Encouraging horse to move forward

[Waikato Valuta]

I'm bringing a horse back into work but i am having problems with getting him moving forward freely. He put himself "on the bit" with no rein contact and get very funny about taking any contact.

I just want him to work forward on a lose but "There" contact.

He is napping and doing mini rears. I defiantly dont want to use the whip as he is an extremely nervous type who has had a rough life, and can be quite explosive if put under to much pressure.

Do you have any tips?

[welshcoblady1]

hello .providing all is well with tack fitting ,and the horse is well and healthy with no skeletal or muscle problems ,and with no psycological problems , may be you could encourage him forward following another horse to start, just a pleasure hack asking him no qns ,this will encourage him to relax and go forward whilst also enjoying him self.

just start with following another horse then may be on the way back see if he will take the lead home .

if this seems to keep him happy you can then progress from there
if company is not possible lead him a short way from the yard ,have a freind with you to help you mount and ride him back .

if he really refuses to go forward i would look for other reasons
and work from hooves to ears to make sure all is well including tack . just to see if he may be sore .

or the problem could be memory retained from something that may have worried him previously or caused him stress or soreness.

it may just be he is not ready to leave the safety of the yard and his freinds yet .

if you try any of the above and make small progress ,progress slowly and reward him well .
best wishes .

[kedwards]

What bit is he being ridden in at the moment? What sort of training has he had in the past?

[Waikato Valuta]

He is ridden in a snaffle. see pic below.

He used to showjump but that was years ago and he was apparently quite forward and skittish.
He has not been ridden for several years bar me riddign him 2 years ago. he was not as bad then but was incredably stiff and a bit skiterish.

[kedwards]

I wonder if he hadn't either been over-bitted or worked in draw reins or something in the past. If that's the case, maybe he just needs a lot of time learning to stretch and relax on a long rein before being introduced to the concept of "contact." Does he go forward if you leave the rein on the buckle?