Okay My Quarter Horse Gelding is getting pretty heavy on the forehand. How can I lighten him up? He is getting very uncomfortable to ride because I am getting pulled foreward in the saddle. He is only ten and has been checked by a vet there is nothing medically wrong with him. I know how to: Walk, Jog, Lope, Back, Jump(yeah it is not western but I know how), and To do a simple flyign lead change. If there is anything not in the list that you can reccommend I also need how to teach him how to do it. 

The most obvious place to start is making sure you have a balanced seat and are not forcing your horse onto the forehand. That being done, the best exercise I can think of to get a horse under itself is practicing rollbacks into the fence or along the rail. Larry Trocha has an excellent training video for that with several rollback teaching methods so you can find the one your horse responds to best. Getting your horse to anticipate a rollback request at any time will also help to get him carrying himself in a better frame and make teaching collection much easier, too. ~FH

 Okay. that sounds pretty good. I will try. Even my trainer who trained him says he is getting heavy. He wants me to figure out what to do by myself. Then tell me what to do. I will try to teach him rollbacks. I also can sidepass, turn on the forehand and a turn on the hindend.

Eclipse295:

He wants me to figure out what to do by myself. Then tell me what to do.

Lots of rollbacks, stopping and backing (HARD), lots and lots of counter-cantering, two-tracking, lope-over poles.  It's a matter of getting his body strong enough over his topline and through his butt to keep his shoulders up AND reminding him that it's the correct way for him to move.

 1. get a new trainer because that is Bull!  Any good trainer will give you help, not say "oh yeah, I noticed you have a problem- let me know how you decide to fix it!!"

2.  try the afore mentioned because they are all good tips but also try when you are just riding around the ring lifting straight up on your reins (in a snaffle bit) and literally lifting up your horse's shoulders.  When you feel him lift up his shoulders, release your hands back to their normal position and repeat as soon as he drops his shoulders again.  This also works for horses who tend to drop their shoulders in a spin.

Another way to lighten the shoulders (without increased wear & tear on the hocks) is to just increase the impulsion of the hindquarters by driving the horse forward with your legs, but maintaining a light contact with the bit to prevent speed increase.  Once you feel the horse drive his legs further up and under himself, release the reins, repeat until the horse is able to maintain this frame by himself.  Only try for a few strides at first and gradually build up the strides until the horse has the conditioning to maintain the frame on a loose rein.  A horse cannot be heavy on the forehand if it has impulsion (not just speed) from the hindquarters.