He is a 8 yr old, 17.3 Trakahner warmblood and i have only had him for 1 year, but he is so strong! and I do hunters and i cant get him to do lead changes he runs through them and he frustrates me so much but he wins every hack class and i have jumped him over 5 foot but he runs and takes off in shows and i cant stop him what should i do?
A big horse like that does not mature physically untill 5 or 6 and that is when the growth plates in his long bones fuse. Untill then (and beyond because he is very tall) his balance is constantly changing. I assume he is a gelding and that further complicates the balannce issue for him because an intact male has a hormone that STOPS long bone growth. The gelding doesn’t have that hormone, so he grows just a little taller than he normally would after the regular growth spurt.
The problems you are having are all at times of really stressful balance requirements for the horse. Your lead changes? Go remedial. Do your lead changes through the trot, change rein, pick up canter new lead. At first, you will need several trot steps to change rein, then just three, then two, then one, then -boom- flying change without a loss of balance. Have you ever trained a horse before? Even if you have not, there is no reason you should not be able to go back to the basics yourself and re-teach yourseslf the mechanics of movements.
If he runs out after a jump, he’s jumping too high and he’s trying to catch his balance by running to catch up with it. You should not be jumping 5 feet on him unless you are free jumping him. Again, go back to the basics and get his confidence up. Start with cavaletti, change rein over the cavaletti. Build him with the basics. His balance and trust will be increased by the basics. Yours will increase as well. Stay out of the show ring for a little while unless you have a little rinky dink one you can enter for experience. Or even to attend but not to enter so he feels like he’s a good guy and enjoys the show.
I get the feeling you are young and you have waited a long time for this horse. He is young too and you can learn a lot from him by teaching him. In the meantime, you can ride other horses too and it’s not cheating.
(Yes, he’s a good looking horse, but don’t keep him JUST because he’s beautiful! )
People will tell you to get a stronger bit, but I would argue that will make him heavier and even stronger. Fix his balance by giving him time to find it on his own. In
Lots of circles and keeping him busy will help him find his balance both side to side and front to back.
And if you are not willing to put in the work, sell him.
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The answer to your question lies within what you want to and are able to do to fix the issues you’re having.
Do you just want a horse that you can go out and ride without having to do a bunch of schooling? Don’t get me wrong…there’s nothing wrong with that, I myself don’t enjoy the challenge like I used to, and I want a predictable, steady, seasoned, quiet horse to putz around with on the trail. Just a matter of preference, we can’t all want the same things.
Or, can you handle the challenge, but don’t have means or access for a trainer to help you work out these issues?
If either of those is the case, you should look for somebody more suited to what you enjoy. This is supposed to be enjoyable, sometimes people forget that.
Otherwise, if you’re up for the challenge and can get some help with schooling him, keep him for awhile and see what progress you make.