Walker was on the bit.
It simply didn't feel like I was used to with any English-ey horses I've ridden.
It felt like riding my Western horse who is used to no contact and can collect that way. Duh, stupid.
I made her check that he was lifting his back and tracking under, not just going in a frame, and she confirmed it. He was on the vertical and in (a very light) contact and everything.
Guess why he goes behind the bit? Because I would rather believe he's not on the bit and I'm pushing him until he gets angry.
Don't get me wrong. He's not always on the bit, and he's still going behind the bit just because he does that. But B suggested a couple tips (one of which was to breathe!), including some tricks that Western people use when their horse goes behind the bit. Did that work? Of course it did. I still haven't tested it at the canter, but it gave me good results at the trot.
The moral of the story: my horse is not a warmblood who was trained dressage. If you ride him like a Western horse, you can get him to go like an English horse, if that makes any sense. I have to use the tricks we already know and stop trying to apply the tricks that work for horses from different backgrounds. Those tricks may work someday to improve what he can do, but he has to accept them first. I need to start with what he's used to, to build his tolerance and acceptance of the bit and collection, and then try to "transform" him, if that's even what I want.
I know, I know. I'm a lunatic.
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