How do I improve my hunter horse's movement in u/s classes?

Question

I actually have a large pony and we compete in pony hunter divisions. Over fences he does wonderfully; he's consistent, hits the spots, makes the distance and tops it off with cute changes. We normally place very well in our O/F courses, but pin significantly worse on the flat. My horse is not a fancy mover, but moves well and forward. He definitely doesn't have the desired flat knees and 'daisy cutter' look. Is there anything that I can do to improve our movement on the flat? He's already in aluminum shoes, which seemed to have little or no effect. He has also been recently introduced to dressage, but I try to keep that out of the hunter ring, even though he does round his back and suspend more after he gets into his 'dressage mode. Is there a way to ‘retrain’ my horse on the flat? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Dressage could actually confuse or worsen your pony on the flat.- Dressage is a scopey step, and A Framed head. Hunters is completely different-

I would work him consistantly under groundpoles, or a lounge line. I have a Large mare that picks her feet up and hardly pins in hunter flat, but blues in O/F, too!

I fixed her up with the aluminum shoes, and Consistant ground pole work. Try just using a basic Standing martingale. Soon, you should see his head lowering. Also, light halfhaults consistantly like squeezing a sponge will lower his head.

- Before flat classes, tire him out. Make him move forward and open his stride.

  Groundpoles-

Set 5 groundpoles 2 feet apart each. Keep on circling at walk, then trot, then canter. The circling, pace setting, and 2 feet across will teach him to flatten his feet and not lift like a eq. horse.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Dressage really is everything.  A good hunter on the flat will have a fairly solid dressage background in the fact that it can come down into a nice soft contact and remain there without the rider having to crank on the horse's mouth.  A good jumper will have a fairly extensive dressage/flat training in order to make those tight rollback turns, etc.

Remember that his conformation will have a fair amount to do with the way that he moves on the flat.  Sometimes pushing them into a more extended gait (not completely extended, but making them step out and use themself more rather than collect up) can make them look much nicer and for the most part is nicer to ride.

Answer 3

Dressage is the best thing you can do.

You can ride Dressage without the horse being round.

When I'm warming up Dressage, and not doing a hard day of work, I will ride my horse on a Hunter Rein. He still has the great leg and back movement, but has a hunter headset.

Answer 4

Feet-wise: aluminum shoes are definately the way to go, also make sure his angles are correct and the toe is as short as possible to help him break over with less knee action.  My farrier tells me it's a common misconception that a long toe helps them move better...it doesn't!  

To help him pin better in the hack:  he needs to round his back and push from behind, his neck needs to be lowered with his nose poking out a bit (hence the expression long and low), there should be a little 'loop' in your reins, transitions should be nice and crisp, and each gait should be very consistant.  With these things in order, you can often get a nice ribbon as the better movers a making a mistake here and there.