[QUOTE=gloriginger;4064265]
gadgets aren’t going to get you the correct long and low- your horse will just learn to break at the 3rd 4th vertebrae - causing a false frame. Don’t waste your money.
You need to do more than ride around the outside of the ring. Small circles, serpentines, figure eights, lateral work, shoulder in, and spiral circles will get your horse driving off the hind end, which will lighten the front end and allow your horse to move into the bridle. Use your legs, don’t think about your hands - think about where the back legs of your horse are, and lifting his belly up.[/QUOTE]
The above post is exactly my thinking also. Gloriginger gets it.
First, your horse has a slight dip in front of the withers from a neck set a bit lower onto his shoulders, and not a lot of shoulder reach, making him a little harder to lighten his front, but you can still do it.
My method is different, but always effective. You need to lift his back and shoulders which will make him step deeper underneath and then he will NEED to lower his neck (like an arch shape). You cannot get this by pulling on his face. “Pushing him up into the bit” on this type of horse, with your skill level (that I see in this brief video), will just increase his speed and take a whole lot longer, although that method works well eventually - it was the way I was taught as a dressage kid.
You need to forget equitation for now, the way you are riding in the video is very forward and will not help him to get better. For awhile, you neeed to maintain a constant half halt position, sitting on your pockets, ala western, and visualize sucking his withers up into your lap at every stride, using your legs low down and wrapped around his belly and a ‘way behind the motion’ seat. Do this at the walk with … (flame suit on here) a VERY SHORT MILD tom thumb pelham or other curb bit - a snaffle does not work as well, with your hands held way forward and high (like 2’) above his neck so he needs to raise his head and shoulders up to follow the bit upward - not pulling up with your hands, just holding them a little higher than he likes (and be careful if your horse might tend to rear or blow up over this - do it slowly and softly in small increments). You are asking him to raise his whole front end up and lighten it, which will require that he step deeper underneath himself behind (encouraged by your wrapped and lightly squeezing legs). As you do this while visualizing sucking his withers up into your lap (at the walk only) you will feel resistance at first - I rock the bit side to side to counter act this resistance. Then he willl eventually tuck his nose and get lighter and raise neck and shoulders up (trying to avoid the bit and curb pressure) and you will feel that sort of floaty feeling (like when they are really fresh and about to buck) and you must IMMEDIATELY RELEASE YOUR HANDS, and he will want to lower his neck. You will know when you have done this right because they will want to lower their neck FROM THE BASE not just tucking their head to avoid the bit, but will stay rounded up in the body and will have the hunter look with no pull on his face. You cannot pull on their face to get the long and low, rounded and sweepy look - will not happen - because it needs to come from the shoulders.
So now your horse will go a few strides in this soft, long and low frame and then revert to old ways, at which time you raise your hand high again and do it over, and over, and over until he rounds up instantly upon feeling you reverse your hips a little, squeeze his barrel, or raise your hands a fraction. When they understand this very well at the walk, and are quiet about it, you can go to a slow sitting trot. You always want to regulate his speed with your hips and legs rounding his body to slow him, not by pulling the bit, so you can float the reins in a hack class. Hint to make this work: I use a wrapping pressure with my legs around the girth to lighten up and slow down, and a lower calf and heel pressure for speeding up and increasing stride length - and they understand that. This technique really helps after a fence when they are strong and you can wrap your legs and re-balance them back - my trainer loved that.
The spiral in and out, with a low leading rein for in and high indirect reins for out, will really help also after they understand how to gather their body up in response to your legs and seat position. This actually is a little bit western oriented, as the horse gets educated to accept your leg and round up into it. Dressage is very good, but I have gotten some pretty hot horses to go long and low and relaxed with this method in short order. Seems that their mind follows their frame, and if you can fix the frame, their mind relaxes into long and low because you are “allowing them” to do it with a free head. Good western trainers have a saying that you need to teach a horse to “hunt the slack”, and that is just what you are doing. When they lower their head and neck and go soft, you immediately give them slack as a reward and they will want to find that spot again. With a horse like yours, that is not naturally long and low, you have to really educate their body to rein, leg and seat aids so you can mold every part of them in the frame you want - that is why the ones who do the right things naturally cost a lot.
I was working with a very traditional BNT hunter lady with one of my difficult ones, and I would periodically drop into a sitting trot, lean back, suck him up into my lap, and raise my hands high over his neck when my horse got hot and strong. She understood, as she could see the results in his frame and attitude, and referred to it as my “fixing him”.
Good luck. Sorry for such a long detailed post - got carried away.
By the way, the arena and surrounds are beautiful.
