1. He must give to the Rein

2. He should not try to take the Rein back by rooting or tossing his head

3. He should give the walk, the trot, and the backup on specific commands

4. He should maintain his gait until told otherwise without being constantly held in that gait

5. He should not change directions until told to do so

Max cannot learn all these things at once. We will pick our battles, and teach them individually. Too often, when I am teaching a horse one thing, I will become irritated by vices in another area and lose focus. I must remember that if I am teaching the horse about cues for the gaits, I should overlook faults of collection and other things. Teach one thing at a time and only correct those things which the horse has already been taught.

In this next video below, you can see me working with Max to understand the difference between walk faster, and change gait to the trot. To ask Max to speed up the walk, I simple give him a squeeze with my legs. But I do not allow my heels to touch him. Once he speeds up, I release my squeeze, and he should hold the new speed. I will not hold him to the speed by continual squeezing of my legs. If he should falter, I will squeeze again to remind him to maintain the new speed. But I will not hold him in the speed with my legs. Instead, I give him the responsibility for maintaining the speed and hold him accountable.

When I want him to trot, I simply touch him with both heels at the same time. The heels as opposed to the leg allows him to really differentiate the "go faster" cue from the "change gait" cue. Note: This system is not universally used by competitors, but it is an excellent approach for the typical rider who wants an easy, reliable set of cues for their horse.