Slowing down

I have a semi retired barrel horse. She LOVES to jump so I decided since I wont be running barrels on her I will train her english. We have a few things to work on though.

I try to get her to just trot poles to teach her to pick up her feet, but she doesnt like to trot them. I also need a way to slow down her canter so that I can count strides easier. Right now we are all over the place.

I ride her in a running martingale as that is the only way I can keep control.

Does anyone have any excersizes I can do to get her to slow down??

My horse has a speed issue too. The trotting poles will help a lot. What do you mean she doesn't like to trot them? Does she refuse to go over them at all? Or is she just stopping, looking down, and walking over them? Make sure they are good and spaced apart. That way as you go into the poles at the trot she has time to think about the first one before the next one approaches. You will be able to bring them in over time.

Same with cantering over poles, that will bring down her speed some. I find my horse is fastest with he is feeling unbalanced. Canter her in a few circles till you have her together then go down the long side coming to a trot before the next turn and repeat. You could also work on the half halt too. Sometimes I will widen my reins down the long side to slow him then bring my hands back together. This is a variation on the half halt that works pretty well for me.

Keep us updated on what you find works! As I am working on the same thing!