Canter improving, but trotting going the other way???

[Hollymead]

Hi everyone. About 2/3 months ago, Holly's trot was coming along quite nicely. She is naturally a short moving/buzzy/head high pony, with trot being her worst pace, but she was starting to relax and take a longer frame. She was also offering an outline most days after about 20mins working in. At that time her canter was pretty awful - very tight and rushed, with wrong/no bend and often incorrect strike off.
So I started working on her canter more, although, as far as I am aware, I have not backed off her trot training. Now, whilst her canter is becoming a lot less buzzy, with about 95% correct strike offs, the beginnings of true bend and, on a good day, a longer frame, her trot has now deteriorated. I now never get offered an outline.
She's still young (6), so I am not going to get fixated about getting her in an outline, but why, just because her canter has improved, have I lost her good work in trot?

[oinkmoooink]

Does she start asking for canter in trot? She may be becoming disjointed because she thinks that trotting must lead to canter and is gettin excited about that.
Do you canter her every session? Try just doing walk/trot work sometimes, or short bursts of canter and longer trotting, making sure you bring her back into an outline in trot between canters?
My mares older, but she never really got taught to canter, and we have the same problem, she benefits from breaks from casnter work, then when i do ask, she works better in canter, andif i dont do it too much in a session then her trot work doesnt deteriorate- if she starts to expect canter she goes flat...
hope that helps

[oldbat]

I have found exactly the same with both my horses. As one pace improves another deteriorates for a little while. I suspect it's just tired muscles. You will probably be able to impove the trot by asking for lots of transitions to and from canter.
Oldbat.
PS. Remember lots of loose rein walk and stretching out to help these developing muscles though

[chickyd444]

i'm having the exact same at the moment, so i am holding off on the canter and starting to work on my transitions from walk holt trot holt trot walk, etc and getting a few trotting poles on the go to make things a bit more interesting for him :)

[Hollymead]

getting a few trotting poles on the go to make things a bit more interesting for him :)

Now, as soon as I get those out, we lose any good canter work! Poles aren't for cantering, they're only for jumping you see :rolleyes:

Oinkmoooink - she only asks for canter when we're hacking, never in the school.
So the general consensus seems to be easing back on the canter work a bit, allowing stretching in walk, and doing lots of transitions?
Question - if I do lots of trot-canter-trot transitions Holly gets buzzier and buzzier. When we're trotting her head goes up, her action becomes very up and down and she snorts like a racehorse, then she sort of bounces into the canter and tries to tank off. So how would I tackle that?
Personally I find she's best if I pick up canter on a short side of the school and go straight onto a circle (20-15m), do several circles whilst really asking for inside bend (I get none otherwise) and riding inside leg to outside hand with lots of half halts. Then, when she's settled, I can go large, but never for more than one circuit (we have a big 70x30 school) or she starts getting faster and faster again.