Trotting in hand - any tips?

[Scarlett 001]

Tonight I was going through some ground exercises with Skeeter in a book that I have. One of them involved getting the horse to trot in hand on a halter/lead rope. Skeeter and I did not succeed very well at this. He resisted moving and I found it hard to coordinate tapping his hind with my dressage whip. So we kind of floundered on the transition and it was just a mess. Plus I was not so good at keeping him going either...

Does anyone have any tips for training a horse how to trot in hand on a lead rope? We were pretty hopeless so any and all thoughts appreciated.

Edited to add: I meant to put this under the "Training of the Horse" section and somehow made a mistake. If any mods see this thread, can they please move it over?

[teabiscuit]

Hi Scarlett

in my younger days i used to show fiery welsh ponies in hand, and we and to train them to trot out nicely in hand.

your position is important, just at the shoulder so that you can reach behind you and tap with the whip as soon as required.

be insistant until you get a response.

hold the lead rein about 1 foot to one and a half feet away from Skeeter's head, unless you need more control.

this will allow him to trot without having to curl his head round townards you as he would if you had a short rein.

issue a verbal command.

pracitce a lot- it takes a while.

get the forward motion first and the rest will fall into place.

good luck, i'm sure there's lots more tips out there NRers?

[Keket]

This is the method I've used:

Pick a voice command. We cluck our tongues for "trot". Stand next to the horse's throatlatch and give the voice command, and start jogging yourself. If he does start to trot, then give him lots of praise. If he doesn't, you have a few options. a) Have someone follow behind you with a crop. If he doesn't pick up trot, have the other person tap him lightly with the crop. b) Hold the end of the lead rope so it's hanging loose in your hand. If he doesn't pick up trot, flick your hand and send the loose end of the rope back to hit him lightly. This tends to get a lot of a reaction at first, so be ready for it.

The most important thing is to use the voice command to always warn the horse for the transition.

[teabiscuit]

ah yes body language-use it to indicate what's coming-like Keket said a quickening of the pace, a more erect and purposeful demenour (sp), a little jog perhaps.

[galadriel]

In teaching Fantasy to lunge, I started off leading her, then extended the line a little at a time until she was moving and I was not.

The reverse might work for a horse who will trot on the lunge but is reluctant to trot in hand. Start off lunging, gradually shorten the lead until you're moving along with the horse.

[holiday]

I would do the same as teabiscuit so cant really offer anymore advise than that!!!!!!!!!! If you really are struggling get someone else to chase up the horse from behind!!!