Improving Trot & Canter Quality in a Hunter

[KDuheme]

Hello all!

So my horse has made it abundantly clear that he prefers the hunters over jumpers (totally fine with me!) but he is not a naturally good mover. We have done a bunch of shows, and placed well in the over fences, but there is definitely room for improvement in the hack class. He would be your typical “daisy stomper” and gets quite stabby with his front end in both trot and canter. I realize that we likely won’t be able to become to hack winners, but I for sure think we could do some homework to achieve a better trot and canter.

Does anyone have any exercises I can do to help him along? Does anyone have experience doing this with their own horse and can give me hope that he is not a lost cause?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks COTH friends!

[punchy]

Maybe try getting him to rock back and use his hind end under himself more? It won’t eradicate his stabby-type movement, but it may help slow it down and make it look gentler. The heavier on the forehand these kinds of horses are, the stabbier they get.

[Redlei44]

Do you already have aluminum shoes in front?

In my experience, “quality” gaits isn’t the same thing as hack winning gaits. A horse may have both, but one refers to function and the other is aesthetic. A “quality canter” is what makes the jumps come up right, associated with impulsion and straightness. A hack winner has natural daisy-cutter movement, flat motion in the knees and hocks.

I suppose it’s possible that you could work on lengthening and extension as away of stretching out gaits that tend to be vertical? Also work on being able to get the neck to stretch down and out, if the horse tends to get tense or carry itself high in front?

I personally wouldn’t stress about this. Some horses are hack winners and some aren’t. If your hunter has quality gaits and a good jump and you lay down beautiful rounds because of them, you’re already winning.

[merrygoround]

Get some dressage lessons, in order to learn how to get him up off his forehand.

[GoodTimes]

Without a video it’s hard to give advice.
Also, depending on the horse, some judges may like him more than you think.
I’ve got two geldings who are very different movers. They spent a season competing against each other in the the AAs. Horse A is your hack winning, slomo warmblood, big swinging trot, etc. Horse 2 is a Holsteiner x TB, built very uphill, doesn’t like any contact, but goes around with his nose poked out and ears forward. A few judges picked Horse B over Horse A, likely because he looks like a horse that would be fun for an amateur to hack down the road.

Anyway, that horses front end gets more up and down with more contact. He needs to stretch forward and down to resemble a hunter. He needs to push from behind, not pull himself along. And he must lift his back, inverted = sewing machine.

[SCI]

It is a lot easier to improve trot quality than it is the canter. And a lot of it depends on how they currently use their body. But, long term improvement will not happen overnight. In order for them to change they have to build the muscle structure correctly so that they carry themselves well. I had a horse that was not a good mover at all when he was young, but through proper training learned to carry himself and ended up being a very good mover. I’m currently working with a trainer who is very good at seeing the horse’s body mechanics and using poles (walk poles, trot poles, elevated poles, etc.) to help build correct muscles and teach the horse to use their body correctly. I don’t think a lot of trainers know how to do this.

[StormyDay]

Sometimes it’s more about accentuating the good parts and hiding the worse ones than actually attempting to change the gait.
For instance, try a slightly more brisk canter to improve the movement. Sometimes it can give the impression of a longer, nicer, stride.
Keeping the horse on the bit in a more dressage frame during the trot. It will improve the movement of the front end. Some judges don’t like that, but many will still place you well if you have a good ride. I’ve won hacks on my horse while in more of a dressage frame with him.

[IPEsq]

I’ve been able to fake it sometimes by getting just shy of a lengthened / extended trot. Be sure you keep impulsion at the canter to keep weight off the forehand. You might want to have a little more contact and have him more lifted in the withers to show off to the best of his ability.

[OnDeck]

Play around a little bit with some eyes on the ground (or a video camera) to see how he moves best. Less of a frame, more of a frame, less impulsion, more impulsion, etc. Once you have that figured out you need to learn to ride the flat class. One of the oldest tricks in the book is to slow down just a touch in the turns so you can be subtly extending down the long side. As he takes bigger and bigger steps he will often move a touch better. When you get to the turn (and turn away from the judge) you can collect again.

Some other tricks:

• Plant yourself behind the worst mover in the class and stay there (or at least a horse that moves worse than yours). Kind of mean, but true. Whatever happens do NOT get behind the winner.
• When you can extend down the quarter line in front of the judge, do it. If you’re about to pass in front of the judge and you don’t have your horse going well or you don’t have room to get a little extension, don’t be afraid to hide (circle, hide behind another horse, stay on the rail in front of the judge so they can’t really see you, whatever)
• Once you get a great pass or two in front of the judge, don’t keep fighting for judge time. If you got a great trot for a few steps there’s no reason to show the judge that that isn’t an all the time kind of thing :lol:

[Classic]

Could you post videos?

[Blinky]

I also think it depends on what division you are in. From my experience the hack winning horse in the Modified Adults will have a different “look” then an A/O 3’6" horse. So if you are doing the Modified think more cute, nose poked out, not alot of suspension or big step…A/O horse will tend to go with more “energy” and be framed up.

[Go_Fish]

Make sure he has good rhythm at the trot. You want to be able to set a metronome to his trot. Have eyes on the ground tell you the pace where his trot looks the best. Usually speed makes it look worse. Try a half seat at the canter. Get off his back without being obvious. Some horses just canter better this way.

[gertie06]

I have a gelding who moves like an egg beater, so I feel this. I find that getting him to relax his topline and achieve a swingy, forward trot produces a more “huntery” look. When he tenses his neck/back, the trot gets more up & down, enforcing that stabbing motion.

There’s no hope for mine’s canter being huntery, so can’t help you there!

[atl_hunter]

You’ve been given some great advice already!

• I definitely agree to trying aluminum fronts if you have not done that already and if your horse can tolerate them (let your farrier advise you before doing it as they are not for every horse).
• Have you considered massage/chiro? Sometimes there is an underlying issue that is actually modifiable. I have seen a massage therapist work wonders on a horse's quality of movement just by activating fascia. I've also seen a chiro work wonders on unlocking an area of stiffness. They will teach you stretches to do as well to really open and loosen up your horse's shoulder. I've just tried this with my current horse who was a stepping a little shorter RF vs LF. Adding pre-ride stretches has not only resolved this, but has improved his overall movement and has even helped bump up his dressage scores (he is a hunter doing a side gig thanks to COVID). Now he has more extension in his front end.
• Dressage training! Making your horse more aware of his body and where he places his feet will help. Activating his core, strengthening his topline will help him drive from behind will all help him stay lighter on his forehand, which will also improve the quality of his gaits.
• If you can't add dressage training, then ensure your horse is fit and truly engaging his core. If your horse has a weak core or topline, you can try the Equiband - it will not only help your horse strengthen its back and core, but will help ensure your horse is balanced. A fit horse will generally move better, as you need the horse to round its back to optimize movement. A horse with a weak core cannot achieve that.
• RELAX. I was at a show where my previous horse was really up, which accentuated his egg beater gaits. My trainer told me to literally just let my body relax, even slump a little. She said, "There is a reason that so many professional hunter riders ride so ugly - IT'S EFFECTIVE." So I leaned more forward than normally, let my shoulders relax, even roll forward a little bit, and stayed as light as possible and voila! Huge improvement! It felt SO UGLY, I will be honest, but my video of the ride actually didn't look so terrible. It felt way worse than it looked. So, light posting, soft hands, soft body.
• Check your saddle fit and make sure you are not impeding or exacerbating your horse's movement with your equipment. Of course, if your horse is the same on the longe line as under saddle, you can rule that out, but if you notice a difference, it's worth looking into.
• Others mentioned changing your horse's gait to accentuate what looks most optimal. Study your horse while longing it and look to see where that optimal gait is - is your horse less animated when he's slightly slower, or does moving him along change his motion? Once you better understand what optimizes your horse's movement, you will have a better idea of what to try under saddle.
• If your horse has one gait that is worse than another, then put him on the quarterline for the better gait, and go on the rail to hide the bad. Don't draw attention to what isn't great.
• Keep a pleasant face even if your horse is moving like a rock tumbler. Don't let the judge know that you know your horse doesn't move well - do everything in your power with your body and expression to exude the joy you would have out on the hunt field. Your horse's expression will follow yours.

Best of luck!

[KDuheme]

Thank you everyone! This was all very helpful! I am going to see if I can post some video to help with what I am working with.

https://youtu.be/JNqLMdBlLIM - trot work (I should note in this video I am trying to get him to stretch out a little more)
https://youtu.be/4fZPSV40eU4 - 3’ hunter round

I definitely already get the chiro out, as well as a saddle fitter as my saddle is adjustable and so I have been able to adjust it to him as he has grown up and has different muscles!

I for sure ride him in a more “put together” or “dressagy” frame, than with a pokey nose… we were also doing the AA 3’s, but the goal is to get to the A/O 3’6" so when we get there perhaps the more put together ride will start to place a little better!

I am thinking from all the comments that I am riding him a little too conservatively in the hack classes. His is a big man (17hh and big bodied) so we are constantly working on collection and making sure we don’t leave strides out in the lines… likely in the hack classes I am still holding him back where I should actually be pushing him forward?

[Backstage]

Just watched your videos, an there is definitely room for improvement here - but you are going to have to get him off his forehand and working from his hind end. At the trot, he is “pulling” with his front end, not pushing with this hind end. If you can get some proper dressage flatwork going, you will be able get him pushing from behind, and this will lighten up the front end and let him reach out more. You will also get some more bounce and impulsion to the trot.

My current ride can be the same way, so I definitely sympathize! He’s laid back and chill as well, which is so lovely in many, many ways…but it can be tougher to motivate this type, and get their engines running! We have been playing with a TON of transitions lately both within the gait and between gaits. The transition from walk to trot, especially, has to be sharp and I want the sensation of being pushed forward from behind. Also doing a lot of lateral work so that I can have better control of where his end end is - haunches out, haunches in, playing with some baby pirouettes.

I’m also trying to be very careful about our long and low work - he is so quick to shift a bunch of his weight to his front end and ‘throw’ himself into that stretchy work. I am trying to be more careful with my body - sitting up, keeping my leg on and keeping the hind end pushing.

[KDuheme]

@Backstage

My current ride can be the same way, so I definitely sympathize! He’s laid back and chill as well, which is so lovely in many, many ways…but it can be tougher to motivate this type, and get their engines running!

THIS ^ !! SO MUCH YES! I like to describe him as the couch potato who doesn’t get off the couch unless I make him…

[Backstage]

@KDuheme

THIS ^ !! SO MUCH YES! I like to describe him as the couch potato who doesn’t get off the couch unless I make him…

My trainer once said that if my current ride was an athlete, he’d be a poker player!

One thing I’ve done a couple of times this year is had my trainer hop on for a few minutes in my lesson. Obviously she rides much better than I do, so having her get on and get his hind end engaged then helps me feel what I’m trying to aim for. I still need to be able to reliably do it, but its a good tool to help me build toward that.

[IPEsq]

He’s got a long and powerful hind leg but he looks kind of lazy and he doesn’t want to sit on it but pull himself around in front. He’s a big guy so you have to balance getting more impulsion without eating up the lines too much. My horse has different conformation but similar tendencies. At home, jazz him up a bit to get him going from behind. Then see how long you can maintain that energy. Do some counter canter and transitions within the gaits to build strength. Once you’ve got more strength and better impulsion, then try to translate that over to more of a longer and lower frame. Gymnastics will also help with this. And all of this work should get him a little tidier in front over the fences too. He jumps fine now but also on the lazy side as far as using his shoulders to get his knees up. Because he doesn’t sit on the hind leg on takeoff much either. He’s a cute horse and there’s some good potential there.