# How to get my horse to JOG.



## rob (Aug 8, 2011)

i use a snaffle bit and reins or draw reins and with your hands and wrists,slowly with steady rythem,see-saw your bit back and forth between your hands until the horse keeps his low head-set and slows down.


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## Scoutrider (Jun 4, 2009)

It takes a lot of strength for a horse to go slow properly. A good jog isn't just about slow -- any horse can be checked back until they're plugging along at a foot-dragging, unrhythmic mess of a gait. To get a real, rhythmic, cadenced jog takes a lot of muscle and correct posture, starting from the back end. Also, some horses are made to do it and others aren't. Do keep that in consideration as you're working with your horse; WP bred quarter horses are just made to jog, while warmbloods and Saddlebreds and Morgans, on the other hand, aren't. Sure, you can work with those "unconventional" breeds and get something more like a jog, but it isn't going to be the same as what you see out of a well-bred, well-conditioned, well-trained show-stock type. 

So, building strength. Hill work, backing up, hacking, and good forward posting trotting are all going to help him get stronger and fitter. This is assuming, of course, that all of this is being ridden correctly and effectively -- sloppy hill work and plugging down the trail in an inverted frame isn't going to help you much. Read up on some of the collection threads around the boards. I know, those are almost all dressage-centric, but the theory is the same... when all else is boiled away, a western jog is just the stock-seat analog of a collected trot. The same prerequisites apply -- relaxation, rhythm, suppleness, contact (here meaning all the aids, not just the mouth!! A finished bridle horse is "on the bit" even on a draped rein!), impulsion.... the whole enchilada. 

Don't neglect yourself as you're focusing on the horse! The quality of your sitting trot, and your ability to effectively use your weight and seat to influence your horse's speed and posture play a huge role in allowing him to settle into that silky slow jog. Even more so than your hands. :wink: You will be amazed what a horse can do when its rider makes it easy.

I personally would avoid draw reins or other gadgets to achieve your goal, ESPECIALLY if you're working on your own and not under the supervision of someone who has significant experience in using such tools properly. It is almost absurdly easy to royally screw a horse up with draw reins if you don't know exactly what you are doing, and that will only make more work down the road to undo the damage and build proper posture and musculature through the old ingrained bad habits. Draw reins have their place, but, IMVHO, this is not one of them. It isn't all about the head; it's about building up the whole horse to have the strength to carry himself (and his rider) in a biomechanically correct way at that slow speed. 

As always, working with a qualified trainer/instructor is the best way to ensure that you're on the right track and doing all that you can to help yourself and your horse achieve the goal safely (considering the physical damage that trucking around in a forced, unnatural posture can do) and correctly. Especially if your goal is to get into the show ring.

Good luck!!


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## wpbr (Mar 30, 2012)

yeah...I'm avoiding any and all devices. I'm using a basic O ring snaffle with mecate reins


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## rob (Aug 8, 2011)

sorry scout.but i've been training wp qh's for a long time.i've never had to take one up or down hills.and if i have to post in a trot,not an extended trot,then the horses trot is too fast or too rough.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

The Road of a Horse Trainer: Teaching "Cruise Control"


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## Scoutrider (Jun 4, 2009)

rob said:


> i use a snaffle bit and reins or draw reins and with your hands and wrists,slowly with steady rythem,see-saw your bit back and forth between your hands until the horse keeps his low head-set and slows down.


I've honestly used this method myself -- not as a trainer, but as a student learning to get a WP trained paint mare to "do her thing." It was all hands, just sit and passively absorb the jog while you jiggle the face down and check excess speed with the hands. Yes, it most certainly will slow a horse down and get it's face down and nose in, but it was out of intimidation in front, not impulsion behind and self-carriage in front, which, in my understanding, is the ultimate goal? 

Of course, if I've misunderstood and the ultimate goal is only to simply get the horse "low and slow," then I can easily see how fussing with the horse's mouth without addressing his whole body's posture would be a simpler, faster way to get to Rome. :wink: 

Perhaps there is more to your method in the way of encouraging that impulsion that you've neglected to mention, but I have generally found that the "all hands" approach to getting a jog results in a pretty front end, but a disconnect behind. "All the generals up front and no army behind," so to speak. 



rob said:


> sorry scout.but i've been training wp qh's for a long time.i've never had to take one up or down hills.and if i have to post in a trot,not an extended trot,then the horses trot is too fast or too rough.


Well, I certainly can't say that I've been training WP QH's for a long time; all I can speak for is what I've encountered in about a decade of lessons and in my training of my own personal horses. WP is not my personal discipline of choice, although the majority of my formally instructed background is in WP, HUS and similar -- outside of barrel racing, WP is the only "formally recognized" game in town. I mean _no_ disrespect or argument, and, to a degree, I defer to your years of experience, but I have serious questions and misgivings about the "draw reins and see-saw until he gets it" method. 

Again, perhaps I'm misunderstanding your method, but it sounds like you just trot in circles in the arena and fuss with the horse's mouth until he slows down? Does it not take impulsion to make a quality jog? Where does that come from? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that sounds more like teaching the image of the ultimate goal from square one, rather than physically and mentally conditioning the horse to come closer to the ideal as he is physically able to do so. 

Up and down hills isn't utterly necessary, I imagine especially if you're working with horses that are genetically built to jog and jog well naturally. I merely suggested them as a way to help a possibly less-ideally-suited horse build the requisite strength and impulsion to perform a forward, connected, rhythmic gait. I know of a few WP trainers in my local area, some use hillwork as a part of their program and some don't. Just one of many ways to build muscle that can only help the horse to get that jog more quickly, in better posture, and in a less potentially-boring environment than the arena. Builds up the rump, encourages them to step under themselves, and forces them to use their backs if ridden properly.

Regarding posting, it sounds like you're essentially saying that if you are posting then you're doing something wrong that must be corrected (apparently, by the action of the hands alone)? I see that you note the case of the extended trot, is that what you use as a stretch or impulsion-building exercise? I once rode a Morgan gelding for an acquaintance... she warned me not to post his trot out of concern that it would "ruin" his pleasure jog. I of course respected her wishes, but that was the first and only time I'd ever heard of such a concern. Is it actually common practice in the WP world to only jog in order to preserve the jog, and not "taint" it with too much speed? Even in the WP places I took lessons at in the past we did extensive transitions within trot, from jogging to as close to a canter as we could get without losing rhythm, and every speed between, sitting and posting. 

Another reason why I recommended quality work in posting trot is that, depending on the rider's ability, a poor, bouncing sitting trot is only going to induce the horse to drop his back down away from the discomfort of the rider's weight. Dropping the back (inverting the spine) does nothing to help the horse round, connect, and step under himself. Better, if the rider's sitting trot is weak, to get the horse moving well a little faster than to sacrifice the connection and quality of gait to an attempt to sit. The rider's seat will, of course, improve with time and practice, especially if he/she is working on an experienced/finished horse who is not just learning how to jog with rhythm, roundness, connection, impulsion, etc.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Are you looking for a WP competition jog, or just a general purpose, relaxed jog?


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

To slow your horse down ride about 6' off the rail then ask your horse to turn back by turning it into the rail. It will likely stop but just continue with the turn then move out off the rail. Go three or four strides then turn her back so that you are working both sides. As you do more the turns will get smoother. This gets the horse's hindquarters under and more collected. Allow a fairly loose rein. The horse will be going slower as it comes out of the turn so as soon as it speeds up do a turn back. The turnbacks will get farther and farther apart. When the horse can travel 10 or so strides at the slower trot, call it quits as the hindquarters have had a pretty good workout. Do something completely different. What I like about this method is that once the horse can work off the hindquarters and is relaxed the face looks after itself on a nice loose rein.


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