Our gelding has been consistently worked for over a year now, and he is doing hunters and jumping 3 ft courses, he has the capacity to be connected, he just hates to. The thought with the martingale was that it would help with muscle memory and it would be easier to get him there. But we have since abandoned the attempt to ever get him on the bit and he is a happy hunter jumper horse now, he just wants to have his neck long, there is nothing physically wrong with him, the chiropracter was amazed at how loose and relaxed he is.

The fillys canter is still a mess, but my thought is that she will build the wrong muscles if she canters around wildly in the round pen with no connection all the time. Is there approved simulation of contact that is appropriate for getting an unbalanced horse into shape prior to getting on their backs? I'm not comfortable long lining her, as she has been known to kick. We're still doing the slide reins sometimes, but I lunge her over poles and over little fences with nothing but a halter on her as well.  We also have a de gouge (sp?), but I dont like it because the snaps hit their knees.