The pony I ride in the riding school is very slow! Any riding positions or tips to make him faster?
Horse way too slow!
- Thread starter toohorsemad
- Start date
Hi Try not to use your legs the whole time, as this will make the pony dead to the leg and make it switch off. Use your leg gently, then a bit firmer, and if there is no response tap tap with the crop. This is a much better way than kick kicking the whole time. Make sure that your seat is balanced and when you ask the pony to go forward give with your hand. If you are pulling back slighter through the transition this will just confuse the pony.Does your instructor get you to do lots of transitions to make sure your pony is listening to you? Hope this helps
Make sure that your position is right, a lot of riding school horses will go slow, slow down or stop if you tip forward even a millimetre ... it's a safety thing and GREAT for absolute beginners but not so good if you're jumping 
Lots of transitions, lots of circles, serpentines, shallow loops to get the horse 'switched on'. Some horses benefit from a canter fairly early on to get 'revved up'.
Why not ask your instructor what the 'buttons' are?
I used to ride a ploddy coloured cob. Some days the damn thing wouldn't move and would even park in the middle of the school with you flapping around like a fish out of water. My instructor told me that she could jump 4' and had done Medium dressage. Yeah, right, I thought.
One day though I went to ask for canter. Huh, the bloody animal never cantered first time so I was prepared for flapping around the school until she finally deigned to bother to go into canter. Anyway ... off the leg! Ok, fluke. Other rein, off the leg! What the?????? The instructor said to me afterwards that it was because my position was better and that I was more confident! She still had her ploddy days but if you 'got' her from the beginning and made her work (transitions, school figures etc) then she respected you, decided that perhaps you could ride a bit after all and could be a little star! She never was my favourite ned but my heart didn't sink when I was down to ride her any more!
Lots of transitions, lots of circles, serpentines, shallow loops to get the horse 'switched on'. Some horses benefit from a canter fairly early on to get 'revved up'.
Why not ask your instructor what the 'buttons' are?
I used to ride a ploddy coloured cob. Some days the damn thing wouldn't move and would even park in the middle of the school with you flapping around like a fish out of water. My instructor told me that she could jump 4' and had done Medium dressage. Yeah, right, I thought.
One day though I went to ask for canter. Huh, the bloody animal never cantered first time so I was prepared for flapping around the school until she finally deigned to bother to go into canter. Anyway ... off the leg! Ok, fluke. Other rein, off the leg! What the?????? The instructor said to me afterwards that it was because my position was better and that I was more confident! She still had her ploddy days but if you 'got' her from the beginning and made her work (transitions, school figures etc) then she respected you, decided that perhaps you could ride a bit after all and could be a little star! She never was my favourite ned but my heart didn't sink when I was down to ride her any more!
Thanks for the advice and yes I do do circles and loads of transitions with him! But I think its mostly cause he's tried!
If he is unfit and truly does become fatigued from his work, then it's just a matter of fittening him up. However, if he is slow from the start, then he just isn't in front of your leg.
Try following CrazyHorse's advice from the beginning of the lesson. Even when you are just walking on a long rein to start, get him forward and really walking out. If your horse is a little on the sluggish side, it's best to have him thinking forward immediately. Plenty of transitions can also help. If he's sluggish, but sufficiently fit, some very brisk work toward the end of the warmup (for example, a hand-gallop or at least a fast canter) can help to freshen the horse up and get him thinking forward.
Try following CrazyHorse's advice from the beginning of the lesson. Even when you are just walking on a long rein to start, get him forward and really walking out. If your horse is a little on the sluggish side, it's best to have him thinking forward immediately. Plenty of transitions can also help. If he's sluggish, but sufficiently fit, some very brisk work toward the end of the warmup (for example, a hand-gallop or at least a fast canter) can help to freshen the horse up and get him thinking forward.
Have you ever tried the Steve Halfpenny technique of bringing your 'life up'? Next time you ask for some pace, lift your chest breathe in and come 'up'as if you were on stage about to burst into your favourite song! Sounds mad but it does work!
was just going to say the same thing about Steve's bring your life up thing! It does work - the faster you want the more 'life' to put into yourself.
make sure you are sitting back enough, your legs are in the right place and your heels are down. If all this is wrong, it will be harder to push a lazy pony on. When he doesn't respond to your first signal, signal a little harder, when he doesn't respond to that kick him. If he still doesn't respond, use a crop or a whip.
Lots and lots of transitions! Also, see if you can just shorten your stirrups, and canter in xc position, lots of our lazy riding school ponies decide to wake up if you're doing xc!
I own one horse with no brakes, and one who doesn't go!
I made the mistake of using spurs on Cheque - who is very slow - at my intructors demand.
I decided they weren't for me and then he wouldn't go without them! its taken many painstaking schooling sessions to get him to go partially forwards again. What did work is doing extentions along the long sides of the arena and NOT using my legs much.
eg. he's trotting, he goes to slow and a squeeze, when he doesn't listen he gets a flick from the whip behind my leg. i don't enjoy it, but its alot nicer for him in the long run.
I made the mistake of using spurs on Cheque - who is very slow - at my intructors demand.
I decided they weren't for me and then he wouldn't go without them! its taken many painstaking schooling sessions to get him to go partially forwards again. What did work is doing extentions along the long sides of the arena and NOT using my legs much.
eg. he's trotting, he goes to slow and a squeeze, when he doesn't listen he gets a flick from the whip behind my leg. i don't enjoy it, but its alot nicer for him in the long run.
Some horses are just not meant to move quickly and lightly. I experienced this yesterday. My usual horse is a smaller, lighter mare who is very quick and a perfect dressage and jumping pony, but the horse that I rode was of a heavier build (he was a fjord) which didn't aid to the fact that he just isn't a true working horse. He is slow because he was not bred to be cantering around whole lessons, generally fjords are used in alot of carting. However, once I lowere dmy expectations and realized that no matter what, he will not move just the way I wanted him to, we clicked and he began working under me and keeping up a nice steady pace. As long as the horse isn't slowing to a trot/walk/stop, then it doesn't deserved to be punished, some horses are just as some say, lazy
Just.Jump said:
You ought to see my friends' fjord! He not only canters round as well as the others he also jumps and has been used as a vaulting horse (his canter is very smooth and he keeps to a very good rhythm)! He has also done some dressage tests and did really well in them!
ponylover - NOT a good idea. this teaches the horse/pony to go blunt to the leg. the best method is to ask once lightly and if you don't get a response, give them a flick with the whip or ONE more slightly harder squeeze.
Kicking and kicking isn't a way to solve going slow, yes, for a little while they may go forwards, but long term you're making them slower and much duller.
Kicking and kicking isn't a way to solve going slow, yes, for a little while they may go forwards, but long term you're making them slower and much duller.
Yes i agree kicking and kicking does NOT work that why darkie is the way he is! Its my birthday today! I'm 15! My dads promised we go look at horses today aswell!
Most riding school ponies are old but what I'm saying is that most of them don't know the proper aids for transitions, well the beginner ones anyway because they have been retrained by the beginners to the harder you kick the hard you go!
Most of the school horses I ride are not very forward going. You have to get inside their mind and understand how they are thinking. They have lots of different people riding them, most of whom let them get away with not listening to them. I try to show them that I am different and that I expect them to obey my aids. Any disobedience at the start of the lesson (even at the walk) results in a sharp smack, followed if necessary by a hard whack. Most horses realise at his stage that you mean business and will give a much more energetic ride.
I believe that the occasional use of the whip is a lot better for both horse and rider than constantly kicking them in the sides.
I believe that the occasional use of the whip is a lot better for both horse and rider than constantly kicking them in the sides.
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