Seat/weight/energy aids to adjust pace/gait

[Ambers Echo]

I know I over rely on my hands to slow Amber down. She does not seem to respond to other cues to slow. So I have played around with different things to see how responsive she is to different kinds of cues and now I am puzzled!

When being led she takes her cue from my pace, so she can amble or march or stop dead on a loose lead rope and does not try to dictate pace.

On the lunge she takes her cue from my body language - energy and rhythm mainly. She can adjust within the pace or change gait up and down without a lunge whip or any voice commands. Coming down from trot to walk or walk to halt is less reliable than going up into walk or trot.

Under saddle she goes up very easily into walk, trot or canter with little leg. I just have to think trot or think canter and imagine the 2 or 3 beat rhythm and she changes gait. She knows when we are going to transition to canter even from walk as soon as I start thinking about canter. She is very tuned in.

BUT she will not come down from canter, trot or walk without strong rein aids. She just seems oblivious. Today I walked her round for ages thinking SLOOOW, using a blocking seat, slowing my seat bones, slowing my rhythm to try and slow her feet etc and she paid absolutely no attention at all. Not in a "I'm ignoring you' way but in a "I have no idea you are trying to tell me something" way. She can halt if sit deep, and stop ALL movement and think HALT. But she can't slow. And yet she is so responsive and tuned in in other ways. She is adjustable in trot by slowing or speeding up the rise but is not adjustable in walk or canter.

What piece of the puzzle is missing for her? And any ideas how to help communication. I hate feeling like I am water-skiing whenever I ride her! Maybe she really just finds slowing down very hard in walk and canter. She has her 'comfort' zone pace and wants to stay in it?

 

[Cortez]

Not possible to tell you exactly without seeing the pair of you, BUT it very much sounds like a lack of balance and being on the forehand, which will make it extremely difficult for all the downward transitions. The answer, unfortunately, is all down to you and lots (& lots & lots & lots) of half halts and insisting on clean transitions (up and especially down).

 

[Ambers Echo]

Thank-you that is very interesting. It is true she lacks balance and is on the forehand. In canter she will often break to trot if asked to slow (with hands) as she can't carry herself in a slower canter so I can see why lack of balance/being on the forehand makes it hard for her to adjust in canter or balance on a downwards transition, but I am less clear why she can't or won't slow her walk down. Am I underestimating how much balance a horse needs to walk slowly?

 

[be positive]

Can she flex both ways in walk? can she leg yield both ways? if so you put her onto a small circle and use the circle to teach her to yield or flex and slow down, if you work with her footfalls you should be able to move her in and out from your leg and seat asking her to wait when required, half halt, this should allow you to slow the walk, although you do need to be careful you don't lose the 4 time and allow her to go forward so you are not restricting her too much of the time, pressure and release until she waits for you, the halt should also then become softer, you can do much the same in canter but not too much if she finds it hard, spiral in and out from the legs using the smaller circle to shorten the canter a little and encourage her to sit for a few strides at a time, moving out before she loses balance.