Paces question. . .

F

Flint12

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 May 2008
Messages
1,171
Visit site
I have recently got my boy going very nicely. . in an outline moving forward etc.

He is a cob type horse not overly cobby but on the chunky side. At the moment he doesnt flow in his walk or trot paces. I want to try and gettin him reaching out a bit more.

How can i do this. . ?
 
try lots of transitions, walk trot walk etc, then once he is moving smoothly between them start asking him to lengthen and shorten the strides within the paces.

once he has the hang of this - without changing his outline - play about with each pace until you find which stride length is smoothest and encourage him to stick to this as your 'working' trot or 'medium' walk.

cob's often don't feel as smooth as they can look though! mine can feel like riding a pogo stick, but i usually get comments from dressage judges about how smooth his trot looks.
 
How do i ask him to lengthen his strides etc make them shorter :S ? And will start work on doing lotsa transitions
laugh.gif
 
From your normal trot, make sure he is moving forward from your leg - i.e he is responding promptly when you ask for more movement using very light aids. make sure he is light in your hands and not leaning.

next, qive him a squezze as if you were going to ask for a faster trot, but don't let it all out of the front door, instead keep your hands steady so that you hold his outline together. as he takes a slightly longer stride, you let your fingers soften (imagine you have been wring out a sponge and you open your fingers slightly). this is his reward for doing as you ask.

next time ask for more than one longer stride, doing the same again. Don't let him get faster. Imagine a clock ticking as his feet fall, so the rhythm stays the same just the stride changes.

to shorten, sit tall and light in the saddle, you legs are soft against his sides, think about squashing a spring to make it shorter. imagine your legs are pushing the back end up to the front and your fingers close against the reins (wring out the sponge) to hold the front end from running.

as his trot shortens, if you imagine the energy of the trot changing from moving forwards to up. don't let the rhythm change. keep your legs ready to remind him not to drop back to walk or a slower trot.

as his stride shortens, loosen your fingers again (just a fraction) and then ask for another one.

none of the aids should be so sharp that he jumps from one type of trot to the next one, it should be a gradual progression. Remember to give him lots of breaks because it will be hard work.

i try to shorten on the short side of the school and lengthen down the long side - it encourages them to go forward into the longer strides.

any more questions just ask.
grin.gif
 
Also I would try doing some pole work, to help him be more aware of where is feet are and perhaps also raising one side alternately a few inches.

I also found doing some lateral work such as leg yielding and shoulder in good for suppling and getting the inside leg engaged.

Good luck
x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top