(Re)Training the older horse.. Opinions/advice please
TXBelle1174
Posts: 615 Member
I have a senior horse that I would love to start taking to some local level shows. Mostly for fun but I would like to be a little competitive. He is a nice mover but a BIG mover and I show western. It's not that I want to shut him down but I would like to slow him down and collect him up a bit. His jog/trot is murderous and in western, you have to sit the trot. All that bouncing won't do well for either of us. My question is.... Would you approach this just as you would with a younger horse? Back to basics? How would YOU approach it? I am not a horse trainer but I am a fairly advanced rider and know basic training concepts. My pony was a Hunter horse in a past life and he knows a lot. He probably knows more than I think he does!!
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Have you thought of western dressage w/ him? you can post the trot It is catching on all over the country. Go to Western dressage association of America for more info. We have it here in NJ and it is getting popular0
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Funny you should say that... Yes, I have. I was actually taking WD lessons but I became involuntarily unemployed and had to take a break from lessons. Then my WD trainer (who is awesome) was just in a horrible accident and broke her back. You see, my daughter (who is 7) wants to show western pleasure and that is all I have ever shown and so I can coach/train her. A friend of mine said I should also try out a local show club so I got the bug to show again. Anyway, I don't expect to be a show stopper, I just want to be able to ride it and not feel/look like I am going to fall off! LOL!0
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I think it's a bit unfair to ask a big mover to become something he's not - and do you really want to spoil nice, active gaits by making them flat? Maybe you can find a discipline he's better suited to...
But that's just my two cents. If you really are trying to change his gaits, I'd suggest loads of transitions and pole work.0 -
I agree with OK. Find a discipline or event you both like and are suited to. Or take a shot at WD and see how it goes?
When a horse is correctly collected from behind, not with hands, the trot should be easy to sit to. Having said that I haven't actually done it!0
