Exercises to improve a lacklustre walk!??

[Switchthehorse]

So my girlie has been off work for a month after a severe bout of colic and weird breathing issues and general poorliness but has been given the all clear to start work - amazing how much muscle etc she has lost and how big her belly has got in that time!!! Darn it!

We had our first ten minute walk around last night and I suddenly realised how terrible her walk is!! Our trot, canter, lateral work etc is all where i would expect it to be for a green 7yo big hulk of a horse and have plans how to continue to improve once back schooling - schooling properly but I suddenly realised last night i have TOTALLY neglected our walk and all i can say is its a proper housewife in slippers shuffle, no momentum, with me flapping pony club kicking madly and her ambling along. As soon as i take up a contact we shuffle juffle, she walks out really nicely on a long rein.

So as i have weeks of building up again i thought why not work on our walk.. so was just wondering if any of you had genius ideas of how to improve it?? Basically want more power (but same kind of speed), more active hind leg, and basically more oomph. Know all the normal transitions between a pace within a pace etc, lateral work etc but thought someone might have one thing that worked really well? Bearing in mind we cant do anything BUT walk at the moment (aside from when she bronced me across the school in excitement)

Thanks in advance!!

 

[kerilli]

she's prob more likely to walk out well on a hack rather than in the arena. walking out with another horse which walks on well should help too, use her natural herd instinct basically.
if she shuffles the moment you take a contact, then i'd take it as delicately as you can, give away forwards a little as soon as she shortens, take it up again, give away if necessary to send on again, repeat until she understands that the shortening isn't what you're looking for. make sure your contact isn't blocking at all, is at most absorbing the forward impetus.
using your legs alternately as the hindleg on that side is in the air works better than squeezing together, or whatever you're doing at the moment maybe!
umm, if she's likely to be sensible about it, poles laid out 4' apart and then stretched to 4'6" (i'm assuming she's got a 'normal' horse stride, alter if not obv) to give her the idea of swinging forward a bit more.
lots of lateral work in walk and then sending on a bit out of it should help too, use lateral work to engage inside hind more and then use it basically.
make sure your pelvis is totally relaxed, following the movement of her back, not blocking her at all.
hope those ideas help a little.

 

[First Time Mum]

second the poles idea - normally put them in a fan at each corner or at points on a circle starting where at a comfortable length apart then moving further out to extend the stride.

also to stregthen thehind end turn on the haunches can be used - assuming she is allowed to do this at the moment
or walking up steep hills works wonders!!

 

[Maesfen]

Hacking, hacking and more hacking in a good march! Can get them much stronger and fitter than in a school and once you've got her going correctly on a hack it's much easier for her to automatically be the same in a school.