2. Lower the Head. We've used that rein twice now; once to turn and once to soften. Now we're going to pick it up a third time and ask him to lower the tip of his ear. This one might be a little confusing to the horse at first, so you might want to start it from the ground.
His first response to this third pickup of the reins is going to be to bring his head more and more to the side, as he did when you asked him to soften his nose. So would you if roles were reversed. Keep him moving. Continuing the gentle pressure, push the rein (not your hand!) slightly forward, against his neck and toward his opposite ear to straighten him. He'll take his head forward again to get away from the pressure. Keep holding the rein for at least three seconds. If he doesn't figure it out right away, change direction and do it again on the other side. Eventually he will lower that ear tip-even if it's only incidental. But when he does, release the rein. You have to start making that connection some way.
Once you start back in the saddle, begin at the walk. He may start out with his head up nearly level with yours, but as soon as he drops the tip of the ear as much as a quarter of an inch, release the pressure. As you continue to work through the exercise, changing directions, softening, asking him to lower his head, he will bring it down little by little.
Progress to the trot and canter when he is relaxed and steady at the previous speed.
As you work through this exercise, you will probably notice that when you are in the middle of your change of direction from left to right, for instance, your horse's head comes up a bit and his nose goes out a bit before coming down and softening in the next direction. It will probably be more obvious on one side than it is on the other. This is normal. Just as people are right- or left-handed, so are horses. One side is not as strong or flexible as the other. It will even out as the horse becomes more relaxed and supple. Just keep working on it.
3. Soften the neck. Your horse may be starting to do this on his own, but if necessary, you can pick up that rein a fourth time-changing directions all the while-to ask him to soften the long muscle in his neck.
By this time your horse's trot should be starting to feel pretty good. You might not need to pick up the rein as many times to get to the final steps. Just use it as you need to. If he speeds up, or if he is still going a little faster than you want, just keep changing those directions. Do not canter until you are both very relaxed at the trot.
Going Faster
Your horse may be trying to break back into a slower gait by this time. The temptation will be to kick him to keep him going.
Don't. If you do that, you're telling him "Don't trot slowly." Nor do you want to scare or startle him into the transition. We don't want him throwing his head up or sticking his nose out or "scooting" into it. This is not a race. We always want the transition to be pretty and relaxed. Instead, wait until he actually does break into a walk. Then let your legs say, "No. I want you to trot now." The key is to do it smoothly.
It is important that you practice changes of speed. You determine the pace you want the horse to travel. Make one part of the serpentine slow, another part fast, and then the next part slow again. Practice with other horses around. Practice in many different places, in and out of the arena.
Do this at all three gaits. Walk slowly, then walk fast, and go back to a slow walk again. Trot a nice little pleasure horse pitter-pat, then do a long trot, then back to the pitter-pat. Canter slow and easy, move on out and have fun, then come back to a nice, easy lope.
If you do your homework, you'll find that you're no longer struggling with a tortoise or a hare. Instead, you'll be riding a well-trained horse who lets you set the speed.
