Tight, tense trot but phenomenal walk and canter?

[ihearttbs]

I have a 5 yo warmblood on consignment who has one of the nicest, most uphill canters. He is progressing nicely and did phenomenal at his first show with a long warmup. The problem is he doesn’t show well to buyers/ his trot takes forever to open up, it starts out jiggy and tense and extremely uncomfortable to ride , even if he’s been relaxed at the walk. Before he came to me, his back was very underdeveloped and he had been started western and cranked into a super tight, behind-the-bit frame, so I attributed a lot of it to that training, but I’ve had him 9 months now and done tons of stretching under saddle and long-lining etc, his back has filled out a ton and no longer seems sore, but the trot still takes a long time to open up both under saddle and on long lines.

So I’m starting to worry it is it not just a training issue, but a physical one. His owner isn’t willing to invest any money into having him seen by vet, and I’m hesitant to do so myself as I’ve already put far more money and time into him than I had planned.

He is a little bit post legged behind, so wondering if maybe he’s just feeling too much concussion in hind legs at the trot and needs hind shoes?

Does anybody have any suggestions or ideas as to what could be going on here?

[Pehsness]

I think you’re probably on to something with the concussion idea.

My QH had a terrible trot, but lovely canter/lope. He was a rope horse and it was chalked up to him never being asked to trot, ever. And that was part of it, but I started playing around with glue on shoes and boots with/without pads.

I’ve tested bare, shoes with no pads, boots with no pads and boots with pads. He goes the best with boots and pads (which I assume would transfer to shoes and pads).

No big warmup needed, he just immediately goes in to a nice trot (which remember is relative, he’s an aged QH. Nice for him).

That could be something for you to pursue without needed owner investment or vet intervention.

[beowulf]

Try the hind shoes. IME the trot is a big tell all for foot soreness and sometimes their canter seems better than it is because they’re staying under tempo and not moving out because it hurts. It’s easier for them to move up than out when their feet hurt.

Have you incorporated some pole work into this horse’s regimen?

[exvet]

A few questions…does he do better when his warm up is mostly canter? I have one that if I spend 15-20 minutes warming up in walk doing a lot of lateral work in addition to his initial long and low, then trot maybe 5 minutes accepting the pony trot then go straight to canter, first letting him canter long and low then picking him up the trot transforms into something that is quite presentable. This I realize is HIS warm up. In terms of buyers, if he’s got a specific warm up need then you simply tell them before they come out to look. If that’s too much for them then tell them to move on to something else because it won’t be a good fit.

Does he do better if lunged first before riding? If so, then that’s his repertoire. Lunging over poles, small jumps? I also find this to help.

Hill work at the trot?

Does lateral work, assuming he can handle leg yield at the canter at his stage of training, help loosen his back? I can often get a better trot soon after I start riding almost any horse if they’re far enough along to do some leg yield at the canter to help loosen up their lumbosacral area.

I agree that hind shoes could help A LOT. I am one who tends to do barefoot or all four for balance but I’ve had the occasional exception (front shoes needed and back could stay bare). Sounds like shoeing him all the way around would be a decent next step in terms of making sure he’s comfortable, balanced and then go to exercises under saddle that will help loosen his SI/LS area.