Western retraining

Question
Hi there, i'm wondering what in your opinion is the best way to retrain a horse from english to western. I've recently purchased a 9 yr old gelding who was ridden under western tack by a novice previous owner, but i'm now realizing that he is trained much more like  an english horse. He is very on the bit all the time and responds almost completly to the inside reign. I need him to neck reign well as i am going to be using him as a pony horse on the track, and will need him to be as light and responsive to my one available hand as possible.

Answer
Hi Poppy,

Sounds like you have a very vesitile horse. As far as re-training him, I'd start by working on lateral pressure and getting him to yield his shoulders and haunches on the ground first, once he realizes he is rewarded by moving away from pressure, it will be easier to transfer that under saddle. Start by just asking for a few steps and rewarding him immediately, when he moves away. Regarding neck reining, that is going to take time, be sure you use heavy weight reins, so he can feel them on his neck and use your body weight and leg cues at the same time. Usually a trained horse takes some time to realize that they are supposed to go by touch only (ie: the neck rein), but once they catch on, it comes quick.

Jen