as the rest of the herd, and is very often banished to a spot twenty or thirty yards away from the others. He is the only standardbred I have come across so no real idea if this is 'normal.'

 

[poiuytrewq]

Ummm sort of. My daughter is loaning a standardbred. He looks like a two year old, bum high, no topline, poor shoulder definition - but is actually nearer ten years old. She is struggling to fit a saddle, so that she can start doing some work with him, but to be honest, I am not convinced he will change shape all that much. This one seems quite flighty, but then I am comparing him to our piebald cob. He is easily distracted, immature, doesn't appear to speak the same language as the rest of the herd, and is very often banished to a spot twenty or thirty yards away from the others. He is the only standardbred I have come across so no real idea if this is 'normal.'

You may well have just described mine!
It was the flighty “run away” thing that made me go for lessons actually.
He still very much has that flee tendancy, but we have worked on getting his attention and relaxing which has helped no end.
Mine is about the same age. He has also been weird with the others, used to just pace round and fence walk constantly but has settled in the past 6 months say and they are now pretty happy out together.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Saddle fit has been an absolute nightmare and really contributed to how long it’s taken me to get to this point!

 

[tristar]

i have a rescue, trotter cross we think, when i broke him at 6 yrs, he was very forward, and did the flighty head up thing, he travelled at quite a speed!, then would would fly off, head up.

fortunately we have an arena, so he has been working in there x 3 times a week, i tried not to hold his mouth to start just follow him, he was all over the place.

after 12 months he can trot round nicely, his head comes down of its own accord, he is doing some lateral work, and his circles are good, [on a good day!] and he is working on trot to halt back to trot, if he rushes off i let his head go where its best for him in that moment and go with him, but it is rare he does that now

he is using his back to lower his head, he is impatient in halt, but getting there, and allowing for the fact he is very lively doing ok.

its a big difference to other horses, but he has the advantage of being started here, hoping he will do some dressage tests as he is quite an attractive picture now overall

 

[poiuytrewq]

I just wouldn’t put flighty and driving together! I know nothing about driving though.
I figured the way mine is was the reason he didn’t make is as a driven horse.
Mine has been ridden and actually had competed a little in his middle home. Apparently his muscles show he was just forced into place though.

Do either of you have photos?

 

[webble]

Ummm sort of. My daughter is loaning a standardbred. He looks like a two year old, bum high, no topline, poor shoulder definition - but is actually nearer ten years old. She is struggling to fit a saddle, so that she can start doing some work with him, but to be honest, I am not convinced he will change shape all that much. This one seems quite flighty, but then I am comparing him to our piebald cob. He is easily distracted, immature, doesn't appear to speak the same language as the rest of the herd, and is very often banished to a spot twenty or thirty yards away from the others. He is the only standardbred I have come across so no real idea if this is 'normal.'

Thats fairly normal for my standardbred behaviourwise, he can be flighty, mainly in the school, he has changed shape over time though

 

[sbloom]

These shapes of horses tend to need flat, neat trees, many cob saddles are too curvy and too wide/bulky .

 

[tristar]

when you see trotters they always seem to have their heads up in harness and travelling at speed

i suppose it depends on how much trotter blood they have

i thought ours was a cob! how nice for my old age, visions of plodding round the place quietly, but he has tb blood as well it would appear as many trotters do, as he grew up he sort of of developed into a finer sort of cob type

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Some Arab's can be a bit like that head in the air hollow back marching along, the ones I've tried to turn around haven't took long and once they learn they are fairly easy to ride I find.

Louis previous owner said he was like it when she bought him and within a few months he completely changed and looked like a proper show pony.

I would do some pole work it helps them engage the brain slow down a bit and strengthen the abdominal muscles so then the topline can build, long reining can help to get them to really stretch down, you want lots of long and low work to start with.

I would also do carrot stretches leg twirls, tail pulls and belly lifts everyday if you can.

 

[millikins]

Our old connie was much like this when we bought him, he needed to learn (so did I) that your leg was for support not speed with a very forward pony and as PvB says lots of long and low work. I'll put my tin hat on here and say that lunging in a pessoa helped him balance and build top line, I know gadgets are generally frowned upon but he was a very quirky beggar and we had to feel our way around what worked for him. His ewe neck did improve but conformationally was never great.

 

[poiuytrewq]

To be fair now he’s settled in this particular arena he’s bordering lazy. He went from terror, eyes on stalks to totally chilled, the other side of him mostly comes out hacking now if something bothers him.
Pole work was something I’d thought of, I let someone have all our poles last year but don’t want to loose them so it may be a good excuse to get them back.
Long reining I tried and he was horrific (oddly, I expected a driven horse to be amazing at king reining) It was a while ago though then I was having trouble in every single area with him, could give it another try, I quite like king reining.

I do also own a Pessoa, I’m not sure I’ve ever used it but may give that a go.

 

[tristar]

just lik eto add as new to trotters also, sometimes ours will pace, a most odd sensation and a great surprise, and his head gets even higher!, but he settles and lowers his head when warmed up, but he only does it at the start of riding, i do find a little lunging is helpful before jumping on

 

[poiuytrewq]

Mine hasn’t done that! *phew

One thing that I have found incredibly helpful that my instructor got me doing and is now my go to for chilling him out when we have crazy times, although it doesn’t do help at all when he’s really lost sight of life!
As I’m riding to stroke alternate sides of his neck, at first I was a bit horrified as it’s throwing away the contact but literally every step ‘stroke right, stroke left” he drops his head and starts to come back to me.
It’s not a graceful thing, not when I’m doing it anyway!
It’s working for us though so may be useful for someone else.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Some Arab's can be a bit like that head in the air hollow back marching along, the ones I've tried to turn around haven't took long and once they learn they are fairly easy to ride I find.

Louis previous owner said he was like it when she bought him and within a few months he completely changed and looked like a proper show pony.

I would do some pole work it helps them engage the brain slow down a bit and strengthen the abdominal muscles so then the topline can build, long reining can help to get them to really stretch down, you want lots of long and low work to start with.

I would also do carrot stretches leg twirls, tail pulls and belly lifts everyday if you can.

Carrot stretches I can do, belly lifts I can do on any other horse but not him will keep trying.
What’s a leg twirl?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Carrot stretches I can do, belly lifts I can do on any other horse but not him will keep trying.
What’s a leg twirl?

You pick the leg up like your going to pick out hoof support it with both hands quite low then circle the leg I do 10 one way then 10 the other way.

Google thoracic stretch its on you tube that's also a good one.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I wouldn't use a pessoa horrible things they yank them in the gob I find.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I’ll have a look. Thanks @Pinkvboots