DreamingIsBelieving
Well-Known Member
I'm currently trying and failing to improve a horse's trot work on the lunge. When asked to trot his head will go up and he sticks his nose out. He usually takes a lot of encouragement with the lunge whip to get him to make the transition into trot. Once he's in trot it's usually hollow but not slow - he has a fast, powerful trot (which I don't find unusual as his walk is also quite active). But I guess the main thing that stands out to me is how stiff he seems in the head and neck - it just looks so jolting. To my untrained eye his hind leg action actually seems good (not what you'd expect to see looking just at his front end). He tracks up reasonably well and he certainly gives the impression that the power is coming from behind.
His walk, I feel, is good. He can happily stretch right down to the ground while keeping a good rhythm. It doesn't feel laboured or rushed. He always tracks up, but will regularly catch the back of his front hoof with his back hoof (it's not overreaching - there's a specific term for it but I can't remember what it's called!).
He's very green in the school and has no bend. He's 5 years old and is mostly used for pony treks and the odd lesson in the riding school. I doubt he's had any real training since being broken in.
I only lunge him in a bridle with lunge line attached. I've 'free schooled' him with no tack or line at all and it made no difference to his way of going. I've lunged him over poles which is hit and miss in the most literal sense of the word. He doesn't seem to see the point of going to the effort not to knock them in walk. In trot he'd rather crash through them than lower his head slightly to look at them.
His trotting technique doesn't look great on the lunge, but add a rider and the problems are instantly accentuated. He doesn't track up (all the power goes up instead - it's very bouncy), his head and nose go right up and his pace quickens so you feel a bit like a yo-yo. He's slightly better out hacking (similarly, he's always better lunging in the outdoor arena as opposed to the indoor). I don't ride him at trot anymore (I'm focussing on getting his lunging sorted first) but I'm not the only one who exercises him (I only see him a couple of times a week).
His conformation leaves a lot to be desired, but I don't know enough about conformation to say what effect that has on his way of going.
He got the stretching in walk thing down in his own time with no real input from me (bar praising him when he stretched, but I don't think he knows what 'good boy' means so it's much more likely he figured out on his own that stretching felt good
).
So, I'd love to hear some thoughts. Do you think it might be a physical issue? What can I do to encourage him to stretch down, round his back and relax? If he was mine I'd be making a physio/vet appointment to rule any physical thing out but he's not mine and I think I'm going to need some convincing evidence that it is a physical issue in order to persuade The Establishment to fork out for a check up that may not even be necessary... It could just as easily be a schooling issue considering his age and inconsistent training. What would you do in my situation, faced with a horse like this?
His walk, I feel, is good. He can happily stretch right down to the ground while keeping a good rhythm. It doesn't feel laboured or rushed. He always tracks up, but will regularly catch the back of his front hoof with his back hoof (it's not overreaching - there's a specific term for it but I can't remember what it's called!).
He's very green in the school and has no bend. He's 5 years old and is mostly used for pony treks and the odd lesson in the riding school. I doubt he's had any real training since being broken in.
I only lunge him in a bridle with lunge line attached. I've 'free schooled' him with no tack or line at all and it made no difference to his way of going. I've lunged him over poles which is hit and miss in the most literal sense of the word. He doesn't seem to see the point of going to the effort not to knock them in walk. In trot he'd rather crash through them than lower his head slightly to look at them.
His trotting technique doesn't look great on the lunge, but add a rider and the problems are instantly accentuated. He doesn't track up (all the power goes up instead - it's very bouncy), his head and nose go right up and his pace quickens so you feel a bit like a yo-yo. He's slightly better out hacking (similarly, he's always better lunging in the outdoor arena as opposed to the indoor). I don't ride him at trot anymore (I'm focussing on getting his lunging sorted first) but I'm not the only one who exercises him (I only see him a couple of times a week).
His conformation leaves a lot to be desired, but I don't know enough about conformation to say what effect that has on his way of going.
He got the stretching in walk thing down in his own time with no real input from me (bar praising him when he stretched, but I don't think he knows what 'good boy' means so it's much more likely he figured out on his own that stretching felt good
).So, I'd love to hear some thoughts. Do you think it might be a physical issue? What can I do to encourage him to stretch down, round his back and relax? If he was mine I'd be making a physio/vet appointment to rule any physical thing out but he's not mine and I think I'm going to need some convincing evidence that it is a physical issue in order to persuade The Establishment to fork out for a check up that may not even be necessary... It could just as easily be a schooling issue considering his age and inconsistent training. What would you do in my situation, faced with a horse like this?
. He's just started shedding though so the lighter evenings must be on their way... 
Okay, so I read rein-back is a great gymnastic exercise so it's not all bad, but it would be nice to get him to realise that what his neck does doesn't always have to correspond with what his body does - that he can use them separately!
