TBLOVER

I have been rescuing and retraining horses for many years now. Recently I purchased a Thoroughbred gelding from an auction. After a month of settling in to his new home, I began riding him. It was obvious that he had some very nice training in his background. He collects and goes right on the bit when asked, bends nicely from leg cues, responds to dressage cues, and will jump.

HOWEVER... when he is asked to canter, he automatically collects his head to where he actually is past the bit and you can feel his back tense up. Along with this he gets very forward. **To let you know a bit about my riding, I am a hunter/jumper rider (20+ years). I have been working with riding him with a very loose rein and soft hands. This HAS worked to slow his canter and lower his head, ultimately to get him to relax. But if this isn't continued everyday for 5-6 days a week, he goes back to his tense nature.

Does anyone have advice on some exercises or aides to help? His old owner/rider seems like they may have had very heavy hands. Any advice would help, thank you.