Hot horses can make some of the best, most competitive show jumpers but can come with their fair share of challenges.
Understanding whether your horse is hot or fresh.
When deciding how best to train your horse it’s important to understand whether they are fresh or hot. If you find your horse has suddenly become more sharp or hot then do your checks of back, saddle, teeth, ulcers, their feed etc. as these can all be reasons for a sudden change in behaviour. But a reason can also be that they've had a few days off, they're feeling a bit excited or they're performance horses and are naturally going to be hotter and more energetic.
A hot horse is one that spends the whole session feeling sharp, energetic and spicy and you struggle to control and channel this energy in a positive way. You don’t want to lose that energy as it’s a massive strength, but it’s crucial to be able to control the energy and channel it in the right way. This includes things like being able to create relaxation and suppleness and being able to control the speed and body positioning. Working on all these things will encourage your horse to tune into you and your aids and relax.
The first step is that you have to actually put your leg on.
You can’t avoid this because you need more leg for collection, engagement, and lateral work. Your horse needs to respond to the leg by increasing the engagement, softening the back or ribs, and working into the contact. So, while it might be tempting to use a light leg and loose reins with a hot horse in an effort to soothe them, it’s actually better to keep your legs on and have a contact. It’s the equivalent of holding their hand, especially through tense moments.
Here are a few ways to help you achieve this:
Leg-yield forces you to use your leg, and can be introduced even to green horses. Even those who are newly backed can attempt it at the walk. Not only does it establish the idea of riding from inside leg to outside hind, it also teaches your horse that not all leg aids mean “go faster” and some of them can mean “go sideways” or “activate the hind leg more.”
Stretching can often be used to achieve this for very hot horses, getting them to relax and take the contact. This is because the focus is on rhythm and relaxation, which helps to settle the horse and get them working in their comfortable rhythm where they’re most in balance.
Spiralling in a circle, serpentines and changing direction can help your horse to settle, and the constant changes of bend and direction can “trick” them into accepting the leg because they’re not focusing on it. The spiral exercise works because it requires the horse to accept the leg pressure without running off, encourages the horse to engage the inside hind leg and push rather than rush, develops a proper inside bend and helps the feeling of riding from inside leg to outside hand, and gives both the rider and the horse something to focus on.
Transitions help hot horses accept your leg. Usually, the most effective transitions are between the halt, walk, and trot – especially on young horses. They help to teach balance, patience, and softness while also helping your horse to activate the hind leg and understand working between hand and leg.
Finally, keep your horse sweet. Hot horses thrive when focused on a role that they enjoy, so make sure your hot horse is doing a job he or she relishes. There’s a fine line between asserting control and letting a hot horse think it’s not being controlled. Focus on keeping the horse’s mind occupied and its energy channelled in a positive direction.
