Not tracking up in walk

[Nari]

Any ideas on how to deal with this?

Jim is a 9yo ID who at the moment is fairly unfit, but to be honest he doesn't track up in walk even when he is fit. He'll happily track up in trot & canter but not in walk. It's not that he can't because he will in hand if he's tapped up with a dressage whip but the second he thinks I'm not watching he goes back to undertracking. Under saddle I just can't get it - he either lifts up through his back & shortens his frame when I put my leg on or if I keep after him falls into a marching pace (fast but not at all comfortable for me & not what I'm looking for). In tests in the past he's got away with it in free walk on a long rein because he does a good stretch & covers a lot of ground up front so judges don't always seem to notice he isn't tracking up.

Tack, back & teeth have all been checked recently & throughout his life so it's not a compensation for a problem. He's never been hung on to when ridden, indeed because he reared in hand a lot as a youngster I've always insisted he go forward into a light contact. Please don't suggest lunge work - we don't do lunging!

 

[HDT]

Have you tried pole work? Also it may be worth getting an experinced instructor in to help see what is going on.

I know this is the old cliche but have you had your saddle checked. It may be also with having an osteopath to check him all over etc.

 

[Paint it Lucky]

Maybe he just finds it hard, prehaps he is naturally long backed and short legged? He clearly tries, the fact that he lifts his back and shortens when you put your leg on shows he is responding to you. Some horses just don't track up in walk! It sounds like his trot and canter are nice so personally I wouldn't worry and if dressage judges haven't commented on it then presumably they see his walk as fine for his particular conformation.

 

[Nari]

Thanks for the reply HDT.

Pole work doesn't make any difference because as soon as he's gone over the poles he's back to undertracking. It's a bit like I can have him overtracking beautifully in hand but the second I look forward he stops doing it!

I've had several different instructors - some of whom have been really really good - & the general opinion is that it's a shan't rather than can't. Possibly the best result was a BD trainer who encouraged me to work him in a much higher, rounder frame which seemed to encourage him to nearly track up but at the moment he's not strong enough to carry himself like that all the time.

As I said before everything has been checked & double checked. Also he's the sort of lad who lets me know if there's a problem, he doesn't do the tough soldiering on routine at all!

 

[Nari]

Crossed posts PaintedLucky, I wasn't ignoring you!

He isn't long backed but he is short-legged so maybe his build is the problem. He's also very short through the cannon bones - would that make a difference? You're right, his trot & canter are nice which is why I've always found it odd that I have this problem in walk particularly as he isn't a lazy or unco-operative horse. Maybe I will just have to accept it as how he is & know that when he's fitter a better frame will at least hide the problem a bit.

I hadn't thought that judges were seeing his walk as fine for his conformation, I'd assumed they just hadn't noticed

 

[Nari]

Paintedlucky I've been thinking about your reply some more & I think you really are right. I know I said he isn't long backed but in reality I think that may be an optical illusion because he's so deep through the girth - he's actually a 7' in all his rugs which isn't really that short-coupled for a 16.2! So long back plus short legs & suddenly his reluctance to track up in walk makes a lot more sense, I suppose the surpriseng thing is that he's happy to in trot & canter.

 

[Sal_E]

Is he just not built for it? My mare is very straight behind so naturally doesn't step under herself - it HAS improved with schooling, such as exercises to really get the inside hind stepping under, but I accept our limitations.

It could be that the 'faster' paces are a bit easier just because of the additional forward/swinging momentum.

I'd keep working on things to improve the hind action, use your lateral work, encourage activity without rushing, but other than that, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[puddicat]

Are you absolutely sure he doesn't track up ? How do you know - if you're looking at hoof prints and they don't coincide, how do you know that the front hoof
print wasn't made by the hind leg ? It is practically impossible to tell by eye unless it was seriously undertracking and that is extremely rare in walk - you could video it and get it off the footage.

quadrupeds tend to track or overtrack in walk, it's a reasonable thought that having short legs and a long back would prevent an animal tracking up but I'm not sure the variation is large enough to have that effect - will think about it.

In the end I think it matters whether he is using his hind end and not whether he over tracks. Overtracking means nothing useful, it's just something you can measure easily and gives an indication of how well the horse is engaging its bum. It's the engagement that is desirable though.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

I used to have a 14.1/14.2 Haffie who took a 6ft/6ft 3in rug - was short legged and long backed. And he had an unusual walk too. Nothing out of the ordinary in trot or canter but his School walk was quite choppy while his Out Hacking walk was amazing! In order to keep up with the bigger horses but NOT have to expend energy by trotting, he would summon this amazing bouncing walk that floated over the ground and ATE up the miles! I think he compensated for short legs by rounding his back every stride when he did the Out Hacking walk. This might fit with Painted Lady's thoughts?

 

[Nari]

Sal_E you're definately right about it improving with schooling, it was no where near as marked when he was fit & schooling loads last year. Once he's right again I'll crack on with the lateral work again because that did help.

Puddicat he is undertracking, I can see it when he's led unless he's made to really walk up by careful use of a dressage whip & instructors have confirmed it. That he uses his hindquarters is in no doubt, particularly when he's fit.


Sunnymum that sounds exactly the same thing - back rounded, hind end under & PUSH!