How to Get a “Quiet” Horse to Pick Up the Canter Promptly

I’ve got a 7-year-old Oldenburg that swishes his tail, especially when picking up the canter or doing a lead change, but he can do it around a course too. He has a fairly pleasant and quiet temperament but this seems to be a habit of his. He is a big lazy warmblood that needs to be ridden with spurs most of the time, and I am wondering if there is some leg and/or hand aids I need to adapt or change or develop that will help us to communicate better and perhaps get him to stop swishing his tail so much. Do you have any suggestions?

My guess is because your horse is  admittedly a big lazy warmblood and has to be ridden with spurs most of the time, he is probably a bit dead and behind your leg. Horses like this often bait riders into using their leg and spur constantly. This results in making the horse more dead to your leg and irritating some, which may be your case. Horses must be trained to be lightly responsive to your leg/spur and react instantly.

You can find information on getting your horse in front of your leg in my three part series Fundamentals of Flatwork – Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. Which should help you train him to respond lightly to your leg aids and result in your having to use less leg and spur for your canter departures and flying changes, thereby irritating him less. I also would suggest not wearing your spur too high, which can unintentionally irritating him. Good luck with this and keep me posted.