Polework Problems. Help!

[laurenletherby1990]

My 12 year old TB doesn't seem to enjoy pole work very much. He won't trot over poles smoothly, and sort of hops over them before popping into a canter after the last one, like he's finding it difficult to move over them in a steady rhythm. It's like doing it in canter is easier for him. I can't tell if it's because he's so drilled into thinking pole = jump or if he's having difficulty with balance. When the poles are on the floor he constantly knocks them, and if they're slightly raised off the ground he "hops" over them. He's an ex-racehorse and I know for a fact he's not had much schooling since retiring from racing, so I understand it's like schooling a baby. Any ideas what I could do to find the happy medium? I only use four poles max. Do you think i should take it down to three?

 

[ticobay831]

Im teaching my boy to do pole work now, i started of just randomly placing single poles round the school and just walking him over them as part of his flatwork schooling, he knocked them and didnt really try much at first, only did it once or twice a week, now hes trotting beautifully over 3 or 4 raised poles without any problems.
i would say just take it very slow one step at a time