I have a horse, doing all of third level, but still has no medium trot. The horse has a very short trot, and just gets quicker. I have zero hills, and am unable to haul to hills. I do have poles and blocks to make them higher. I work with a great trainer, but it’s not often. I would love some ideas, training tips, etc to see if I can improve my one weak link. I want to take this horse PSG, but I don’t want 3’s on my mediums or extensions. Thanks in advance.
It can be 3 things :
Strength - Training - Conformation (or any combination)
You need to ‘‘build’’ your lengthening and suspension from activating the hindquarters. Rounder, longer/stretchy steps, you have to play with compressing and extending.
Learn to slow down your seat : really control your rhythm. Tolerate no quickening.
Feel the lift of your horse’s shoulders and imagine your horse ‘‘crawling’’ (swimming).
Lower it’s head. Often, people tend to pull back and get projected back by the new speed of their horse, bringing the horse’s head too high and hollowing the back by trying to ‘‘push’’’ the motion with their seat. It usually end up disconnecting the front from the back. By keeping a lower frame, the back will stay more up, through and you’ll have to stay in balance.
I have felt your pain for a long, long time. I have a 14 year old section C welsh cob who is only 13 hands. For a long time we simply did not have a medium. However, we’ve competed successfully at PSG. We have received 5s and 6s on his medium trot because I show a difference. I collect him in the corners and it’s often noted that he doesn’t overtrack or show much but the half halts and collection do come through. The difference between a 5 or a 6 for me is usually if I allow him to speed up and get that choppy pony gait.
Now having said that I’ve been spending a long time on many of the typical exercises and usual work to build strength. My pony finally does have a true, honest to goodness medium and extended trot. I ride under a very tough S judge and she doesn’t believe in telling you fluff; so, if she says we have them…they’re there. What has helped us the most though it’s been a very gradual long road to building strength and constantly working on suppling…is work in hand developing the piaffe and passage and then transitioning it under saddle. We now sit and almost explode into a real medium but that’s only if I keep the suppleness and the stinker working over his back and reaching into the bridle. No small feat but we’re finally, really doing it. Good luck. This has been the most challenging one I’ve trained but I stuck to it because I would see it at liberty even if no one else believed :winkgrin:
Pony rider developing mediums here as well! LOL She’s a 13.3hh draft cross who is built like a hippo. I NEVER thought she would have a decent medium or extended but low and behold we managed it! She’ll never be an 8/9/10 but a solid 6/7 on a pony that looks like a dachshund is quite a feat! Just like exvet we didn’t really get it until we developed a passage. First in hand and then under saddle. As we come down the short side, just before the corner I sit up tall, collect her into a super-springy baby passage and then get her straight on the diagonal. I build build build that energy and as soon as she’s straight I just release her forward and BOOM! She explodes into it! We absolutely can not get a decent one unless she’s in a super collected, springy trot. She feels like a plane taking off and it’s amazeballs. We can only get them 75% of the time right now mostly based on my preparing correctly, but she CAN do them and that’s amazing! But it’s 99% preparation…half-halts, shifting the weight back and building that energy until they feel like they are going to pop, and then just release it. It wasn’t until we got the preparation right that we got the medium right. Good luck!!
So funny, as mine is a pony/draught cross as well. She does not even show it at liberty! I know it’s going to be a long slow road to build the fitness, but it’s great to know there’s hope. I also thought I would start serious cavelitti work twice a week to increase her strength. Great tips though!
If you have the opportunity to ride a “schoolmaster” medium and/or extended trot it might help you better “feel” where you’re going with your horse.
For myself, if I can imagine the goal in a rhythmic, almost tactile way it seems to help my horse develop the same feel.
Good luck! Pony power!
I have an OTTB who wants to be quite tight in his shoulders in the mediums… My trainer had me do long leg yields (across the full diagonal) and ask for bigger steps while in the leg yield. It makes them keep their bodies soft and reach across. Then you can take that feeling on a straight line.
I also try to show a big difference since his mediums aren’t fabulous yet- really collecting before and after.
Lots of shoulder in, too. Shoulder in to a short diagonal can be a good exercise. Develops lift in the withers and push from behind…
Sometimes it works to shorten the steps first, even to introduce the half steps. Then you gradually let the stride out and build from there. I have even seen piaffe and passage confirmed before the horse had a true med or extension. Theory is black and white, but practically it is many shades of grey. . .
[QUOTE=Bearskin;8712627]
Sometimes it works to shorten the steps first, even to introduce the half steps. Then you gradually let the stride out and build from there. I have even seen piaffe and passage confirmed before the horse had a true med or extension. Theory is black and white, but practically it is many shades of grey. . .[/QUOTE]
Your mediums/extensions are only as good as your collection and the whole scale is on a pendulum - the more you collect, the more you can extend.
I’d be working on the horse really understanding sitting and collecting with half steps and maybe into piaffe. Passage can help them learn how to use their shoulders as well. I actually started with spanish walk in hand since we couldn’t quite understand passage.
As exvet says, when you do take this into the show ring, make it a huge difference between collecting through the corners, medium on the diagonal, and collect more than you think you need to at the end.
I have found reinback to trot transtions helpful in building the carrying power of the hind quarters. Really focus on the forward steps initiating from the hind legs as opposed to the front legs pulling. The stronger the hind qaurters the more the elevation you get with the shoulders and greater reach. Don’t drill this exercise but throw some in at various times in your ride. Make sure you give a walk break after doing some since it can be very taxing on the horse.
What a great thread with so many solid training ideas. Thank you all.
OP, I have a similar situation to you (capable horse but no true mediums–yet!). Doing a combination of the work mentioned in this thread is making a difference and I have a lot more hope that we can get there than I did last spring.
I was at a clinic and the pro suggested they introduce it and develop it on a short diagonal and build on it. They gradually got the idea and had minimum strength on a shorter diagonal as they didn’t have to hold it as long. Basically show a bit of difference and building on it.
Good ideas in that Janet Foy Dressage for the Not so Perfect Horse
We’ve been working on this too- my trainer actually had us in a lesson and we were practicing, he was like “Collect, collect, don’t let go yet, don’t let go yet” and then he would have me give a little to do a lengthening. As we came around to do it like the 3rd time, he was like “Oh, nice medium!” and I was like “I haven’t let go yet”. 
It was a really great way to illustrate the the concept that someone mentioned above- “Your mediums/extensions are only as good as your collection and the whole scale is on a pendulum - the more you collect, the more you can extend.” We had generated the energy, we had collection, and she knew what was coming so it just happened whether I was planning on it yet or not.
If we try to do a lengthening from a working trot, the tendency is to go faster and tip toward the forehand, and it’s not a big change in the size of the steps. But do it from a collected trot (by which I mean a trot with short steps, not a super slow or super fast tempo, with a lot of leg generating energy I can feel in the bridle), then we get an uphill, balanced, big lengthening.
Now if I could just master this at the canter. 
Good thred. I feel like its asking for the same advice I was looking for in a recent thred http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?492751-Elevating-the-stride-from-slow-collection-developing-suspension . To me developing a medium (larger reaching stride) and suspenshion (spring push off the ground / air time) can or is done in a simaler fashion. I notice that when I have gotten really good mediums over my riding career my horse has given me the best feeling of spring or suspenshion that individual has to offer.
I’ve been following this thread because I have a horse that struggled with medium trot too.
Tonight I tried out some suggestions and I must say- THANK YOU COTH!
Notably I started from collected trot rather than working trot and I pushed him into the diagonal in a bit of shoulder in and VOILA a much improved medium. He can’t quote hold it all the way across diagonal but much micj better quality.
