How do I get him moving forward?

[Libby]

Hi,
One horse I ride is very lazy. He just wont walk fast. I use allot of leg and when I use a crop he sees it and tries to run away.
He will put his head down but we go even slower. And I know thats not the point. As I said before I use allot of leg but feel bad about kicking. When he lunges he walks nicely and looks perfect but as soon as I get on him he slows right down. I don't know his past but I do know the girl and I have a feeling that the girl was very rough with him.
On a trail he feels like he wants to bolt.
any suggestions??
thanks

[sallyanne]

Hi libby iam no expert but it sounds like your horse is dead to your leg [constant kicking] try squeezing his sides and back up your leg with a tickle from a schooling whip this way you wont lose contact with his mouth or lose balance another way to lengthen his walking stride is alternate leg squeezing as fore legs come back under you squeeze your legs gently [near fore squeeze with your left leg] and so on i hope this makes sense good luck sallyanne .

[Maci]

Is this horse any good with voice aids? Give him a 'click' with your tongue, and squeeze (or kick) with you legs at the same time. If you do this for awhile, he should eventually get the hint to go when you give him leg.

Or, you can try tapping him on the butt, and squeezing with your legs at the same time. This also, if done for a long time, should let him know that you want him to go when you give him some leg, if not, he'll get a whip of the crop!

It's hard, I know! I've been there! I also fell bad giving my horse a kick, or a whip from the crop, but you have to show him who's boss! Once you get that down pat, it should be getting a little more easier! They have thick skin; it won't hurt them as much as we think it will.

It Takes Awhile!
Don't Give Up!
Maci :)

PS- I should take most of my advice! I still let my horse get away with things he shouldn't be doing! But my instructor said that if you get stern with them, and show them who's boss, it's a lot easier to get them to listen and follow!

[Mare-e]

As a new rider (1 year) at 52, I have lots to learn. Am sometimes nervous having fallen twice and learning I don't bounce like the kids! Have only 2 places to take lessons in Manhattan, and at $100 per hour those lessons are precious. I also have problems keeping most of the school horses moving forward, especially upward transition to trot and then consistant movement forward without dropping to walk. I believe most of my problem is tensness in my body and basic position errors during transitions that block the horses movement. My new instructor last Wednesday (my old instructor left the school) just kept yelling to kick harder and use the whip stronger. I refuse to punish a horse for my failings as a rider. I "terminated" that instructor and will try working with others at the school, but I have limited choices in this city. Any suggestions appreciated.

[Wally]

It's not always a case of showing them who's boss. Communication and consistency can be the problem. Ask with your leg, if he doesn't move away touch him with a schooling whip. This way he will eventually move from the leg without waiting for the stick.

Don't forget to go with the movement in walk. Kicking alone won't make him walk faster if your seat is stopping him from using himself to the best.

If you take time to listen you horse will tell you lots

[Sharon H]

Hear, hear Wally. Mare-e you are right! Most riding school horses are so sick to death of the whole thing it a wonder that they move at all! Libby, if your pony walks out well on the lunge but doesn't when you get on, have you considered that he may have problems with his back, or the saddle? Have you had them checked recently? I'm not being rude, but are you sure you're not too heavy for him? Horses will put their heads down to try and make themselves more comfortable if their backs hurt and you say that out on a ride, he feels as though he wants to take off. Horses can do this if they are in pain. Before you start hitting him harder, please get these things checked out. If he was a lazy pony, he would be lazy on the lunge as well.

[Mare-e]

Thanks for your comment about school horses. I truly love all the ones I ride, but have sensed that I'm stuck in a vicious circle. As a new rider I am given less sensitive horses. For a short while I was given such a sensitive mare that I only needed to THINK my instructions, but she tended to get speedy at trot and was a bit hard to control at my level. That un-nerved me, my nervousness scared her, and our relationship deteriorated to the point where I was put back on the "beginner" horses. I am working hard to improve the basics on these horses, but feel really discouraged when I spend most of my energy just getting into and keeping a consistent trot!

[Nancy]

Dear Mare e,
$100 per lesson is quite steep. If you can spare an hour on the LIRR, you could hop the train at Penn station and get off at Brentwood station. Right across the street is Knoll Farm. It is owned by an Olympic rider and they are quite reasonable. I got a group package lesson plan for $180 for 10 lessons. There were supposed to be 10 to 15 people in the group, but all that signed up were three of us. Some weeks 2 didn't show. Great deal. I have no affiliation with them, but the teachers were really good, they have lessons at night and on weekends too.
Happy trails.

[Edited by Nancy on 26th Sep 2000 at 03:13 AM]

[Mare-e]

Nancy,
Thank you, thank you! Have been looking for exactly this kind of info. Hard to network with horsey people in the city. Have just booked a large package here, but will check out Knoll Farm to supplement it. I love this site and am very grateful to everyone's generousity in sharing advise and experience. Though I am new at logging on, feel like I have friends here!

[Roz Morris]

Libby, when you use your leg, is your heel down? If not, and you lift your heel to use it (which many of us end up doing when we try to give a harder aid) your calf muscle will be soft and the horse will feel it as more of a rub than a definite signal. You may even have rubbed away a patch on his side. Even if you kick quite hard like that it is not as positive as an aid given with a taut calf.

Now you're probably thinking, I've tried polite aids with a correctly lowered heel and they just don't work. This horse has probably learned he doesn't have to respond to a polite aid, and so he ignores it. But he CAN feel it. I had this problem with my horse, and I decided to re-educate him. I carry a schooling whip every time I ride, and always give a light leg aid. If he ignores it (which of course he tries), he gets a sharp smack with the whip - not a tickle, but a smack to say 'oi, listen!' I allow him to jump forward, do whatever he wants as a protest, then ask again gently with the leg and praise him when he responds. And he does, and he has learned that a light leg is a command. And everything is so much more harmonious, because if you can use a light aid you can keep the rest of you still, whereas if you resort to kicking you often end up grinding with your seat as well, which is really uncomfortable for the horse and spoils your balance.

I've done this with riding school horses too and have had lovely responsive rides from them. It's not bullying and it's not cruel; in fact it's more cruel to nag and nag and to wriggle more and more in the saddle and do all those other things, including getting frustrated, which the horse picks up. And I'm a very average rider, so if I can do it, anyone can! But be prepared - the horse will jump forward, so don't jab him in the mouth or restrict him. Maybe grab the mane or the pommel so that you don't lose your balance. Then when the fuss has died down, which it will pretty quickly, ask him again gently with the leg, and make a big fuss when he responds. You'll love the feeling.

Onto your other point about hacking - are you sure you're not a bit nervous when you ride him out? He'll pick that up, and get nervous himself. A lot of people get worried about riding in big open spaces, so it's not unusual. You may feel that since you can't get him to go in the school, you don't have an awful lot of control - in which case it would be entirely understandable for you to feel nervous! If the problem is that you think all hell would break loose if you had a trot or a canter, just decide that you don't have to do that today. Say to yourself, today is a walk-only ride, and see if you feel relieved. You may even feel like trotting or cantering after all, but the point is, you've taken the pressure off. And it's not chickening out, because if the ground was very hard you'd have to stay in walk for an entire ride anyway. Have a couple of rides like that, and you might find that you feel more comfortable to try something more adventurous.
If you think he might explode through lack of excitement, lunge him before you ride him, or turn him out first.