Plodder in front

[mojo]

Where I have lessons we have a big old horse who is a bit on the dominant side and therefore has to go lead file in the group. The trouble is that when he is in front he is a bit of a plodder, if he goes second he tries to overtake the horse in front. The past 3 wks I have ridden much more forward going horses and have had to hold them back the whole time so as not to run into the back of him. If you get too close his ears go flat back and he swishes his tail and I am worried that he will lash out. The thing is i have felt like i am pulling back on the reigns the whole time and worry that this must be an uncomfortable ride for the horse I'm on. I have tried slowing down my rising trot and half-halts but this dosent seem to work.
Any suggestions??

[JennyTullis]

Is there any reaon why you all have to ride in a line? Is the arena too small to spread out? In my group lessons, if I get close to a horse, I usually circle across the arena to create some space.

[mojo]

No the arena is quite large but we are always given a designated position in the group (there's five of us) and told to maintain one horses length between each rider. We've never been allowed to circle across the arena. We are always told that we are responsible for controlling our horses pace. I usually manage this but I do feel that I am pulling back on the reigns a lot, and worry for the horse.

[JennyTullis]

Hmmmm...that's interesting. It drives my instructor nuts if we are anywhere near each other. She thinks that if horses are arranged in a line, they tend toward "herd" behavior which means that the rider isn't really riding, as the horse more or less plays follow the leader. I would talk to your instructor and she what she says. It doesn't seem fair that your poor horse is put in the back when he's forward going!

[eml]

Mojo I seem to remember you ride at a college from your previous posts. How advanced is your ride? Normally every one from about Stage 1 level would work in open order...thats what Jenny is suggesting not in ride order. I agree with Jenny by the way ride order is great when you are starting out because your horse goes with the gang but open order would give you (and the horse) more of a chance to work at its natural pace...why dont you ask your instructor if your group could perhaps try open order?

[mojo]

We do work in open order. We ride for an hour and usually the first half of the lesson is dedicated to this and then the second half we tend to work in file. The group is not advanced level, it is beginner-intermediate. I will have a chat with my instructor to see if we can devote more of the lesson to open order in future.
She often says she likes us to be relatively close together as she can monitor us better.

[tarkia]

This is a bit of a problem when your stuck behind a slow horse that can kick out. I turn across to the other side of the school, but if you have to ride in a single file then make sure that the horse goes how fast you want him to go, instead of keeping the reins tight you could just half halt and pull & give every now and again.

If you keep the reins tight all the time then all the horse will want to do is fight against you most proboally ending in the horse pulling the reins out of your hands. Its also helps when your in trot to try and slow your rise down a little this helps the horse to realise you want to go slower.