Upward transitions are great, but the canter to trot needs a lot of work! He'll grab the bit and run with it as I ask to come down, and then breaks into this huge sprawled out trot still hanging on the bit. It's much worse on the right lead. I keep him moving and try to bring him to a collected, or just a steady trot, but he is almost falling over himself with this giant trot. Left lead isn't quite as bad as right.
I'm out of ideas on what to do here. I practice lots of downward transitions, and on the left lead it works great. I'll trot 5 strides, canter 5 strides, trot 5, canter 5, but on the right lead , it's nearly impossible to get him to just come back quietly. He just grabs the bit and runs away at the trot, and I can't get him to come back. I'll circle, or serpentine, or leg yield, which usually gets his brain back to me any other time, but I'm just so stuck-I need some opinons!
When a horse is having difficulty with his downward transitions, you have to start with his balance and collection. A good transition starts several strides before the actual transition.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Make sure he is properly balanced and collected, with his hind end well under him. Sit up straight and tall. Put your leg on him to remind him to keep his hind end under him, tell him whoa, sit down firmly in the tack, and then and only then cue him with the reins. Keep your legs on him the whole time to keeps his hind end under him. Think of a transition as telling him to prepare to stop (sit up tall and put your leg on), telling him you're about to stop (sit down in the tack and say whoa), tell him to stop (reins). This will lighten his transition considerably.
If you are already doing that properly, it's time to change it up a bit. Repeating poorly done transitions over and over doesn't help; you have to do something different. Without seeing you and the horse, it's hard to know exactly what's wrong , but I suspect he needs exercises to improve his collection and balance. It doesn't sound like the problem is so much in his willingess to slow down (that's just a symptom), as it is in his falling out of the transitions and having to move fast to keep up with himself. He can't slow down and change gears at the same time. To improve his stop, improve his collection, so he can do both at the same time. Strengthen his hind end, so he can work off it more effectively, and he'll hold together better.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com I'd start with some same gait speed transitions. At the trot, do a relaxed slow trot, then collect it, then extend it, then collect it again, then relaxed, etc. Do it unpredictably - a full circle one time, 10 strides another, etc. At the canter, start off with a regular working canter, collect it up and slow it, stretch it out, collect it, etc. This will help get him listening to your signals a little better, while developing his muscles for collecting and thus for stopping. Make sure every speed change is YOUR idea, not his, and that you are getting his hind end under him when you're collecting him, not just setting his head.
These transitions will help him learn to respond to your ALWAYS CONSISTENT signals appropriately without the battle to change gaits. Every time, signal the same way, as I said above. Many many horses will go completely sour on the 5/5/5/5/5 ... regimen. It's far too frustrating. Doing these semi-transitions will be more interesting to him, and will develop all themuscles and balance he's missing now.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
I would also do some tighter work to balance him. Spirals are great. Be sure to keep your weight on your outside leg, and slowly press him into the spiral, holding him upright with your inside leg. Don't let him lean into the circle; he should stay upright and learn to handle his body better. Start on the rail; spiral in to as tight a circle as he can handle correctly; spiral out again. Over time, this will strengthen his balance considerably.
If you ride English, I would then move on to dressage work - work on three tracks, shoulder in/out, pirouettes, but those moves are beyond what I can explain here. You could also do some gymnastic jumping, using a grid of cavalletti to get him rocked backed on his hind end to repeatedly jump, which will collect and strengthen him.
If you ride Western, I'd try some turns on the haunches and some reining type work.
I would lay off the transition practice you've been doing for a while - it's not helping, it's frustrating him, and it's become a habit with him to fall out of his trot. Just do the same gait transitions for at least a week. Then try your other transitions a few times - not every 5 strides though! Just a few times, to see how it goes, while concentrating on cuing him correctly and giving him time to respond correctly.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Good Luck!
