Retraining my Standardbred for dressage

[BLBSTBLS]

Ok so I am starting to ride my now Ex-race horse Standardbred stallion. He is a pacer, but he is extremely athletic, and he has a very nice trot with suspension and a balanced canter.( I have not cantered him under tack yet, but I have many times in the harness and seen him playing in the field).

He already accepts the bit and bends ok to each direction. But my question is this:

I am only doing walk/trot with him right now, and under the harness his trot is very nice. He moves nicely from the haunches through his back and out of his shoulders. Under saddle he tends to shorten his stride at the trot. At the walk under saddle he will move out of his shoulder.

What can I do to help him feel more confident to move out of his shoulder under saddle at the trot. He is 12 years old just stopped racing early this year. but he is extremely athletic. He pretty much does canter pirouettes in the field lol.

Any exercises would be greatly appreciated
If I can figure out how to load a picture of him I will…

Thank you!

[Foxtrot_s]

I had a Standardbred and hunted her and evented her for years - never had a competitive stop - top ten in BC when she was eventing…years ago now.
Treat him as an individual but with normal exercises for flatwork. Mine did have limitations re bend, but that was more me than her. I hunted and vented her in a rubber mullen mouth pelham…wonderful horse, sound, bold, forward but sensible.
I’m excited for you.

[myhorsefaith]

I have a standardbred (pacer) and a shortened trot has never been an issue, quite the opposite actually :lol:

Are you sure your saddle fits? It could be blocking/pinching, which would shorten the stride.

And - good luck! Retraining my guy has been quite the adventure- love the breed :o and the challenge of developing the gaits- I’ve learned (and am learning) SO much by working with him.

[BLBSTBLS]

Thank you, I will double check saddle fit, but I haven’t noticed any dry patches under the pad when I remove the saddle.

I just love the standardbreds on and off the track. we have another one that we retrained as a jumper. And he has springs in his feet! Such a sweet boy they try their hearts out for you!

[Gestalt]

He sounds wonderful! STB’s are such incredible horses. I’m going to have a standie by this fall.

Even though you don’t see dry patches your saddle could be interfering. Worth double checking. Have you tried asking him to lower his head and increase his stride for several steps and then slow again? I knew a women that had a gelding that really seemed fixed in his neck and shoulders. She did a lot of neck bending and forward/ low work that helped him.

[Countrywood]

Perhaps try trotting him over ground poles, over time lengthen the area between poles a few inches?

[Kerrysmom818]

Perhaps you have your saddle too far forward?

I am impressed that a pacer has developed such a nice canter! I had a little mare that never really got it. She tried really hard, but it never really came together for us. And that was OK - she was the perfect trail mount!

[cripplecreekfrm]

While I don’t currently have a STB in my barn I am eagerly awaiting my next one, already picked out, to retire from his racing career. What I have learned in retraining them is that they tend to shorten their stride and become tense because they are just not used to someone being up there. So I always took the time not to ask them to go in a frame but just to get on and get them used to carrying weight on their backs. Take him trail riding and other things, ask him to move forward but not in a frame and let him get used to carrying you around. Saddle fit is key but I have always spend 3 to 6 months just letting them get used to carrying weight just like I do with a baby. Then once they are used to carrying weight ask for the collection and bending and they seem to figure it out better.

[2DogsFarm]

[QUOTE=Countrywood;8674614]
Perhaps try trotting him over ground poles, over time lengthen the area between poles a few inches?[/QUOTE]
^
This is what I did to get my gaited TWH trotting consistently U/S.
Hes 13yo & former Life consisted of trailriding exclusively.
Now he will offer trot w/o the poles, but I still use them to settle him when trot gets pacy.

Agree with cripplecreek too - just like a greenie, he needs to learn how to balance a rider.

[BLBSTBLS]

[QUOTE=Countrywood;8674614]
Perhaps try trotting him over ground poles, over time lengthen the area between poles a few inches?[/QUOTE]

He is kinda well terrified of ground poles. I am now able to walk him over a pole in hand and he stays relaxed. He thinks it might eat his legs I think… lol but I have been just starting to get him to go over the pole with me on his back following a person on the ground. Such a big bad race horse stallion lol just cracks me up. That is my goal though to get over one pole then add another a decent distance from the first and slowly put them together. Thank you for all of your help…

Update: We did accidentally canter about 5 strides and I was also surprised undersaddle how balanced he felt.

[2DogsFarm]

[QUOTE=BLBSTBLS;8675885]
He is kinda well terrified of ground poles. [/QUOTE]
:lol:
Same here - he got verrrrry “lofty” the first few (dozen) times over poles.
Keep it up, he’ll figure it out

[jvanrens]

Ahem! Pictures of your boy? And I’d love to hear how he’s bred. My DD can’t decide what to do with her 10YO Life Sign son & pet when it’s time for him to retire. He’s been everything from a hunter to a turnback horse this month.

[BLBSTBLS]

Can someone let me know how to post a photo of him? His breeding is:

All American Ingot x Trinketsntreasures- Artiscape

[2DogsFarm]

You can upload to a site like Photobucket then link here.
OR: you can add a pic to your Profile.
Only Premium Members can post pics on threads.

[BLBSTBLS]

Thank you!

[Kande230]

My ex-pacer had the same issues with the poles at first, over time he became comfortable with them just by seeing them so frequently. I have had really good success retraining by mixing up flatwork with trail time. Trotting uphill or on a long, flat stretch will usually allow that trot to lengthen out and in a different environment it doesn’t feel so much like “work”. Good Luck and congrats! STBs are so under rated!!

[Scribbler]

[QUOTE=Kande230;8686280]
My ex-pacer had the same issues with the poles at first, over time he became comfortable with them just by seeing them so frequently. I have had really good success retraining by mixing up flatwork with trail time. Trotting uphill or on a long, flat stretch will usually allow that trot to lengthen out and in a different environment it doesn’t feel so much like “work”. Good Luck and congrats! STBs are so under rated!![/QUOTE]

If the horse has just lived and moved on a flat track for his whole life, poles and other obstacles would be really new to him, more so even than to a greenbroke riding horse that has at least seen stuff on the ground in the arena. And if you had a cart behind you, you would never go over a pole so I’m sure with a little practice he will be fine. In-hand, then in saddle.

As far as shortening trot stride under saddle, I think this happens to all green horses at first as they get used to the balance of the rider on them. I’d say just work on riding him forward, straight trails would be great. And the realizing that riding 20 metre circles or arena corners will be a whole other thing, and also need time to build up balance.

I’ve got a pro friend re-training a nice OTSTB, and wow, can that horse move at the trot! If you (or my friend :)) can capture that movement in dressage performance, that would be a really promising horse! I don’t see many STB in dressage, have always wondered if we are all missing a great source of potential horses.

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=BLBSTBLS;8686222]
Can someone let me know how to post a photo of him? His breeding is:

All American Ingot x Trinketsntreasures- Artiscape[/QUOTE]

Try www.antifaro.com

It is private, so people can’t see your albums or pictures unless you link to the images directly.

I would love pictures as well.

There is a poster on here IIRC who has a super STB… myguymon (sp?) or something similar is her handle… perhaps connect with her…

My experience has been similar, they just aren’t used to that type of “luggage” abroad… I’d be treating them like they are being saddle broke for the first time at the beginning, get them used to seeing and walking over poles, etc.

Don’t underestimate the importance of a professionally fitted saddle though!

[horsenut_8700]

I’m jealous! My STB (also a pacer), doesn’t even canter at liberty! In 21 years I’ve NEVER seen that horse canter!

[cripplecreekfrm]

Horsenut - I once had one like that. She also never willingly trotted. We taught her to rack and she became a great little trail pony but she always looked 3 legged lame or like she was going to fall down when she trotted.

All this talking about retraining STB’s really makes me want my next guy’s owner to hurry up and decide that they are ready to retire him. It is hard when you have already picked your next one out and have to wait.