Just that. The root of our issues… we are showing PSG and the hole is showing up. What are your favorite exercises to address connection issues? We have it all - too low and heavy, above the bit, you name it he tries it.
You have an iberian, yes? Does he tend to be tight backed? If so I would aim for exercises to supple the back. I like stretchy collected canter for that. Also haunches in and half pass in trot and canter–some in collected, some in medium.
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Yes we do alot of all that in all three gaits and paces. The issue starts at connection. thank you.
I think a lot of issues that present in the connection in the bridle stem from farther back, either a lack of strength or suppleness. That is where my suggestion was stemming from. My apologies if it isn’t the case in this situation.
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I agree with what Dutchmare433 is saying.
I also have an Iberian. He loses the connection when he’s not loose and free in his back, when he’s not 100% using his hind end effectively, or when he’s otherwise nervous. Or even behind my leg at all. It’s not always so obvious.
A stretchy collected canter, woo boy, that was a challenge for him!
I think some horses can “fake it” when it comes to various movements and if we’re not attentive/very keen to that, these holes show up in training later. It takes a good amount of strength to execute PSG properly. There is nothing wrong with going back to basics to sort things out.
It’s simple, but I always have to remember to balance my forward cues and half halts to create the connection and impulsion. The horse must also trust the connection and contact. Reach into it, and not escape from it.
I have found that transitions within the gaits can help. Or pirouettes at the canter will help make sure my horse is on his hind end and I try to focus on what each leg is doing, and that it’s taking proper weight.
We’ve also focused on really stretching and getting the biggest step possible in half pass and shoulder in. Since he has a tendency to become tight and short. Or move upward instead of upward and forward.
For me it always comes back to my horse being on his hind end, free in his back, and having true impulsion. These are just examples from my situation, not sure if they apply here.
ETA: and good heavens have I built a strong core. I worked on this off the horse and on the horse. Using my core more really helped keep things together or aid him in some of these movements, it probably had an influence on our connection too (for the better).
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Want to see how wobbly your connection really is? Transitions in position down the quarterline 
We just do them in w/t, both shoulder-in and travers. But so nice for finding that nice steady but light feel that we struggle with.
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I also agree with Dutchmare.
Speaking for myself (my Iberian cross is schooling 2nd level, some 3rd), I find my seat can became too still or immobile, especially when I’m concentrating a lot on other elements. For instance, if I go down center line doing shoulder in, many times my seat stops encouraging a swing both directions because I’ve become too focused on the movement itself. So if I’m doing shoulder-in going clockwise, I may only be encouraging a swing with my left thigh because I’m wanting bend off that leg into the right rein. But sometimes a very light outer thigh with proper timing with footfalls can help the back think of swinging instead of entirely locking down the outside side of my body.
In warmup or during walk breaks on a long rein, I try to feel the swing in my horse’s back. It should swing equally both directions. If it doesn’t, I encourage the side with the shorter swing with my seat and upper thigh to try to equalize them so the rib cage goes inside/outside. And the side that doesn’t swing equally may be different depending on the direction you’re going. And thinking of your hips being able to move with their swinging back while sitting the trot, rather than being totally immobile. I try to continue that awareness and adjustments to it into other work, but it’s obviously easiest during the walk.
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Look to your arms from the shoulder down. Let your arms hang straight down, now raise your forearms. Let your wrist softly curl inward slightly keeping forearms relaxed. Now close your thumb and forefinger on a rein, then softy curl your fingers. Do not grip!!
If you carry a whip, it should fit through the loop of forefinger and thumb, lying loosely across your palm. Again, no grip. A mere wrist flick will activate it.
Your elbows follow his head, freely.
He will carry himself with a faint reminder of a softly moving pinky…
Of utmost importance is that your upper body carries itself, always thinking upward. We have too much tendency to sink, and drive.
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Thanks all. We do lots of lateral warm up and shifting the ribs back and forth. At least 20 min in walk alone. Then some trot but he loosens up better if we go right to canter. Then trot work later on.
I’ll try the transitions in position down the Q line. Sounds like an eye opening exercise.
Today we worked only walk and trot, on snaffle 90%, looking for him to use his haunches. Contact was steady but a bit heavy. ( I avoided the curb which would have lightened it but also given him the excuse to drop his back or come above the bit).
Trainers exercise is to work on a circle and get him securely on the outside rein by using too much inside rein then working to balance it out. There is a small sweet spot of haunches pushing/ resulting head position where he carries himself but I struggle to keep him there ( since it’s work for him and he’d rather not…)
The second exercise is to really work on closing up how halts by getting haunches under. He’d rather take a step forward which parks him out to some degree. He is a lightly straight in the hocks so it’s a good excuse he thinks.
Thanks again for all the input.
lorilu. Most horses will lighten up if you simply open your chest and carry you.
Also, once a horse goes light, you cannot “capture” it, it is supported by the reins, not acquired by the reins. It is your job to stay out of the way, wait for it, go with it, your legs, seat, and body carriage must support it.
Reins will not help, they control only the head and neck.
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The best my guy goes is after working bigger/smaller trot. Engages the hind end and he carries himself better.
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What about connection in trot to canter transition… struggling as my gelding currently still inverts through the transition then is working through his back 2 steps after. He is a Standardbred so when I had taught him to canter, I was not as worried about connection. Now it’s a very tough habit to break.
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For my horse, transistions within gaits is very helpful (difficult, but helpful!). Going from working trot, to collected trot, to medium trot, to working trot, to collected trot. All on a straight line, NO crookedness, and using very minimal rein. Maintain a steady contact, use seat and leg and core to accomplish the transitions. No wiggling to shoulder-in or haunches-in. Focus on leg aid to bring butt down and under, lifting wither. Not fast, must push.
This has taken him from an average “6 trot” to a springy, elastic “8 trot” and a solid connection to my hand. When he gets crooked, the connection wavers, he braces, loses balance, and loses push/swing. I have had to focus on myself, too-- I used to ride him in a very gentle, light contact because he tends to be a quiet, light horse; however that ended up being “inconsistent contact” and he bumped around a little at, above, behind, below the bit if he balance wasnt quite right. Now that I’ve taken a firmer contact, he is steady and happy, more honest in his stretching, and “recycling” the power from behind more effectively. With more contact, I have been using more leg and core to support him, and it has really improved the connection and harmony.
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Two walk exercises:
1: Great for concentration, connection, and accuracy. Set up 4 parallel ground poles. Walk parallel & next to the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] pole at the end, turn on the forehand (flexion into the bend), leg-yield and then straighten so that you are walking parallel & next to pole 2, TOFH at end, repeat for 3 and 4, and then the same back down the line. Obviously you’ll need to make distance between the poles such that the TOFH can be executed without pole contact (or overshoot the pole but the accuracy might suffer). A good exercise when the jumpers have left their canter poles out again (sigh).
2: Shoulder-in on the long side for 3 strides, come off the side & straighten for 3 strides so you end up at a right-angle to the long side. TOFH in opposite bend to the SI. Walk/straighten back to the long-side and then SI on the original rein.
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I have been guided to something similar, but with inside leg. Lots of inside rein just bent my horse’s neck and did not truly put her into the outside hand. I had a moment last month when it all worked and I thought to myself “oh THATS what they mean by inside leg to outside hand/contact”. Check your work with an outside bend from time to time.
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“There is a small sweet spot of haunches pushing/ resulting head position where he carries himself but I struggle to keep him there ( since it’s work for him and he’d rather not…)“
Don’t struggle. Ask for whatever he can maintain correctly and then give him a stretch before asking again. I also agree with Dutchmare.
Thanks all. Last week I rode with only the snaffle thnking about even connection and using a variety of exercises. We worked on those transitions w/t/w and t/c/t without dropping the back or raising the head (which causes him to drop his back). all on the snaffle. Lots of warm up lateral work back in the trees on the slightly sloping forest soft ground. Had success at the end - connected on both reins and not dropping the contact, dropping the back, or raising his head in the transitions. Still would like his haunches carrying more in all gaits and in the halt. Was not pretty, I confess, lots of heaviness to start and breaking up the stiffness with flexions and bend and counter be… but this is a long-term issue… and @merrygoround , I agree - but I need him to get those haunches carrying , not out behind, by pushing him up into the contact… THEN he is light and connected on both reins and my seat. He knows this just does not want to work that hard… and frankly I have been letting him get away with it.
Today after warming up on the snaffle I picked up just a bit of the curb. Contact is improved… but still heavy on the snaffle. At least now he is not dropping his back in the transitions, and I think our halts are getting better (more on the haunches) as I encourage him to close up his gait as we approach the halt (lots of half halts, and almost halting then go on… etc).
And @EventerAJ yes… all that…
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This has been a helpful thread. I know it is hard for some with different type horses to believe that you can have a PSG horse with these connection challenges, but I am familiar with how sneaky, “fake-capable” these clever Iberian horses can be 
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Very good advice here.
One of my favorite exercises is to start on a 20m circle between B and E. Can be done at the walk or trot. Every time you reach the point on the circle at B or E, do a 10m circle inside your 20m circle - this will be the same direction, then continue on the 20m circle. At the points of the circle closest to A and C, do a 10m circle outside the big circle - so that will be the opposite direction. Do at least 2 full rotations of the 20m circle then switch to a 20m circle the other direction. The change in bend between the 20m and 10m circles then the change in bend when you switch to the outside circles really helps with inside leg to outside rein and keeping both reins connected.
I had an epiphany with my horse recently. Well, really my instructor finally got me to understand a bit better.
He is VERY busy with his mouth, and much prefers a very still contact. He is also naturally on the lazy side. This is the first horse I have ridden like this. Previous horses would always be more likely to soften in the contact with a little bit of movement in the fingers. So our rides went like this - started good with good contact. Exercise gets hard and we lose a bit of contact. I move my fingers, sponge, all sorts of things to try to get the contact again. He gets more busy with his mouth and less in the contact. He gets more busy, and so do I until we manage to find a meeting point by pure luck, but then the next time the contact falls, we are back to square one again.
Now I am trying to be very conscious of keeping the contact as steady as possible and my rein aids small and of longer duration. It is tough because it is such an old habit, and I have to constantly remind myself not to get stiff in my shoulders, but it really has made a big improvement in the quality and duration of our contact - especially during lateral work where he would try to cheat out of the contact. Of course, none of it is possible without him pushing first.
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indeed!!. He LOOKS connected - he LOOKS like he is using his back - he LOOKS like he is using those haunches… but no. Doesnt take much distance to “drop” a short back, and nice round haunches look engaged… and there is SUCH a small window on neck placement between too high (dropped back) and too low (and resulting coming behind the verticle and “rolling over” his shoulders if I push haunches in the classic fix.)…
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