Hey Dakotasmom, well done for sorting out the going forward! Not quite sure about western riding but have a similar problem once I started practising walk to canter for my dressage training (especially after correcting a dull horse too). After doing one transition all I got after that was a jog. The trick I used was to not practise the fast stuff again until the slow stuff settles again. As for the not stopping stuff it sounds like it is good when the adrenaline is down but not so good when it comes up. So more practise establishing the stops with a bit of adrenaline (but not so much that he can't learn). My chap is similar in that at home his flatwork is angelic, once at the show he gets excited, the adrenaline flows and its all out the window for at least 1/2 hour!! It helps me to remember for a 'dull' horse to go up the gears fast and down the gears slow - this will encourage forward motion and raise the energy of a lethargic horse. For one that goes to fast its the other way around, up the gears slow - and down the gears fast which helps to bring them off the forehand and make them more responsive to the rein. Hope that makes sense. Good luck at the show.

Hello,

Just few days ago I saw interesting training session where the rider had a lot of success slowing and stopping the horse by disengaging the hindquarters, which as we know are the “engine” of the horse’s power. If your horse doesn’t know how disengage the hindquarters with the rider on, start with practicing from the ground.
You may also practice working with the speed of your horse by long lining in a round pen. It may turn out to be easier in the beginning to work on “lower gear” from the ground, i.e. turning and changing direction when the horse doesn’t want to slow down – to be able to keep the balance, the horse will need to slow down (his hind quarters will disengage in that process as well). I use long lines to have contact with the horse’s head and watch my own position in regards to horse’s body. Sometimes I will move out of the driving zone just a bit forward, so I can slow down my horse by putting some pressure on his shoulder or base of the neck – be careful because with a sensitive horse it is easy to change the direction his moving with that move.
Good luck.

Hmmm...a lot to think I about. I will let you know how it all works. Thanks to you both!

Just for this week we are having my daughter ride Dakota outside of the ring. We feel he is a bit ring sour. After her ride outside, she takes him in the ring and just rides slowly then stops and sits on him for awhile.

We have tried a method of disengaging the hind quarters--by using lateral flexion. It slows him down but when she steps out with him he speeds right back up.

I am not too experienced with long lining yet, so I might save that until after her show on Saturday. She may just take him in the round pen and work on slowing him down that way.

Thanks and I will keep you posted!

If anyone is following this thread...Now we are consistently walking Dakota in a circle whenever he decides to take off trotting while either I or my daughter is riding him. We circle in a calm way until he settles, then walk him on. It is slow going and it's taking awhile, but we see some improvement.

Shows are a challenge right now, but I told my daughter to school him in the class if he gives her trouble.

To school a horse because of bad behavior, don't you need to do more than a walk in a small circle? Preferably a canter, or at least a working trot?

And does your daughter get excited at shows? Perhaps Dakota is feeding off of her adrenaline sensed through her legs (they are squeezing more than normal). I have been to many a show where the horses are anxious, and so are the riders, eventhough the riders say they are not.

Well, that is definitely a possibility. However, this particular show was very calm. No rushing or anything. My daughter was very calm. I do think it has to do with being at a different location. He looks around for a horse to bond with and gets stuck to that horse for the day. It's kind of like a buddy sour situation.

Also, about schooling in a faster circle; we tried that, but he just got more riled up. walking is what we want him to do so it seems to work better to walk in the circle because it seems to calm him down.

Now, the weather is getting warmer, so he is calming down a bit. But I know we don't want to count on the weather, maybe we can just use it to our advantage. Maybe he will see that it's easier to stay calm than it is to jog and jitter.

Thanks!

Hi, I have learned that it helps to give the horse a treat when he does something right he has difficulties with. For example, my horse used to walk immediately off when I mounted him. I put his face against a wall and made him wait for one minute then I got off his back as a reward and turned him out in the pasture. He looked quite surprised and next time he stood still when mounting. Now, I made it a habit to give him a horse bisquit before we move off after mounting. He waits very patiently. Maybe you could give him a treat by offering him relaxation on long reins after cantering him. My horse enjoys this and stretches his head right to the ground. Somehow you should try to make the relaxed trot or canter more agreeable to him than the nervous one. I think a leisure hores should never get into an excited nervous state when ridden. Whenever mine gets excited, I normally take all the pressure of him and calm him with my voice (as if talking to an anxious child) and once he relaxes I give him a treat to show him that this was the right thing to do.
Hope that helps. Just keep experimenting,
Beate