[QUOTE=Justice;7749724]
Mac123, I love a good exercise! Please share.[/QUOTE]
Here’s a few of my favorite general recommendations for the type of horse the OP describes. If you have any particulars to add, let me know and I’ll give any additional thoughts.
Two notes: I do believe it’s important to have a horse that gets strong and on the forehand bitted correctly. Too little bit and one will become exhausted fighting; to much bit and the horse is likely to be artificially backed off. My preference is to have them in something that they are “aware” of - not afraid of, not pulling through, but aware of enough that a moderate aid sinks in.
Second, it’s important to set exercises that allow the horse to learn. They need to be aware that if they listen to you, their life is easier. If they ignore you, their life is harder. So generally I set things that encourage the horse to stay very mentally engaged. I also try to not to over manage the horse. Our job is to provide them information; their job is to listen and react. Allowing them to fail vs. always manufacturing the perfect ride is the big difference in the horse really improving.
–Set a line of trot poles down the quarterline (or close to the rail) of the long side. The first time around, trot through the poles. Proceed on a straight line and then entering the short side, pick up a canter. Canter to about halfway down the following long side and transition to trot. As you continue this pattern, you will first begin to keep cantering longer until finally you are transitioning to trot as close to the trot poles as possible while still getting good trot poles. Then you will begin to shorten the time between your trot-to-canter transition so that you are cantering within a few steps of the trot poles.
The goal is to trot the poles, 1-2 strides up to canter on the straight line, canter around and trot 1-2 strides before the poles.
You will want to vary your expectations depending on the horse, rider and ring size (this is much harder in a small ring, very easy in a big ring). You can also modify this exercise by adding a second set of trot poles on the opposite long side and/or making the trot poles raised cavaletti.
For a horse that wants to blow through one shoulder or the other, add a few moments of leg yield left or right through the poles to just after the poles to really get them balanced and off the shoulder they’re leaning on.
The goal of this exercise is to allow the trot poles to naturally balance the horse in preparation for the upward transition, encouraging him to step up into the canter. This is why it’s important to progress to cantering soon after the trot poles. Additionally most horses get long and strung out during the downward transition, so having the trot poles immediately afterwards encourages the horse to re-balance.
–You can add difficulty to the above exercise by working it into jumping work and adding additional trot poles. IE. Trot poles on long side, pick up canter immediately, canter over diagonal single, back to trot, trot pole set at end of arena on short side, canter, canter single on the long side, trot the trot poles going the opposite direction that you started.
This obviously has the benefits of the above exercise for the horse, but a lot of times the rider doesn’t ride the backside of the fence the way they do the front side. Making a specific spot to transition downward, trot a pole, and then transition upward, is like a more thorough half-halt and gives the rider a specific plan on the backside.
–Set a single jump in the middle of the arena perpendicular to the long side. As you jump the jump, your end goal will be to land and turn within a few strides, circling back to the jump. You can begin by keeping a bigger circle. Depending on the horse, alternate directions (figure 8) or do one direction continuously before changing directions. This really gets the horse thinking about what the rider is asking, particularly if you vary the pattern so the horse isn’t sure which way he will turn. As well, the land-and-turn will get them to re-balance over their hocks naturally. It’s important to keep the position solid in the air. An opening rein is fine, but don’t help too much. Think about your body telling them what’s coming, and then let them struggle through a bit (running into the aids or the bit even) until they begin to pay more attention, balance, and stay with you through their own self-preservation.
–Turn on the forehand/haunches. I like to combine this with hill-work, actually. We have a big hill that leads to a flat grassy area by a pond, which is perfect. I walk a hill, then at the top, I will walk a straight line on the aids about 60ish feet, do a turn on the forehand 180* and immediately proceed into a sitting trot back down the 60ish feet, nice transition to a walk, do a turn on the haunches 180* and then prompt transition again into the trot.
I repeat this, interspersing going back down the hill and coming back up and doing more of the turns/transitions.
I find that the turn going right into the trot gets that hind end super engaged, while keeping it a short line and following with a downward transition into another lateral movement keeps them from falling apart. You can do this with the canter, too, if they’re strong enough.
Interspersing this with straight hill work really gets their hind end underneath them in so many different ways - down hill, up hill, forward, downward, laterally.
This is actually what I do the first ride of every week. I find it gets them really well prepared for the week of work, and being out of the ring they don’t realize they’re working!
–Finishing with bounces. If you have the ring space for it, setting a bounce just before the corner following a jump is great for the ones that want to dive through the corner. So, set a single on the longside, and then set a bounce at the end of the ring on that straight line, allowing for 3ish strides before the end of the ring. This one is pretty self explanatory, but very helpful. In lack of space, do a gymnastic of a one to a two to a bounce.
–If you’re hacking, make it a goal to do xx amount of transitions, to not do more than one straight line in a row, and to change directions xx amount of times. You want to be thinking, thinking, thinking and you want the same for your horse. We all get stuck in the rut around the ring. Ride 30 transitions and change directions 15 times. Do 20 lateral movements and 20 circles. Or whatever numbers you pick. OR, create a pattern. Trot at the red fence. A the blue jump, pick up the canter through the short side, rolling back past the stone wall, to the halt. Etc.
One last thing to mention - most horses that have these tendencies don’t move forward off the leg correctly. They tend to more forward and down or forward and sideways instead of forward and up. Remember that the correct reaction to the leg is more impulsion or stride length without a negative change in balance. Most horses do not do this well - they spring a leak left or right or dive toward the ground. The best of exercises and persistence can do wonders, but without getting the horse really correct off the leg at all 3 gaits, it’s hard to get a really well-balanced horse.
I hope some of that was helpful or interesting!
