Western to English

Question
Hi ya i purchased my horse back that i cols on 3 years ago we had him from a weanling and broke him in etc.. then sold him on due to family committments but when the chance to buy him back came around i pounced on it!! BUT.....he has come back half the build he was when he left and also the woman that was riding him has done alot of western riding on him so when i first got on him he had his head very low and was going at a very very slow pace now i have never been interested in western my self so i am wanting to get him back to the point that he was at when he left and that was we were competing in ring classes and doing well. I am just in need of knowing ow to get him to lift his head back up and go on the bit for me again as hen i am asking him to do this he over bends every time and im not sure of where to start..

Thanks alot Hayley

Answer
    Hi Hayley,
  I guess I should say at the outset, that I know virtually nothing about western riding, so I have no idea what the previous rider would have been doing. Also, I don't know what you do in your ring classes, but I am going to assume that it wouldn't be too different from dressage.
  When you say that he had his head very low, was he rounding his back at all, or was he just adopting a rather "flat" outline? You say that his pace was very slow, was that in all 3 gaits, or just trot and canter? It might help if I had this additional information.
  I'm sure you know that you can't use your hands, to try to get his head up, that has to come from the back end. Just try to maintain contact with his mouth, with a very light hand.
  Now to "the engine", and the first priority here is to assess his response to your leg. If he doesn't react immediately and generously (by that I mean a good long stride), to the lightest touch of your leg,then you are not going to get very far. If you need any help on this issue, just let me know. Basically, the answer to getting his head up, is by lowering his quarters (like a seesaw), and the way to do achieve that is by the normal schooling exercises. Ride plenty of transitions, up and down, including halts. Ride plenty of proper circles, serpentines etc. By proper I mean that they have to be like the letter O not a D, nor an egg, and a good strong contact on the outer rein (put there by him, not you), and very light on the inner. Lastly, ride shoulder ins (make sure he is bending his body, not simply his neck),renvers and travers.
  In conclusion, there is no silver bullet, just patience and proper schooling.
  I would like to hear your answers to the questions I raised, and also any comments you may have on what I said.
      Meanwhile I'll wish you the best of luck,
         Slan,
         Brendan