Re training a trotting/driving horse?!

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yup ;)

and your reason for asking is ...... ;)
 
I'm confused are you looking for people who have re trained one into a riding horse or just trained one to drive? Mine was trotted by the gypsys before I had him and now does general ridden stuff
 
My lad is an ex-CDE pro comp horse, a Gelderlander rather than a cob type or trotter type. He probably would have been backed to ride but that would have been 12 years before we bought him. We re-backed him and he learned to become a dressage horse. Never really competed, just a couple at old yard because we did not have transport.

What do you want to know?

FDC
 
Basically! I have a 5 yr old ex trotter, hes not heavy quite lightweight, he's very strong and was leaning very badly so we were advised to try a Waterford which has stopped the leaning but he is still very hard to stop! As you know his trotting Is ridiculously fast and then withoutbreaking into a canter he just bolts..flat out and it's very hard to pull him up!!.. I don't have school facilities so find it hard to long rein etc as not sllowed to school in field !:-/... X
 
I have a friend with an ex trotter and its a looooong job to get them to be able to settle down to canter, he still does not have a great canter but it is improving !


Basically she has had to start form groundwork and walking , she has worked on responding to getting back up then doing exercises like

walk forward 10 paces, back nine, forward eight, back seven etc till reach one step. ............. walk around then repeat. This aim of this is to get soft changes in balance and the horse to get engaged behind..... . and to mentally get "in gear". If you can find a school to work in at all it will be easier but this exercise can be done out hacking ( we do it ;)) .


Another help was def groundwork.....several esxercises that could be done in a fairly small area..... is there anywhere you can do some ?
 
Troyseph said:
Basically! I have a 5 yr old ex trotter, hes not heavy quite lightweight, he's very strong and was leaning very badly so we were advised to try a Waterford which has stopped the leaning but he is still very hard to stop! As you know his trotting Is ridiculously fast and then withoutbreaking into a canter he just bolts..flat out and it's very hard to pull him up!!.. I don't have school facilities so find it hard to long rein etc as not sllowed to school in field !:-/... X
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I can only tell you what we did.
Firstly Elizabeth, my daughter, leant all the voice commands for driven horses. Then she used them when riding and at the same time used the non-verbal riding command. This did not take long to sink in and now he is very responsive off the leg. Also a joy to lunge/ free school because he remembers the old verbal commands. I personally would think about moving your horse to somewhere with a school, just because he trots rather than canters/ gallops away with you doesn't mean he could not end up getting himself and you into some terrible trouble.
Finally Elizabeth stopped all voice and just used leg etc commands. It has worked for him.
I don't think different bits are necessarily the answer, our lad has always been in a snaffle, french link now. Never been in anything stronger except once we tried something different and he hated it. How soft is your lad's mouth? I hope this doesn't sound nasty but some people who have trotters have no respect at all for the horse's mouth. My lad's was , and still is, incredibly soft but if yours is hard or not responding to the bit could you try a hackamore? Seriously though as I said I don't think bits are the answer, sounds like schooling and starting again from the beginning would be the right way forward.
I hope this helps, it certainly worked for us.

FDC
 
totally agree with Fany DC that schooling not bitting the answer ;)

this is a great idea with driven horses.

but

Firstly Elizabeth, my daughter, leant all the voice commands for driven horses
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wonder if trotters ever learn voice commands the same as its not my impression that they do... the empahasis being on going as fast as possible forwards ;) Friends horse def did not know voice commands.


On a def positive note ;) ..... her horse is one of the best I have seen about havig "stuff" happen around his legs as they are just so used to all that harness around their legs :D.
 
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