Are some horses just lazy?

[katie_southwest]

A question Iv been pondering lately, are some horses actually just lazy?

I have been trying to get my mare moving off my leg with lots of transitions etc but to be honest its such an effort on both parts I wonder some times why I am bothering!! And I usually look like this after half hour

Dont get me wrong she can move

but mostly out on hacks and when we are on the way home

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

Yes i think so, i think my mare is just lazy no matter what. She rarely gets a bit frisky in terms of energy output, she has the slowest walk ever but i love her lazy bones all the same, not that we can do much now anyway due to her foot

 

[Evelynmary]

I'd describe mine as idle, only does as much as he has to. In the field he moves like a dream, in the school I have to assert myself to convince him we're going to work properly and off my leg when I ask, so frustrating!

 

[serena2005]

yes my man is lazy!! he will only do as much as he has too, he might have the odd frisky ride out in a field but its still a lazy frisky ride!!

in the school is just a joke! although hes much better on oats.

 

[dwi]

Yes, Daisy is fine out hunting or xc but lazy if you ask her to work into a contact.

Safe and sane yes, forward going no.

 

[Chico Mio]

Yes, my friend who sold him to me once described FB as being 'vago'. I asked what it meant and she said, 'You know, like a teenager who just lies around on the sofa watching tv and can't be bothered to do anything'. Just about sums him up for schooling. I did find spurs helped wake him up but we do so little schooling nowadays I don't bother anymore. He usually perks up after a first canter on a hack.

 

[benji12]

Yes, mine is very lazy when schooling but point him at a jump and he's off like a rocket!

 

[JenTaz]

my boy used to be lazy untill i started using competion mix now he is the most perfect horse ever has bundles of energy and now eventually can jump a full course of jumps nicely and do a damn good prelim test

 

[Munchkin]

Horses are rarely just "lazy in the school". 90% of the horses I've reschooled recently have been reluctant off the leg in the school due to being taught by midguided riders that their head must be in a certain place - forcing them onto the forehand and therefore making them unable to lift the shoulder and move forward. They then take smaller steps and slow down to balance themselves, and learn to ignore the leg, as any impulsion created has nowhere to go. You only have to look in the showring to see the perfect example of this!

In my experience, a genuinely lazy horse will respond to repetition of the following: leg = no (or small) response = slap. Just once. They often rush forward, they get a pat and we continue. Usually takes 2-3 repeats before they're cured for life. Constant nagging with the leg will get you nowhere.

Get your horse moving forward with the exercise I described above. Once you've got that sussed, flexing exercises and sharp transitions will gradually encourage his outline as he learns to balance his and your weight (through his whole topline, not his neck). He will not be reluctant to go forward if he knows he's able to - horses rarely are

 

[FinkleyAlex]

Mine is not so much lazy - he moves when I ask him to, goes up or down a transition no problem, he just has small paces and will walk slow, trot slow, canter slow. When hacking he moves slightly faster but still doesn't really go anywhere. He doess the same in the field!

 

[TarrSteps]

Horses have different natural energy levels and sensitivity, just like anyone else.

BUT being ridden is their job and moving off the leg is an essential component of that job. Any horse can be taught to do it adequately, so long as it is comfortable, properly educated and ridden appropriately.

Sorry, that sounds a bit harsh but it's been my experience that convincing a horse to go off the leg is relatively easy, can be started in a day and become habit in a matter or weeks. As above, if it's not happening then the horse has a good reason for reacting as it does.

I find one common problem (nothing to do with the OP, just an observation) is people having double standards. They want the horse to only be sensitive when they want it and often ask for something other than they really want at least part of the time. A horse that naturally tends to be slow to react has to be taught the appropriate response in always expected, hacking, jumping, in the school, in every gait. Lots of people let a horse slop in walk then wonder why it dawdles in trot. They may even feel uncomfortable - perhaps subconsciously so - when the horse does move forward properly so they give mixed signals. Also, ignoring is ignoring - a horse that goes too slowly on the flat then pulls when jumping is essentially displaying ignorance of the aids in both cases. (And likely lack of strength and balance as well.) I think a lot of horses have holes in their early schooling that manifest themselves in unwillingness later on, even if they don't seem so important when the horse is younger and more willing.

Feed can play a part, at least in the horse being able to sustain a response, but I still maintain it should have no bearing on the horse's response in the first place. When asked to go, the only appropriate response, from day one, is "how fast and in which direction?"