Question: My granddaughter shows in 4-h and she has a 6yr old mare we just bought her. Her trot is a little fast and so is her canter. How do we slow it down? The horse has never been to a show and I figure we have all winter to get her ready. Can you help slow her down?
Answer from April Reeves: Yes I can and it’s a fairly easy exercise. It’s also a part of foundation training and will set up your horse to do additional exercises.
First, this exercise will teach the mare to take responsibility for her gait. You should never have to constantly push a horse every few strides, nor should you have to try to correct a fast horse all the time. Horses should stay in the gait you ask until you ask otherwise, and this exercise will help. It’s also easy. You will do very little.
