I’ve really been working on my horse’s movement over the last month’s and while I have instructors that assist me with this, I’d like to know what exercises people like to do to encourage a bigger, slower (but active) step in their horse.
Power, but not speed, if you will.
I implement instructions from my trainers with success, but I’m always looking for exercises to do when riding on my own, and sometimes my mind isn’t so creative.
Transitions within the gaits will help you and your horse get together on this. You must learn to ask your body to go slower with your seat, while your lower legs ask for more or less energy.
This takes core strength. and very little or no rein use.
If you have access to an educated horse that someone can use to longe you, it will really help.
I like to do play at liberty for this. In the spring, when coming off a mostly slow winter, I can really see/feel a difference in how quickly my horse comes around both under saddle and at liberty. Early on he’s going too fast, forward, and leaning in; soon he is slow, uphill, and holding himself up. He loves playing though, he follows the end of a lunge whip like a cat.
A nice trail ride. There’s something about being out there that encourages them to move forward and you can work on harnessing all that energy in a fun way.
Ok, never mind.
You need to get forward first and then harness it.
Trot poles can be useful. Also lateral work that engages the hind end. Also encouraging them to reach to the bit and stretch over the top line. With some horses you might always work through some rushy trot in warmup.
Around what level is the horse? Lately I’ve been focusing a lot on straightness, but it has helped my horse who tends to get quick. Once they are stepping through evenly with both hind legs, it’s much easier to add power. I do shoulder fore to baby haunches in and back in canter down the long side. If your horse is an overachiever, take care to keep the angle you want, it’s more about controlling the placement of each hind leg than the lateral suppleness in this instance. Then on the short side, hold the canter on your seat and add a little outside leg. I’ve also had luck with medium trot down the long side to collected walk to half a walk pirouette, medium trot, and repeat the other way. If your horse is schooling it, can you go in and out of pirouette canter on a straight line?
I second the comment about focus on straightness really helping get a hold of power. Really getting a solid connection in both outside reins and correct bend, through lateral work and bending both directions, has helped me get more power on both my lazy horse and another rushy, hot horse I’ve been riding. One exercise I was working on in a clinic last weekend was renvers, pushing into leg-yield away from the bending leg, towards center-line.
I’m not a trainer so I can’t really explain this well but it’s been really helpful for me lately. That Christine Traurig clinic last weekend with the big rushy horse - we worked on even tempo and just tons and tons of careful, deliberate transitions and bending correctly and evenly and the horse really came better through from behind as a result. Usually when I try to stretch her out at the end of the session, I feel her want to rush-off and after those rides she didn’t.
The horse is at the equivalent of solid 3rd schooling 4th level. I’ve also been focusing on straightness lately so this aligns with what I am already practicing. I’ve also done shoulder-in down the long side, volte at E, for example and then Travers. Horse can be an over achiever and I’ve also been working on shoulder in and adjusting the angle.
I’ve done the trot to walk pirouette before, and can revisit that. I’ve also done a tear drop exersize at the canter where I canter down the long side, half volte at the corner, and continue down the long side in the other direction. Sometimes at counter canter, sometimes doing a flying change when back at the wall. I mix it up so he doesn’t anticipate/it varies.
We have begun schooling canter pirouette and can incorporate this as well.
I’ve also done a few short trot halt transitions on the short side, to shoulder in beginning down the long side, to extended trot the rest of the long side (our indoor is huge). This has helped and I’m really trying to focus on really setting him back on his hind end and ultimately controlling each side of the hind end. Just refining things, really, and ensuring things are solid, so to speak.
The horse can put down a decent test with a good score, and is fairly solid but I’d like to make sure I am really getting the most out of his gaits. He’s a PRE and naturally wants to take a shorter quicker step. We’ve made a lot of progress with it. He’s a good forward horse, quite forward thinking, and can anticipate a bit, so it’s important to make sure he doesn’t rush.
Basically I just want to make sure I get the most out of him and, not to be petty, the highest score possible for him. Sometimes you can do well, and the test is good, but there are little, even basic things, that can improve it. I don’t want to get complacent since he can do these movements and just settle there. I really want to do these various movements required at our level to the best of our abilities.
One of the trainers is having us begin passage, and I want to ensure he’s ready, the foundation is laid, and he’s set up for it.
My OP was a bit basic, and the question really is basic at its root. I know COTH is going to assume I’m a know-nothing novice and tear apart anything I say, so after I posted this, I kind of regretted it. However, I do appreciate your reply and the exercises mentioned, and will use them. Thanks!
I can understand what you’re getting at here. There was a moment last week, actually, when I was working on this and I said, “hmm this is not going exactly as well as it should” Well, no sh*t, he wasn’t straight. 😂 Once that was settled, it was much better. I was thinking about 8 different things, but not the most basic thing, apparently. And this horse does not “give it to you” I have to be 100% correct in my aids. Great for my riding, really.
I like walk-canter-walk-canter transitions with a change of lead both on a straight line (making sure to maintain that straightness), and on circles. Then walk-collected canter-flying change-medium canter-walk transitions, all ensuring straightness during execution. These exercises test your straightness (if you are watching/filming to ensure it) as well as improve your horse’s longitudinal balance which both help to improve the expressiveness of the gaits.
I’ve actually been focusing on these transitions and changes in our training. We really schooled canter-walk a lot prior to teaching this horse the flying change, and I think that’s paid off. The walk-collected canter-flying change-medium canter-walk is a good one too.
I’ve been meaning to get DH to come along and take more video since he’s quite good with it and understands what I’m looking for. Good reminder.
Video is also good because sometimes I think we haven’t improved. Then I compare from our last videos and realize we have. 😊
Have you incorporated Renvers? I had to laugh at your “oh never mind”…LOL. I get it. I have a PRE and recently, especially to the left use Renvers to get the straightness which in turn improves the use of his left shoulder. S/I to reavers then straight and then playing with the forward and back. He’s so much lighter now that he’s straighter with this exercise.
edited to add that I also have a tendency to lock my left hip se we are also working on how I use my seat to improve the impulsion.
I should do more Renvers, so that’s a good reminder!
I’ve been diligent about doing my hip stretches and staying loose in my hips, and that’s helped as well.
Re the “Oh, never mind” I suppose when I ask basic questions I get basic answers, but I originally had more detail in my OP but then edited it out. Because if I say something the wrong way suddenly I am a teenager that needs to go back to lead-line walk trot, my saddle doesn’t fit, my horse has ulcers, and he’s also lame. :lol:
hahahahaha
While the lateral work increases the ability to engage, Stride length, as well as all energy control comes from your body.
The rider must carry rider, and lift with the horse.
I find transitions in lateral work very helpful. Like doing SI down the long side in trot and transition to walk without changing the SI position, then back to trot still maintaining the SI position, and repeating as many times as fits along the long side. I have also done this exercise going between trot and canter, and between trots.
Lots of on and back in trot and make sure when you ask for on, you don’t start rising trot quicker. Almost think slower rising in the bigger trot (as the stride is covering more ground), then quicker when you do a smaller trot.
Echo the transitions in lateral work. Also recommend lateral work on bended lines-- haunches in, shoulder in, renvers-- on circles and/or serpentines.
More specifically for your horse, find the lateral work that slows his/her tempo down and then add power within that work. Does he/she lose power in the haunches in at the trot? Time to live in that movement for a while until it becomes fluid and add expression/power.
I have also had luck starting down the diagonal in lengthened and/or medium trot (whichever the horse is ready for) and transitioning to leg yield still along the diagonal line around X. Keep up the power, keep up the lengthened strides. This helps the horse see how to get the shoulders up and out of the way (as well as keeping the lateral suppleness) for lengthened work.
Start the half steps if you haven’t. I also find a lot of trot-walk-immediately back to trot and trot-almost walk really helpful and when you add leg to go back to trot, don’t let the trot out and forward but hold the core and ask it to bounce up more. You can also do a trot volte on the rail and as you approach, almost walk, then add the trot back and think bounce up. If the horse evades by getting crooked, you will not get any additional cadence/bounce.
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