Riding Q & A

Question: 

 I am writing about a Standard Bred mare that I recently purchased.  She was a rescue. My trainer knew her history and told me that she had a wonderful smooth trot.  I got some weight on her but when I started to ride I found she has an extremely rough trot and almost jars me out of the saddle.  She trots smoothly around the field and when lunged.

Answer: After reading the question, I asked the owner to send me some pictures.  I am taking a chance as I have not seen the action of the horse in person, but I am offering some suggestions.  I have had similar problems with horses and there can be only so many things causing this type of problem and there are only so many things you can do to deal with it.  It can be done, the key is that you will need patience and perseverance.

You mentioned that a veterinarian said the mare does not have a sore back.  That may be true but the first thing I would do, especially for a horse having a problem with a gait, is to have an equine chiropractor evaluate the horse to see if any adjustments are needed.  I just had a problem with a Quarter horse who was dropping leads in the rear and once she was adjusted, she was able to pick up the correct lead in the rear and to maintain it.  I have horses come to the ranch that are strung out on the trot and are not physically fit.  It can be muscle tone.  The horse is strung out and when you pick up a rein, the head comes up, the horse hollows out in the back and the hind quarters are not coordinated with the front end.  In other words, the horse’s action is rough and not coordinated.   Shoeing can also be a major factor.  If the feet are too long or there is too much  break over, it can cause a horse to not be able to come under itself.  Also, another area to evaluate is the horse’s teeth.  Tooth problems can cause resistance to a bit.

It could have been a previous owner who caused the horse to act this way.  I have had a lot of horses that have come in and maybe the horse was too forward and the owner was pulling on the reins causing the horse’s head to go up and the back to hollow out.   I have not seen how you are riding this horse but in looking at the pictures I can tell that the saddle is too small for you.  The saddle is down hill and pushing up against the withers.  Your shoulders are angled forward and your legs are going back.    Also, looking at the pictures I can see that the mare does not have a great top line or good development in the hind quarters.  These are important factors in the  conditioning of a horse before we can get a nice quiet, collected trot.

You also told me that when you ask the horse to collect, which means you are picking up on the reins, asking the horse to come from the rear and come through into your hands, the  horse stops.  This is a problem as she is not accepting your hands on the bridle or accepting the bit.  When this happens, a horse learns to throw up its head and even stop.  Maybe the previous rider asked the horse to go forward with the leg cues and at the same time held the horse back by holding onto the horse’s face. 

You may be working with a lot of issues and things that happened before you got the horse.  My recommendations are first to have a chiropractor look at the horse.  It may not show a sore back by just pushing on it but there could be lumbar problems.  This horse is disconnected from the front.  In other words, the front and rear are not coordinating   Second, the horse is not giving to the bit so I would have a dentist evaluate the horse to make sure the teeth are fine.  It doesn’t make any difference what type of hardware you have on the face.  In the first picture it is a leverage bit but whether it is a snaffle or a bosal, the horse must accept the pressure in your hands and be able to come through. 

There are quite a few exercises that you can do to help with your problems.  You can teach the horse what I call concentrated circles {see my books or videos}.  This exercise helps the horse to develop a supple body by bending around you and getting the inside rear leg to step under the body.  There is a change of direction exercise that I would recommend and both of these exercises can be done with a halter first and later with a snaffle bit.  Once the horse is giving to the bit by working in hand you can go to long lines to get the horse to come through from the rear.  As I look at the last picture, and actually in all the pictures, I notice that she is not willing to step under.  She poses by being stretched out.  So she needs to learn to accept the bit and to accept the leg and to get under herself.  You can do this with in-hand work, lunging, and transitions.  You can do this on the ground by having her trot over poles or cavelettis.  This will condition her and build up her hind quarters and top line.  She has no top line right now so there is a lot of work to do. 

You also mentioned that you thought she was lazy.  I don’t think she is lazy other than being lazy in using her hind end and that goes along with not coming up under herself and being disconnected from the front end.  The other thing you mentioned is that when she spooks, she trots off beautifully.   When she spooks, she gets her hind quarters under herself because no one is pulling on her face and kicking at the same time so, for a moment in time she is using herself in a somewhat correct form. 

With a rescue horse there is a lot more work needed than just putting weight on them.  I have rescued a lot of horses and the first thing I do is get some weight on them but then I start exercising them, even when they are under weight, because this helps develop an appetite and starts putting the fat and muscle in the right areas.  I hope these suggestions will help you and if not, let me know because this problem can be fixed.

Just to re-cap — have the horse checked medically, including chiropractic and dental.  Do the proper exercises to develop the top line and hindquarters.  Establish a forward cue on the ground and in the saddle and establish acceptance of the bit.  These things will take a lot of ground work but if you spend the time to condition her and establish your cues, you will have much better and safer trail rides.  You have a lot of work to do and again, it will take patience and perseverance. 

Charles Wilhelm