How to speed up the walk?

[Greentchr]

I had to laugh at the poster that wanted their horse to slow down the walk- I have the exact opposite.

I have a 15'2 QH mare, 8yrs old, well behaved. We hack only, on dirt roads or over the hills, etc. She has a slower walk than any other horse we have ridden with. We rode with my RI yesterday (and my 2 teenagers on a 13'4 and a 14'), and we were constantly having to trot to catch up. My RI said- don't worry, on the way home she will step out... hah. Just as slow heading home (and she really likes to go home!) as leaving. RI said to "use pelvis to increase her rhythm", but either I was not doing it correctly or it was not effective.

Any other ideas on speeding up the walk? It normally does not bother me, as I like to amble along enjoying the scenery, but it is a nuisance when we travel together. It is REALLY a nuisance when we ride with the neighbors Tennesee Walker!

[KarinUS]

DJ sometimes got bored when we were mostly walking on the trails. Letting him canter from time to time seemed to perk him up quite a bit. Coming back down to walk his walk would be more energetic for the rest of the ride.
Also I always thought trails would be so natural and pleasant for him but if it's just trails he gets bored (especially if we are just doodling along).
So I make sure we do some dressage work in the arena just to keep him interested.

[Tuff_up]

the pelvis thing is right though if you move to the movement of your horses walk then move at the same pelvic movement but faster eventually your horse will walk faster but its also your mood if you enjoy daudling along then she gets used to it but if you showed her by being/ having a fast attitude it will rub off onto your horse example being my mare is quite calm but me on the other hand is very nervous and when we mix together she gets a bit more ancy than usually till i calm down then she is fine again.

[Emz]

To speed up my boys walk but to not ask him to trot i use my legs alternately in time with his hind legs. So i use my right leg wheni feel his right hind stepping under him and vica versa. Avoids confusion so he doesn't think i mean trot and encourages him to step underhimself a little more.

[Laurence E. B-B]

To speed up my boys walk but to not ask him to trot i use my legs alternately in time with his hind legs. So i use my right leg wheni feel his right hind stepping under him and vica versa. Avoids confusion so he doesn't think i mean trot and encourages him to step underhimself a little more.
What Emz says is quite right. However, you do need to have very good feel through your seat as to what the hinds are doing.
What my RI taught me, was that as the barrel swings out to the right; you catch it with your right leg at the widest point of swing, and send it back to the left. Then catching it with your left leg, send it out to the right.

When you stop and think about it; this is the same way that the pelvic/seat bones are moving. Good luck, and work toward the "Feel" of what your horse is doing underneath you.

[Crazyhorse]

I went hacking yesterday and the horse in front of me was exactly the same, sooo slow and the same in the trot. However, when we cantered up a hill he absolutely flew and beat all the bigger horses to the top. I was so surprised. After his walk and trot were much improved so he obviously needed a quick blast. Do you do quite a mixture of work on the trail?

[smaggi]

To speed up my boys walk but to not ask him to trot i use my legs alternately in time with his hind legs. So i use my right leg wheni feel his right hind stepping under him and vica versa. Avoids confusion so he doesn't think i mean trot and encourages him to step underhimself a little more.

When you cue him, you are telling him to get his front leg out of the way because the hind leg is stepping forward when the front leg is vertical, so it's a good visual cue when you are learning. You can also put your hands in your back pockets and let your thuimbs point to the side. When your left thumb goes down, the left hind is reaching forward. Same with the right side. Do this for a while or have a friend call out the footfalls for you until you learn to feel it. After that it becomes quite easy to know what the hind legs are doing. Also practice slowing down and speeding up the walk in an arena just with your legs. I ride western and another trick I use is to lift the reins forward to get more speed. I do that in addition to speeding up my legs. Also when I cue for changing speed at the walk, I don't lift my leg off the horse. It's just more contact, then less contact.

[teapot]

ditto Emz entirely.

Perhaps whilst you do this, give your horse just a very tiny nudge with a schooling whip. Will help to activate and engage the hindquarters more