I am transitioning to western from English and riding on constant loose rein is a challenge. My biggest issue for now is keeping a consistent slow trot on loose rein. The horse wants to speed up to a medium trot then slow down then speed up, etc.
I show in ranch horse classes so I am not trying to get a jog trot, just a slower trot.
Any suggestions?
Oh, it can be a challenge even for those not transitioning. Just plain old boring consistency, mostly…correct, drop reins, correct, drop reins, and so on. Judicious circling can also be helpful, circle until the horse is slowed to the desired speed, then go on down the rail, circle when speeding up, in my experience it helps them figure out the desired speed before too long. For a horse used to being ridden on contact it can sometimes be just initial insecurity of being off contact. Working at the walk can help too, speed up, slow down repetitions on a loose rein.
Ask the horse to slow down, use your hand, don’t snatch, take contact, keep bumping with your legs gently to maintain the trot, release big when you have the gait you want. Be ready to correct as soon as the gait increases, but take contact without snatching. Sit up, moving your seat forward encourages speed. Repeat. I don’t show the Ranch horse regularly, but it’s the same idea with the trail and horsemanship. Lots of time in the saddle!
Are you sitting or posting?
Even western, you post when trotting.
Long trotting is used often, western, to warm up a horse, or to cover ground on a trail ride, but far as official gaits used in classes, the three gaits western are walk, jog and lope, as compared to English, walk trot, canter
An extension of the jog is often called for, but it is still a jog and not a trot
You need body control on a horse in order to be able to ride off of seat and legs, on a loose rein. The horse has to learn true self carriage, so that he stays in frame and rates speed off of seat and legs, without rein support
This takes time to establish/teach.
You get that correct movement from behind first, then worry about rating speed.
Thus, you will need to take hold with the reins and really drive with your legs , until you feel that horse soften in your hands, and then you must give total rein release, expecting the horse to stay correct. At first you will only get a stride or so, until you need to take hold and drive again, but you build on that.
There are also some correction techniques you can use when a horse speed ups
First one, you put more weight in your stirrups as the initial signal, then stop the horse and back him, then jog off again on a loose rein. That initial cue is one you can then use in the show ring, to cue your horse to slow, without picking up on the reins
You can also turn the horse in a small circle when he speeds up, without picking up on the reins or letting him break. This is hard work, and he will slow, when he does reward by letting him out again
Basically you have to give that total release when he is correct, and not be constantly baby sitting him with reins
What worked for me with my horse (and I’ve only ever “trained” one horse) so maybe it won’t work for all horses: In a small ring, round pen would work, but I used a 132x66 ring WITH A FENCE, but you might be able to do this along a pasture fence, too. Anyway, begin to trot along the fence. The SECOND the horse picks up speed, turn into the fence and go the other direction. (I used direct rein b/c I train in a snaffle) Do it every time the horse picks up speed. Do this about 10-15 times, then go on to something else, work a gate, do transitions, practice something else. Maybe go back to it. Trot along fence, one step too fast, horse must turn INTO the fence and go the other way. My guy learned quickly that as soon as my hand moved down the rein to turn him, he needed to slow down because we were going to make a turn. Then I didn’t actually HAVE to turn him, just warn him with the rein. Continue gradually moving off the fence farther and farther. With daily work, you should soon have a consistent slow trot. FYI this works well too with a horse that tries to go from walk to trot without being asked to do so, and to teach a Whoa! Anyway, it worked for me. But you do have to do it daily for a week or two, then maybe a reminder now and then.
Foxglove
Put the horse on your seat.
Pick up a trot, then ask the horse to walk FROM SEAT. Only go to the rein if he is slow to respond or ignores you entirely. When you can do the transition promptly from seat, start to fine tune the throttle -ask for a little more trot by ‘allowing’ with your seat, ask for a little less trot by ‘holding’ with your seat. If he blows past your seat remind with rein, but always give him the opportunity to respond to your seat first rather than skipping straight to the rein and surprising him.
Maybe four square inches of your body holds the rein.
How many square inches of your body could talk to the horse through your seat?
In ANY discipline the seat should be the primary determiner of the pace. If your horse is properly on your seat you won’t need to go to the rein or do weird tricks or rough handling. Just put the pace you want in your seat and voila.
I’ve trained several of mine to go western. One thing that often works is to calmly ask for a walk every time the horse speeds up. And then pick up the trot again. Another method: trot in small - say 10 m - circles when your horse speeds up. Once slowed down, you can go back on the straightaway.
There are lots of ways to slow a horse down.
[QUOTE=KIloBright;7777562]
Are you sitting or posting?
Even western, you post when trotting.
Long trotting is used often, western, to warm up a horse, or to cover ground on a trail ride, but far as official gaits used in classes, the three gaits western are walk, jog and lope, as compared to English, walk trot, canter
An extension of the jog is often called for, but it is still a jog and not a trot
You need body control on a horse in order to be able to ride off of seat and legs, on a loose rein. The horse has to learn true self carriage, so that he stays in frame and rates speed off of seat and legs, without rein support
This takes time to establish/teach.
You get that correct movement from behind first, then worry about rating speed.
Thus, you will need to take hold with the reins and really drive with your legs , until you feel that horse soften in your hands, and then you must give total rein release, expecting the horse to stay correct. At first you will only get a stride or so, until you need to take hold and drive again, but you build on that.
There are also some correction techniques you can use when a horse speed ups
First one, you put more weight in your stirrups as the initial signal, then stop the horse and back him, then jog off again on a loose rein. That initial cue is one you can then use in the show ring, to cue your horse to slow, without picking up on the reins
You can also turn the horse in a small circle when he speeds up, without picking up on the reins or letting him break. This is hard work, and he will slow, when he does reward by letting him out again
Basically you have to give that total release when he is correct, and not be constantly baby sitting him with reins[/QUOTE]
IMO, this is right.
You teach a horse to rate (and really, to squat, pushing from behind) by using your body, legs and your hand last. You have to get him fit enough and strong enough to do this. You don’t bump and correct, teaching a horse to memorize a frame and a speed.
Of course, you can do that…… but it makes it harder to ride this horse kindly and smoothly in the end because you didn’t teach him a body-based aid that will re-balance him as you go along.
Doing it right takes a long time, but it’s so worth it.
I have to say, I don’t understand the snatching at the bridle behind the judges back that I see done in the Western show pen. And I don’t see how the contrast between the “rough” warm ups, full of big, sudden corrections for the horse translate into 8 or 10 minutes of invisible riding in the show pen. But that might be some cluelessness on my part. I don’t have experience making horses who will show in western rail classes.
I don’t use the spur stop per say, but legs have to mean more than speed up when riding a horse collected and in frame.
Legs mean to drive deeper, and when a horse drives deeper , he becomes more slow legged, plus the horse learns to keep his head down but shoulders up, versus moving fast on his front end, dragging himself along
Race horses travel on the bit and on the front end, as that is the most efficient way to cover ground fast.
On our performance horses in judged events, it is more the quality of that movement then speed, and that takes true collection (not just a head set ), as that head set follows naturally once that true collection is achieved
I also think that getting them to drop down a gait every time they get too fast might bite you in the butt in the end, OP.
That’s because the horse may or may not engage its hind end for that transition. If you only teach “never go fast” but not “squat and push so you can collect,” I think you’ll get a horse who is very, very behind your leg and stops or walks (maybe dumping down on the forehand) very easily.
Again, JMO.
Meupatdoes- has the answer. If you have been riding off your hands all along, you need some lessons in how to ride.
Never suggested that you drop down a gait. I also don’t want a horse to ‘squat’
What you want is a horse that is deep hocked, keeping shoulders up, back rounded, and staying backed off of the bit , while moving in a very regular one two, one two (talking of a jog), which is a two beat gait. If you count the beats they should be regular like a pendulum
Far as teaching a horse to use it;s hind end, talking of a lope, as you seem to be doing, you do lots of stop to lope transitions, lope one circle or so, stop, do a rollback to the outside and lope off on opposite lead-no trotting steps
I do not drop a horse down a gait when going to fast, but I might stop him dead in his tracks, back him up , using legs, then immediately ask the horse to jog or lope off again, on a loose rein, giving him a chance to be correct
Of course the lope must be a true three beat lope first and foremost, and the ability of a horse to hold that true three beat lope while going slow ups the degree of difficulty and requires strength building
As Doug Carpenter states, almost any horse can have his jog improved, but great lopers are born!
I have found this to be extremely true. While I could win pleasure classes on my reining/western riding mare at the all breed level, just because she was broke, it took to riding horses bred for pleasure to appreciate that natural ability to execute that flat kneed slow legged movement
Very true that you have to stop riding off of your hands and forget about 'micro managing the horse constantly.
A well known pleasure trainer gave a seminar at this year;s Mane Event. Many of her clients come from an English background, and one of the major things they have to over come is that constant micro managing of the horse, esp with reins
Again, JMO.[/QUOTE]
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