Stretchy Trot Help

[Horse_Rider]

I’m trying to get my OTTB and I out eventing again and what do you know, they switched the dressage tests up on us. My dreaded nemesis, the stretchy circle to the left, is now present in Novice Test B. I may have swooned dramatically on my bed and then looked up Training level to see if I could avoid the stretchy trot to the left if I moved up. Alas, no such relief. (Yes, the stretchy circle is scarier than bigger, badder jumping efforts cross country. And I say this as someone whose horse is consistently training SI and HI and triumphed at a beautiful canter half pass last month and almost made me weep with joy. I love dressage. This is not an eventer hating dressage. This is an eventer who would cross enter into dressage and love it, if only someone would pay all my additional association and showing bills. This is just the one piece at this level that resists my efforts.)

So, what’s your best advice/guidance on a great stretchy circle? On a good day our stretchy circle to the right is going to net us a 6. (Being honest here - we are not winning off our stretchy circle.) On a good day to the left I’m going to get a lot of “not enough stretch” and be hoping for a 4. Considering how lovely my horse is in all the other movements, I’d love to not have a 4 in the middle of my test.

My horse’s favorite trick is to trot along on light contact with his nose extended, reaching out, and his chin going no lower than his elbow/chest (if that). None of that pretty stretch to his knees. He’s got a natural hunter trot so he just lets his nose drift forward and down just a little and powers along very peacefully. If I’m lucky he’ll jerk his head down taste test the air around his knees, then bobble his head back up to his elbow/chest with me scrambling to recreate contact. He gets heaps of praise for his brief forays into a deeper stretch, which I’ve since stopped unless he holds it for more than a stride. He’s now gone back to his happy place of “not enough stretch” because if I’m not telling him he walks on water for his minimal, jerky effort, what’s the point?

(Yes, I have trainers. Yes, this is something we are working on. Yes, it is better than it was 2 years ago when we first started trying this. Yes, my dressage trainer may have said “he just doesn’t stretch to the left, does he?” after watching us swarm around in her circles for ages while I pushed the buttons, balanced the right parts and he happily set his nose at that natural hunter dangle of his and went on ignoring my efforts for anything lower.)

His body feels great. In the past he has had a weaker left stifle. I know this. He knows this. This memory of his is almost definitely interfering with his thoughts on dropping his nose and potentially loading his front end a little to much, making his inside stifle feel wobbly and his brain wobbly with it. My goal is to do my best to make it feel safe and easy for him and slowly built it into our repertoire. It’s actually much better in recent weeks but we’ve tumbled deeper into “not enough stretch” again and I’m dying for some words of wisdom to keep me going.

Thanks in advance!

[SuzieQNutter]

This is something they need strength to be able to do.

It will be easier after collecting as he will naturally want to stretch.

Start asking for it in your warm down. Knowing how you warm down is how you warm up. Then warm up and down with it.

[Edre]

I am deeply sympathetic to the struggles of convincing an OTTB to stretch. My guy was wildly opposed to the idea for quite some time, until we had some major breakthroughs (at which point he decided nose-in-the-dirt stretching was his favorite thing ever and would foreverafter always try to convince me that what I really wanted him to do was stretch).

Part of it is that there is so much real estate on a circle that maintaining it for the entire 20m. is really challenging. One of the more successful approaches I took for improving it was to introduce a little counterflexion at the top and bottom of each circle (and for my circle to be in the middle of the arena - take away corners for them to cheat with).

You can do counterflexion in halves of circles at first if you want more steep (and slow) changes, in each quarter if you want less change that comes up faster. To start with, I did half the circle in a counter flexion and then returned to true flexion the second half. The change in bend really helped remind my horse to “stay” in stretch (and encouraged him to really reach over his back and down into the bridle). The other thing is that if you let your circle come in a little (16-18m instead of the full 20) you can use the smaller circle to mentally think “we aren’t running away” even as you encourage activity from behind. One of the biggest issues I see horses do (especially those that kind of want to loaf around with the hunter-nose-poke and not a true deep stretch/might not be working over their back much) is that they aren’t super active behind. So you need to encourage the stretch at the same time as you’re being mindful that you are marching forward.

Another idea (also that eliminates how much real estate is in a 20m circle) is to think of it as a diamond. Instead of circles, think of a straight line A to the wall just past F (as this is on the dreaded LEFT!) and then as you approach the wall, re-introduce a bend to establish yourself back on a straight line where you go to X, and then you bend around X again, straight line X to just before K, bend, then line there back to A. So that diamond exercise you go back to the idea of moving the shoulders around and the bend to straight to bend (and you can even think a little bit of a counterflexion out of the bend) that can help some of them come down and out again.

The key is that you first have to be able to get the stretch deliberately (rather than hope and pray!) and then work on sustaining it. Figuring out what works to get it (in my case, the mild change of bend really helped encourage it) and then the cues that got you there can help you sustain it after.

Best of luck!

[merrygoround]

I’e dealt with this. Finally got the message through on trail rides.

Although, it does also work after collected or newer, harder than normal gymnastics.

[SusanO]

This is not a movement or some kind of trick that you teach the horse. It is a test to see if the horse is on the aids and if you have an elastic connection with the horse. So if you give the rein a little - the horse should open his poll and take the reins reaching down into the connection. No - you do not need to be able to ride around like a peanut roller with the horse’s head between his knees like some people think.

It is a great training opportunity to get your horse out to your hand and go with a longer neck while still being on the aids. No this doesn’t come overnight and the horse has to carry itself without dumping on its forehand. But it is a great way to reward your horse and let the back swing after you have asked for more collection. And it is easier on the circle because the horse is not so likely to just run on its forehand like on a straight line.

So incorporate this in small increments in your training. Don’t think of it as “doing the stretchy circle”. Think about giving some in the connection and allowing the horse to take the reins somewhat while maintaining the gait. If the horse runs and flattens… half-halt and try to lengthen the rein again. A really good visual is the video that has been going around of Ute(???) Graf. See how that horse swings through its back when she gives the reins. You won’t be able to do that much at first. But if the horse just goes like a giraffe when you let the rein get longer you probably don’t have a real elastic connection.

[Training_Cupid]

He is on the bit, and working properly through his back at the medium trot, but won’t follow your hand down?
The left is my OTTB’s harder side too, and to get the stretchy trot I have to make sure we are bending properly on the circle - pushing my inside leg at the girth to encourage it as I lower my hands.

[merrygoround]

In order to do it properly after the horse has learned to stretch down into our hand, the rider has to be capable of riding an active rising trot, using their body to encourage a bit of spring to the trot, while their legs ask for an energetic forward. Raising and opening the rider’s chest will help. The nose does not need to be below the level of the knees, but the nose must be out.

This is where trotting the horse on a longer rein with contact on a hack will help if you have a horse that is at all inclined to curl.

[Jealoushe]

Are you able to change the frame and keep the horse into the bridle? If you ask for a longer frame, or a shorter frame, the horse should follow your lead and follow the bit where you are asking it to go. Does the horse maintain a feel in the rein when you start asking for the stretch or do you just give the rein away?

[Horse_Rider]

Thank you so much for all the comments! The night I posted we’d had a pretty rough stretchy circle night. In hindsight, turn in happening half way through our ride probably didn’t help. I sort of absorbed all your thoughts and then went to work.

We’ve been doing the stretchy circle toward the end of our ride, especially after harder exercises when he’s been really focused on collection and working through. The trouble was I was getting a little bit of it and then spending way too much time trying for more and better and chasing it around and around. I tend to get fixated on a problem pretty easily and just start hammering at it. Instead, I broke it down, as many of you suggested. I tried for a little stretchy for just a couple strides, then collected for most of the circle, then a longer stretchy period, then a trot out around the ring, off the circle, working on other transitions. It helped him figure out this wasn’t just me giving him a break, this was me asking him for something as part of an exercise so he should stay collected and not mentally wander off. He likes to work hard so he was willing to try sorting things out. It also helped me make sure I was able to maintain collection and bend which really helps him stretch.

One issue I kept having was that I felt like I was clunking down into my stirrups and couldn’t get my leg around him. I was being yanked up short and bounced up out of the saddle by the abrupt hit. I’m coming from a hunter background and over the last 2 years have been slowly lowering my stirrups to a dressage length. (This has been an Ordeal. I am conquering it.) I’d been told before I had one more hole to go down and just couldn’t get comfortable with it. I went down that next hole on the stirrup leather and low and behold no more clunking into stirrups when I was trying to reach down to keep his impulsion and collection as his back got loose.

We finally got back out to see our dressage trainer and our stretchy circle was met with “you know he has a nice stretchy circle we just need to neaten up XYZ.” Success!!!

[SuzieQNutter]

I start by asking for the stretch in walk. Get that and then ask for the trot without him coming up.

[alibi_18]

Like someone else’s said, the stretchy circle is aimed at validating how elastic is your contact and if your horse is listening to your aids.

I will go further and add that without control over that stretchy circle, there is no collection possible.

If at any moment during your ride, you cannot stretch your horse’s frame (horse going over its back and reaching out and down to the bit) then your collection is false.

[emipou]

We work on this every ride for a few minutes before cooling off. So he sees it as a reward and always gives it to me. The difficult thing for me is to make sure he does run off on me and fall on the forehand. I balance him before giving him his rein, then work as needed with small half halts and light flexion with the inside rein to help him find looseness without falling on the forehand. If he gets too carried away with his speed, I’ll sit a few bumps to help slow him a little.

[Mondo]

How’s your transition from medium walk to free walk? If he’s good in the free walk, keep that long contact and ask him to trot. You’ll have to keep half halting to prevent him from falling on his forehand.