Part of what makes these horses so safe for beginners is that they “tune out” some of the aids that lower level riders give by accident, meaning that they won’t go cantering off if a rider’s leg accidentally slides back too far. Most of the riders mounted on these horses also do not have the education to be able to influence the horse to carry themselves correctly through their hind end, core, and topline. However, once a rider becomes more advanced, they will need their horse to be more responsive to aids given the first time, and properly use his body to perform more athletic movements.

In some cases, the horse may have lapsed in his training after being ridden by beginners or riders using unclear aids for an extended period of time. In any case, the remedy is to use exercises that engage the horse’s mind and body while giving clear and consistent aids.

How to Fix a Horse’s Responsiveness

The most important thing is always to have the horse traveling forward and straight. If a horse is crooked in his gaits and movements, this means that there is energy wasted traveling laterally that could be available to be funneled straight ahead if the crookedness were corrected.

Once the horse is straight, you can start asking for transitions from halt to walk. You will want to carry a short crop, and you may choose to carry a longer dressage whip or wear spurs (particularly during these initial stages of retraining), depending on the horse.

In the halt, make sure to begin with your legs hanging loose by the horse’s sides. While trying to get horses to go forward, we often tighten the muscles in our bottom, hips, and legs without realizing it. Draw up through your core so that your abdominal muscles support the upper half of your body, rather than sitting heavily in the saddle.

When your pelvis is following the horse’s motion in the walk (and later the canter), it should feel as though you are gliding across the saddle, rather than grinding into it.

Push your heels down and close your calves in a squeeze against the horse’s sides. If a sustained squeeze with moderate to strong pressure does not entice the horse to walk forward, add a kick. During the kick, your hips and bottom should remain loose, and your legs shouldn’t come more than 6 to 8 inches off of your horse’s sides.

If this still doesn’t elicit a response, tap the horse with a crop just behind your leg until he walks forward. As soon as there is any forward movement, the horse must be rewarded by taking the pressure off (stopping the tapping).

The halt-to-walk transition should be repeated until your horse is moving off from just the squeeze.

Correct Canter

Once your horse is recalibrated to the meaning of the leg squeeze, repeat the same exercise between the walk and trot and then halt and trot. Straightness should still be emphasized, using your seat bones to feel if the horse is pushing evenly with both hind legs.

All horses have their own natural rhythm that’s comfortable for them, then a rhythm that’s a little more forward and a little more work for the rider, but helps them to build fitness. That second rhythm is where you want to be working your horse.

After your horse is working through halt/walk/trot transitions in good rhythm and balance, the canter can be added. In the walk and trot, horses can get away with moving into the gait by dragging themselves forward from the shoulder, even though this is incorrect.

However, in the canter, it’s absolutely required that the horse engage his hind end and push off of his hocks, otherwise he will end up in a rushed trot rather than a canter. If any part of your work up to this point has been ineffective, it will show in the canter. Transitions should now include all three gaits plus the halt.

Additional Tips For Improving the Responsiveness of a Seemingly Lazy Horse

If a horse has been experiencing unclear or conflicting aids for a while, it may take some time to re-educate him fully.

In future training sessions, it will be valuable to add collection and extension of the gaits, turn on the haunches, 10- and 20-meter circles, and pole work. All of these exercises encourage and improve proper engagement of the hind end, building fitness and adding power to all three gaits.

Key Takeaway

It’s important to teach even beginner riders how to use their aids effectively and to expect a prompt reaction from their horse so that those nice, quiet schoolmasters don’t slip into bad habits. The same exercises that build strength in the horse will build the education of the next generation of riders. Correcting a “lazy” horse is as much the rider’s responsibility as it is the horse.

This article about improving a lazy horse’s responsiveness appeared in the January/February 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post How to Improve a Lazy Horse’s Responsiveness appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Here, trainer Cody Crow helps you understand how horses learn that they can break gait if they choose—and why riders fall into the trap of constant pedaling. He’ll help you teach your horse to lope and keep loping until another cue is given. He also provides tips to help you sit back and drive your horse into the lope.

No Nagging

“If you constantly nag a child about cleaning their room but there’s no follow-through or consequence, they’ll soon learn they don’t have to clean their room,” says Crow. “It’s the same way for the horse. If you kiss to the horse and he doesn’t step into and stay in the lope, there must be a follow-through. If there isn’t a follow-through, you’re effectively training your horse to ignore you. He’ll take you up on the chance to ignore you if allowed. The horse may break down into the trot or just get hollow. Most horses will only work as hard as you ask them to. Make sure you’re following up.”

In the show pen, the judge wants to see a horse that is willingly guided. The horse should step into a transition with fluidity and a willing demeanor. Crow says that your horse’s willingness to lope freely will affect your performance scores for several transitions and maneuvers.

“If you see a rider who’s having to beg the horse to go forward, it’s not a very pretty picture,” Crow says. “Maybe a judge won’t minus all of the maneuvers, but he certainly isn’t going to plus the maneuvers. If a rider is having a discussion with the horse about just staying in the lope, there’s no chance she could have shown an extended lope. Then she won’t be able to show a transition to a collected lope. Also, if you’re begging your horse to stay in the lope, he can’t have the balance to show a good transition from the lope to the trot.”

Making the Change

“Horses that need to be pedaled all the time may never have been taught to move forward freely,” says Crow. “Horses can get dull and lazy when the rider allows that behavior. If a rider is timid or isn’t clear with the horse, it’s easy for him to just stop.”

Crow says he helps horses break the pedaling cycle by showing them that they can move out freely. He’ll ask the horse to lope and boost the speed to show the horse he can move out and will be expected to move at the speed requested.

First, Crow teaches the horse that there will be an audible cue before any follow through or consequence. He makes a kissing sound to ask for the lope, then uses his leg pressure to reinforce the sound. Once he’s loping, he kisses again to ask for more speed.

“The sound will be followed by my leg cues—with a little more outside leg cue to keep the horse moving forward,” he says. “When the horse learns a verbal cue before the leg cue, he learns that he needs to move on. The verbal cue was the ask, and the leg cue was the tell. If the horse still doesn’t respond, I’ll bump with my leg, but I won’t continue to bump. If I were to constantly bump, I’d desensitize the horse to my leg.”

If a horse has been ridden with constant leg cues, Crow suggests the rider carry a short crop.

“I teach riders to use a verbal cue first, then their legs, then a tap on the hindquarters (at the hip) will be a new cue that the horse isn’t desensitized to,” says Crow. “We aren’t talking about hitting the horse hard at all, just providing a new feeling and something the horse isn’t desensitized to. Usually it only takes one or two taps for the horse to understand that he should move off of the kiss sound and not wait for other aids.”

Loping Position

If you have to canter, push, canter, push on a horse to prevent him from breaking gait, you may have developed a habit you’ll need to break.

Crow says to make sure you’re sitting on your hips and using your legs. If you’ve become accustomed to begging the horse to go, you may have learned to lean forward to encourage him. This position actually moves your legs away from the horse. You don’t have the ability to use your leg aids as well as if you can sit back, drive and push the horse forward from your seat. Think of driving instead of leaning forward and taking the horse with you.

Riding a different horse can help you feel what you were doing and allow you to sit up and change your posture.

“Sometimes it’s helpful to get on a horse that will keep the lope so you can feel what it’s like to just ride,” advises Crow. “Many times, riders who have learned to bump every stride will lean forward so their legs aren’t in the place to drive. It’s important to learn to sit back and allow your legs to open and drive the horse with a long, relaxed leg.”

This article about breaking gait at the lope appeared in the March 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Keep Loping: Prevent Breaking Gait at the Lope appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Why such a Lazy Horse?

According to Young, a horse can be a slowpoke for a couple of reasons. Just like people, it could be part of who they are or in response to what you’re asking them to do.

“Some horses have a bad work ethic, and some are just naturally laid-back with their temperament,” says Young.

For some riders, a lazier horse can be good—particularly a newbie.

“A lot of people will say that it’s easier to wake [a horse] up than it is to slow one down,” says Young. “But it depends on the rider—their level of expertise, their abilities. A lazy horse can be good for a rider, especially for a novice, because when their nerves start taking effect, the horse won’t be as reactive. A lazy horse tends to suit a beginner much better than one that’s high-strung.”

A low-key horse is also a plus when you’re in a situation where there’s a lot of tension, such as during a competition, where you’re under a lot of pressure.

“A lazy horse might not be as affected by that tension compared to a more feely, high-strung horse,” says Young.

The problem with a lazy horse can crop up when you need to ask a lot of him, performance-wise, and he may not deliver, according to Young. Having some tools to light a fire under your horse can help.

Wake-up Cues for a Lazy Horse

In a nutshell, you need to ask your horse to move his feet, says Young. This starts with a voice command.

“Clucking basically gives your horse an alert telling him you’re about to ask him to move his feet and do something,” says Young. “Once you cluck, add more energy with your legs as well.”

Start with light calf pressure, then increase to firmer calf pressure, and if needed, your heels. Your horse should respond with increased energy in his leg movement.

“If your horse is still dragging around and lazy, then you want to make him work harder,” says Young. “Pretty soon, he’ll realize that he’s going to have to do the job, and he’ll get comfortable with that idea.”

If your horse is sticky, exaggerate your cues for the maneuver you were originally asking for, says Young, until you get a response. The next time, start gently. You want to give your horse a chance to respond to lighter cues before you go to firmer ones. If you go to the extreme a few times, your horse will quickly learn it’s better to comply and he’ll be able to do the maneuver at the pace you initially wanted.

The Big Guns

If your horse consistently ignores your lighter-to-heavier calf cues, you may want to incorporate spurs, says Young. But don’t go from clucking straight to your spur.

“I like to begin everything in a nice, positive manner,” says Young. “Begin with your calf, and if the horse doesn’t move off your calves, apply light spur pressure. If he doesn’t respond, then you may add some more pressure.”

Don’t start out with a lot of spur. Young says this will often generate an undesired response in your horse.

“A sudden spur cue will startle your horse, and he might become defensive about it,” says Young. “You always want to begin with your calf, then your heel, then your spur. Don’t just start off with big jab from your spur.”

Avoid using the spur in a “picking” manner, says Young. It will only aggravate your horse and make him mad. A gentler method is preferable to get your desired results.

Set the Path

If your horse ignores your requests to move out, Young says to look at what you’re asking of your horse.

“Don’t aimlessly ride around your arena without a purpose,” she says. “Letting the horse go wherever he wants, at whatever pace he wants, will teach him bad habits.”

Even if you’re just trail riding, make sure you’re in control of where and how fast your horse is traveling.

“This will help instill a better work ethic,” says Young. “It’s the same thing with people—if you get up one day and slack off on making your bed, by the second or third day, you’ll quit making your bed all together. It’s the same with your horse—if you let him ride around aimlessly without purpose, then he’s going to be lazy.”

Ask for Help

If you’re still feeling frustrated and like you can’t reach the goals with a lazy horse that you’d like to achieve, Young says it might be time to enlist the help of a trainer.

“It could be lessons, or a couple of training rides. Or it could be that you just need a set of eyes watching you that can guide you to achieve your goal.”

Meet the Trainer

Heather Young is an American Quarter Horse Association and American Paint Horse Association Professional Horseman based in Gainesville, Texas. She specializes in versatility ranch horses, reining and cow horses.

She is a carded APHA, National Snaffle Bit Association, National Reining Horse Association and American Stock Horse Association judge. Her clients have earned APHA world and reserve world championships, AQHA reserve championships and money in NRHA competition.

This article originally appeared in the June 2019 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Tip-Top Shape

One of the first tips to get your lazy horse to go forward is to make sure they are in tip-top shape. First, it’s important that you make sure your horse isn’t going slowly because it hurts him to go faster. You’ll want to ask your trainer or a vet to make sure his legs or back aren’t hurting, and that he’s in good health and fitness for what you’re asking him to do.

If all of these things are fine, your pony has simply learned to tune you out! So how do you get him to tune back in?

Rider Cues to Go Forward

One of the next tips to get your lazy horse to go forward is to make sure the rider cues are clear enough for the horse to understand. While we may not want to admit it, some horses learn to tune out their riders because the cues they are being given are not clear. While you don’t mean to pull on the reins at the same time you’re kicking him forward, when you’re learning to ride, it can be hard to separate the two motions.

Have your trainer or an older rider at the barn watch you ask your horse to go forward to make sure you’re not unintentionally giving him conflicting cues. If you determine that you’re not the reason your pony has a case of the slows, it’s important to remember the order in which you need to ask him to move, working up to stronger aids:

1. Cluck to him and push him forward with your hips.
2. Add pressure with your calves and tap him with your heels.
3. “Pony kick” your horse, where you take your full leg away from the saddle and flap it repeatedly until it annoys the horse enough to go forward (should be done rapidly).
4. Add a crop or use the ends of your reins behind your leg (never in front on the shoulder).

Your horse should step off right away, as soon as you ask him to move forward. Let him go forward as fast as he wants; don’t pull back on the reins or ask him to slow down if he’s done what you ask him to do.

However, if he acts like there are cinderblocks attached to his feet, he’s still ignoring you. Need some other ways to get your horse moving forward? Here are some other tricks to try.

Get Outside

If you’re lucky enough to have a place outside the arena to ride, take advantage of it! Riding in circles all the time can be boring, so get your pony out of the arena and ask him to really move forward and motor around.

Have any hills? Even better! Go for a good gallop up the hill and really let your pony stretch his legs. Once he remembers how much easier it is to go forward (and you understand what pace you are asking for), you’ll be able to better translate that energy into your arena work.

Change It Up

One of the next tips to get your lazy horse to go forward is to make sure you change their exercise routine up. Routine comes very easily to most of us. We get up for school at the same time every day, we go to the barn on specific days of the week. We warm up our horses the same way and we ride for the same amount of time. BORING!

Next time you mount up, mix it up. Instead of trotting around aimlessly for 10 minutes until your pony is warmed up, do 8 or 9 minutes of working walk and really ask him to engage. Next, go right into canter, then serpentines, then trot circles.

Add in changes of speed within the gaits as well so you practice working trot, medium trot and collected trot. Change directions and speed a lot—try to surprise your horse and keep him thinking, since he doesn’t know what you’ll ask him for next.

Change Disciplines for a Day

We know that doing the same thing over and over again is boring, and your pony feels the same! He gets tired of being drilled on the same flying lead change, dressage test or line of jumps. So how can you keep it fresh? Try a western saddle on your hunt seat horse; run a barrel pattern on your dressage pony or try some games with your horsemanship horse.

Anything you do that is out of the ordinary will perk up your trusty steed as he works to figure out what he’s being asked to do.

Give Your Lazy Horse a Rest

Another way to encourage your lazy horse to go forward is to send him forward in a hurry, then when he gets to a specific point in the arena or has accomplished the gait or task you ask of him, let him stop—and by stop, truly stop everything, not just the task he was doing.

Let him stand, rest, and drop his head. Then, when you’re ready to go to work again, ask him the same way as before to move forward. The resting in between is the reward!

Groundwork for Your Lazy Horse

If you’re still urging your horse along during every ride, it may be that you’re not strong enough to properly encourage him to go forward. Ask your trainer if you or she can put him on a longeline or in a round pen to work on getting him to pay attention to your verbal cues.

He should be attentive and listening to you, and move forward when you ask. If he’s not paying attention, send him forward by tapping him on the rump with a longe whip or the twirling the end of the longeline (stand out of the kick zone). What you accomplish on the longeline or in the roundpen will translate into the arena.

Thanks to Hayden Simon and her off-track Thoroughbred, Low Key Obsession!

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2018 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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