Big change,need a little help.

[Moniece Dickerson]

Chica will be six y/o this summer.Aparently she has picked this year to realize she's a paso fino and wake up.Before she would go faster than a walk if I asked her to but she was not happy about having to at all.I had worked a little bit,last summer, on gaiting instead of going to a trot,saw progress,and was happy.Now this year I can barely get her to walk and a flat walk is out of the question.All she wants to do is gallop!And the girl is FAST!I am guilty of letting her go sometimes since I do love taking off and going so fast and because I know I can stop her but I desporately want to beable to get consistant gait from her and would REALLY love to get a largo from her.Have any of you had this happen?How did you teach yours to use the newly found energy for gait and teach a largo?I really believe if she learned a largo she would be just as happy to largo as to gallop.We seem to be on the same page now in that we both love to go fast so if we can come together on consistant gait and gain a largo we'll both have a blast all the time.Thanks for you help!Your friend,Moniece

[Pinto Paso]

Moniece, it is the same as when she was not gaiting - basically you need to bring her back to what you want her to do. This means working her at a walk until she performs everything you ask. This includes stopping when asked as well as the flat walk. Half stops and circles when she is not responding.

Then you proceed to corto. She must perform everything you ask before you move on to largo. You have obviously enjoyed loping and galloping her and she knows that you do not ask a lot of her other than to go fast when she is galloping so it is becoming her preferred activity. Once you get a consistant corto she should be ridden in that gait combined with the walk on command this season.. work on the largo after the gait is locked in and she is responsive to commands

Good luck

[Laura S]

What I have been doing, and it's working so far, is go at a walk on a loose rein when they speed up and you haven't cued them to, then I do one rein stop and flex. Once that is mastered at the walk, then I do the corto on loose rein. It they go too fast, then I do the one rein stop and flex. That way they learn to travel at the speed you ask for on a loose rein.

[Jasfino]

You need to work on getting her to listen to your every cue...and only go faster if you ask for it. Do you have an enclosed area you can ride her in? If not you can maybe make an area using barrel as the perimeters. I would make each riding session... all about getting her to pay attention to the different cues.. walk, halt, back, corto.. turning etc.. Practice stopping her with your seat cues.. making her back.. and then let her stand there a minute for her reward when she does good. If she starts to go faster than you ask..one rein stop. You can work on disengaging her hindquarters too.. first at a standstill.. then at a walk. You know it is working well when it seems that your horse is reading your mind..light and responsive to your cues. You will gain more respect this way too... than if she gets by with galloping whenever she wants. She will look to you as the leader.

[The Professional]

One important thing you must bear in mind Moniece, is the fact that your mare is 6 years old. What that means in terms of successful training is that she's completely developed, muscles, bone structure and mentally.

To explain things better for you... Chica is a fully grown mare, who has the muscle power and mentally will to do whatever she pleases if she is allowed to do so.

According with your statement, she loves to go fast and enjoys it as much as you do. That my dear Monice is your clue! She does it because you in a direct or indirect way taught her that. To only go fast, when she should know basis first. Not that you did anything wrong, on the contrary, you excelled in giving her room and freedom. Most experts only know to collect a horse, but never give them the space to relax while performing.

Now for the fix! Easy, piece of cake! You just have to go to some basic ground work to get Chica into pace. In other words; you put a sursingale, long reins and a "cabezon" on Chica in a confined space, or a round pen. Then you spend a half an hour making her go slow or even walk if it's possible. Each time she wanted to go fast you give her a voice command and stop her at the same time you say "whoa" or "stop" or any other command you wish; even a simple "shhhh" would do. But you must stop her flat at the same time you give the command and make sure you're standing exactly behind her, at a safe distance and pull equally at the reins so her head won't go either way. As if you were riding her.

Once you notice that Chica is obeying your signals, you can change speeds and go into "paso corto". She can go around and you can stand in the center of the circle until you want to stop her. Moniece, I assure you that once Chica understands that you want to change from corto to largo and viceversa, she will remember that you are in control becasue the long reins give you that extra power to "negociate" with her. She would then go happily at will. If she understands and you have the power to convince her...there shouldn't be any trouble. Let us know how she's doing after a couple sessions.

Cordially,
~The Professional