Half-Arab with issue

Question
I have a National Show Horse (11years old) who is having problems staying at the trot.  He will break
into a canter at different times.  I worked him in an arena this summer (footing a bit deep at times).  
This is where he started the behavior. Thought maybe a suspensory problem.  Vet checked said he's
very sound.  He has had problems over the years with stopping, going to the center of the arena,
backing up during horse shows.  He has been ridden and trained by the best of the best in the Arabian circuit. Everyone is just confused by this horse. It is very frustrating because when he's good he's hard
to beat.  Thank you for any advice you can offer.

Answer

Triton on cows! Hi Joanne!

Your horse may be "trained" but he is not a willing PARTNER.  There is a huge difference.  Training always implies some level of force, and to continue to get the desired response, the same level or greater force needs to be used.

This is really typical for show horses.  So much good horsemanship is never learned and a real relationship is never built.  The talented horse that wins just continues being stuck together with bubble gum and bailing twine until everything falls apart.  Then the horse is labeled as cheating in the pen, or burned out.  True, yet not true.  The horse is only doing what he thinks he needs to do to survive.  So long as the human collects the goodies, everything is okay.  Trust me, no horse ever cared about a ribbon, or a trophy.  What they care about is feeling secure mentally and physically.  What is important to the horse is the need for self-preservation in mind, body and spirit.  THIS is the essential nature of the horse that the horseman tries to use and not fight.  

Stopping and going to the center of the arena, and then backing up...you ask him to do all of this!  You go to the left, walk/trot/canter, then the right, walk/trot/canter, then to the center, line up, back...he is just trying to get it over with quicker!  Not only is he telling you this is BORING, he is saying I am the leader and I know the routine.  The human is not enough of a leader for this horse.  He is taking over because the human does not have the answers that are meaningful to him.  Smart horse.  He, so far, has been about to "take it" and not go nuts like so many show horses do.  

You will not be able to force this horse and "train" this out of him.  He is too smart.  Most horses are.  You will have to do more that is meaningful to the horse if you want to continue showing him successfully and keep him mentally and physically sound.  I have seen so many show horses that just break down due to the stress.  It is so sad.  It is epidemic in the show industry.

Give this horse another real job to do.  Do trail horse, trail ride, chase cows, learn how to rope off him (big loop only, please), jump, go camping to something, anything other than horse show stuff.  All of my horses have real variety in their lives.  It's not that they are all super stars at different things, but we do it.  Everyone chases cows, goes on beach rides, horse camping and jumps.  I took my WP horse fox hunting (scent drag)!  No we did not stay with the hounds and we only hill-topped, but what the heck.  He was energized, fresh and more willing than ever to do the boring, arena stuff.  The Three-Day horses chase cows!  It builds a huge amount of confidence.  Of course they don't know if they are supposed to jump the cow sometimes, but it all gets sorted out.

So, Joanne, get out of the arena!  Go DO something...else!  Give this horse a different level of exposure, because after all, he is a horse.  There are so many different things you can do with him.  Treat him like a hot house plant and he will eventually wither up and die.  Keep things fresh for him, he is craving it.  Give me a shout and let me know how things are going!

Smiles,

Denise

PS  Check out the "ground work" dvd by Buck Brannaman.  It may give you some ideas and show you what the basics of great horsemanship is all about.  See how much of this you can actually do with your horse.  It will make a huge difference in him mentally.