extension

[ToujoursLesBelles]

My trainer tried to help me teach my horse extension but she REALLY did not get it..she just sped up but her stride didn't lengthen at all...how do you train extension?

[Skip_n_Hide]

I dont really know how to explain it... but you sorta need to engorage the hose to go forward to resist it speeding up all at the same time...

Someone else probably be able to explain it to you better... sorry imnot more help! :p

[horsesxox23]

im not sure if this is what ur trainer said but try to push the horse into ur hands, like a collected trot, but give her a little more leg so she cant go faster, only longer, and if it feels like ur pulling her, just work her mouth so she realizes ur not telling her to stop, but to give to the pressure...i hope this helps, i dont really know how to explain it all that well, but good luck! :D

[ToujoursLesBelles]

haha thanksss...but yeah thats what we tried :/
bella doesnt seem to get it at all haha

[Comanchegurl14]

Just keep doing what you're doing...just be patient. It takes awhile for some horses to get it. Lunge her over trotting poles too, and put them further apart so that she has to go over them with a longer stride, but not so long that she can take more than one stride in between each of the poles. :) Hope this helps...Good luck!!!

[ToujoursLesBelles]

okay! ill keep trying, and we do trotting poles, but i havent tried spacing them farther apart, so ill try that ASAP! thanks!!

[Casper2002]

you can try to keep pressure on the inside rein and bump with the outside rein and at the same time using your outside leg to shove his hip over it works wonders with my horse and we do hunter under saddle and western pleasure. Good luck

[fowlerk]

My trainer tried to help me teach my horse extension but she REALLY did not get it..she just sped up but her stride didn't lengthen at all...how do you train extension?


I trained my horse to do that becase I do dressage and now he does it! What I did was ask him/her to collect his/her head and squeezed very softly and it worked! E-mail me if it workes! Good Luck!

[Comanchegurl14]

First things first....your horse HAS to know how to collect it's head first. It is pretty much a KEY thing in extension. If your horse doesn't know how to collect it's head, it'll just speed up when you ask it to extend.
After you have it collectine(tucking) it's head well, THAT'S when you can teach it to extend.

The rest is REALLY confusing. Like to explain how to teach how to get your horse to extend. Here's how I can best explain it. Keep your legs on the horse while it's collecting(tucking) it's head. Now put pressure on your horse through your legs while putting a certain amount of pressure on the reins. This should help teach it to extend, but it's REALLY confusing. Also, like horsesxox said, don't let your horse stop and make sure there's not SO much pressure that the horse thinks you're meaning stop. That's why it's so hard and confusing....because there are so many things you have to pay attention to at the same time!!

Good Luck!! :)
and God Bless,
Rachelle

[ToujoursLesBelles]

thanks guys!!! ill keep trying at it, and keep trying those poles, and ill see if i can get it!! ill be sure to let you know when i do!