Lengthening stride in trot and keeping impulsion

[Scarlett 001]

In my lessons I have now been released off the lunge (I posted about this previously) and am just thrilled at the secure seat it helped me to develop! I really feel my riding is going places. To help things move along, I have added a second lesson each week for the month of August! :D I may get tempted into keeping two lessons per week in the fall - I shall see how budget and time go...

We are working on the basics of posting trot around the arena. I have two questions:

(1) One thing we are working on is getting a trot with a longer stride along the long side of the arena. Is a trot with a long stride really just an extended trot - do these terms mean the same thing (just curious)? I am starting to get the horse responding to me by putting some leg on as we approach the long side of the arena. This works to some degree. Is there anything else that I should be doing to get her moving with a longer stride?

(2) Also, we are doing some figure eights around the full arena and I am trying to work on getting the horse to maintain impulsion around turns, and also to maintain impulsion when we go by the arena door (where she tends to stall). Other than putting a leg on, are there any other cues I can give her to let her know I want her to keep moving and not slow down in these situations?

Any tips are of course appreciated! Thank you! :)

[galadriel]

An extended trot is a very different beast from a lengthened trot. You may call for lengthening when a horse is striding short due to lack of impulsion or balance, or whatnot. An extended trot is a trot with massive amounts of suspension and a tremendous stride; it is a difficulty level above collection, as collection is required to teach the extended trot.

To ask for continued impulsion, you may apply leg intermittently (once or twice a stride, once every few strides, whatever is most effective), but you can also use your posting rate to have some effect on the horse's rate of going. If you are balanced and moving with the horse, if you then add energy impulsion to your own posting, then the horse may up his energy/impulsion to match. The horse has to be pretty responsive, though, and it can take a lot of experimentation to get it right.

A much simpler method might be voice commands of some kind; continuing to ask for energy with your voice may help the horse maintain energy.

It does take a lot more energy to maintain balance through a turn, so it's natural to have to ask for a little more energy throughout the turn itself.

Congratulations on your progress after the lunge lessons, by the way :) You sound so delighted.

[kedwards]

Like Gal said, lengthening is a fairly simple exercise that asks the horse to take bigger strides. True extension is a higher level gait. Certainly beyond what I'm working on at the moment.

To lengthen, I think about more of "allowing" the horse. In a good working gait, he should be going foward into contact. As you give a little with your reins and relax your seat, he should stretch and step forward with bigger strides. If you don't have enough forward energy in the working trot, you won't get a good lengthening.

[Scarlett 001]

Originally posted by galadriel
Congratulations on your progress after the lunge lessons, by the way :) You sound so delighted.

Thank you! I am so very delighted indeed. I really think I have found the right instructor and stables for me and I am so very happy about this. :)

Thank you kedwards and galadriel for you comments re the lengthening - much appreciated as always. I feel a bit naive asking about extended trot in the same question as lengthening of stride! Oops... :o :)

Re the comment about contact with the horse in kedwards' response. I am just starting to get contact - not consistently yet. But Angel and Gail - the two horses I ride - are both starting to try and make contact and position their head nicely - the fact they are reaching for the bit is a huge step for me (never achieved this before). But I have a silly tendency to then tilt forward myself as they reach for the bit, rather than maintaining my position (it is my initial position that got them trying to make contact in the first place, so I must work on this!). We have done a lot of work on my body and hand position and I think that this has helped. I guess that as I work on my communication via leg aids, my own energy, and improve the contact, this lengthening issue should begin to slowly improve with each lesson.