Also, one should always start from a shoulder-in position. This way, you ensure the shoulders are leading. If you start to experience resistance, both Udo and Christilot encourage riders to immediately move into a volte before continuing. Another common problem is the lack of self-carriage. She then went on to explain that self-carriage must be started right from the beginning of the horse's training.
Transitions play a big role in the achievement of self-carriage.
Also, ensure that your horse is not depending on your hands for support. If you feel him start to lean, vibrate the reins to encourage him to chew on the bit and soften. For the more advanced horses, self-carriage was improved by performing halt transitions within the medium and extended trots. But one must be careful to keep the horse in a round frame when doing these transitions,' advised Lange. If the horse becomes inverted during this transition, this is very hard on his back.