And what I see happen, is people go to the walk
and then they just right away throw the reins, their horse gets super long and thinks that
it's time for a walk break. So this is what I call like a pancake downward transition. Hello
everyone, I'm Amelia, and this exercise is the Just One Walk Step Exercise. This is a really
great exercise if you have a horse that is a little laidback, a little lazy, or just not really
focused and paying attention. So I hope that you enjoy this video. Also, check out the description
box and there's a free PDF to help you out with your rider position, and there's also one
that gives you five patterns and figures to help you train your horse. So first thing to
get started with this exercise is you're just going to go ahead up to the trot and establish
a nice steady contact and steady rhythm at the trot. And your goal, you know, when you're riding
your horse, your goal is always to do less and expect more, and especially if you have a horse
that's lazy and that you end up working way too hard, it's really easy to start like nagging,
nagging, nagging. Doing more and more and more, and they're doing less and less and less. Once you have
your nice trot tempo and contact, pull your tummy in, transition to walk, and trot so that was more
than one walk step. Um, the reason that this is a really good exercise is because I teach a lot of
clinics, and what I see happen, is people go to the walk, and then they just right away throw the reins,
their horse gets super long and thinks that it's time for a walk break. So this is what I call, like,
a pancake downward transition, and so the purpose of this Just One Walk Step, is that your horse, when
they go to the walk, that they should right away be ready to trot on again. You don't want them to
go to the walk and just think that it's always a walk break. So walk, walk, good boy. That was better,
and what I'm focusing on, is that he's listening to a very light leg aid. Walk, trot, good boy. And then
I'm going to do it in the other direction. It's easiest to start this exercise on a circle before
you go onto a straight line. So again, half-halt, half-halt, walk. Trot. Good boy. And I'm focusing that the
transitions are smooth and fluid, that the contact stays the same, that for the downward transition he
listens to my seat, and for the upward transition he listens to my leg, and obviously, I mean
Jacques is pretty good at these. He's done a lot of them. Walk, good. I don't really like that
kind of hopping up that he does sometimes in the walk-trot, because that is a sign that he's not
really using his hind leg, that he's using more his neck. Good boy. Go forward, walk, walk,
good boy, good boy. That was better. Good boy. One, two, trot. Good boy, good boy, and then
eventually, you know you can take this a step farther to where you would go like almost walk, and
trot. No, it's okay, you're going to have mistakes. Trot, trot, almost walk, and trot. Good boy, that
was better. Bigger trot, bigger trot, bigger trot, bigger trot, bigger trot, bigger trot, almost walk,
and trot. Good boy, no, no, no, no, not canter. A lot of times, they'll canter on because it's easier for them to
canter. Almost walk, and trot. Good boy, and then I might go posting and let him stretch as a reward.
Super, good boy, good boy. So this again, it's a great exercise to get you and your horse focused on a
job. Um, obviously, Jacques is being really good today. He's really responding to my aids super nicely. He's focused, he's trying really hard for the walk to trot transition. The aid for the walk-trot
should just simply be that you close your calf. So both calfs close to get your horse to trot on. If
your horse doesn't listen to your calf, so if you close your calf and then it's like one Mississippi,
nothing happens, then you're going to want to give a kick with your heel, and then tap with
your whip. So it's calf, leg or calf, then heel and spur and then whip. That's kind of the sequence
of the aids. You don't want to start with your spur and your whip because then you're just
conditioning your horse to respond to your spur and your whip. You always want to start with a calf
so that your horse learns to react to a smaller and a softer aid, but just remember that your
horse's respond responsibility is to pay attention, and once you ask for them to trot they should stay
trotting on their own without constant reminders. But again, working on transitions really helps
to engage your horses hind end, get them working better through the topline, and it's a great way
to get them focused on the task at hand. So I hope you enjoyed this video. Don't forget to give me a
thumbs up and subscribe. I post a new video every single Wednesday, and I have a lot of great tips
to help you with your riding and with your horse. [Music]
