Getting a horse to go 'forwards'

[Sillymoo]

Hello all, I'm new here although been lurking for a while!
Please excuse my ignorance but I have a quick question about how to get a horse really going forwards...how do you do it!?
Am I right in thinking it's not just a case of wizzing round as fast as you can kicking away like a madperson?
Sorry for the dumb question, I'm still quite a novice rider

 

[Booboos]

First of all welcome!

You don't want to kick too much and too often as this can make a horse 'dead to the leg'. Start by thinking forwards yourself and being really positive. Ask with a gentle, hugging leg as you would normally, it the horse does not react follow with a little sharp leg, if he still does not react follow with a tap with the whip. Next time you ask, go back to asking very gently in the hope that the horse starts to figure out that if he does not react to this things get worse. While you do all this keep your hands very soft and giving. If a horse is not forwards there is no point worrying about outline and neck carriage, just have soft hands to allow him to go forwards. If he shoots forwards, make sure you give with your hand and go with him (otherwise you will whack him in the mouth and make him stop which will confuse him). The odd horses likes spurs a lot more than whips or a stronger leg, so maybe worht trying but it depends on the exact problem you are having. Once a horse is going forwards you don't want to just run around like mad. You can then use circles and lateral work to try to get softness through the poll and neck. When that works you will be able to generate energy with your leg, but contain it with your hand.

 

[celia]

Having a horse 'forwards' is more about creating impulsion from behind and containing energy rather than letting it all out through the front which will lead to the horse rushing and ending up on the forehand. The basic idea behind this is creating the energy with your legs (and whip if necessary) and then 'holding' it with your contact. As a novice I wouldn't worry about this too much though as it's very easy to 'hold' too much which is obviously going to have the opposite effect and it can also encourage too much reliance on the reins from both horse and rider. The most important thing for you to be concentrating on is ensuring you have a good rhythm in all paces and if you feel your horse/pony is getting a little onward bound gentle squeezes down the outside rein encourage most horses to slow down and rebalance themselves. To get a lazy horse more forward you need to make sure you ask firmly and give a tap with your whip if your leg is ignored. You also need to be sure you stop asking as soon as you get a response as this rewards the horse and makes it more likely he will listen the next time. Nagging away with your leg is only going to tire you out as most horses will just ignore it! (Sorry if this is a bit basic for you - 'novice' seems to cover a whole range of levels!)
The main way of telling if your horse is properly forwards is whether he is tracking up - this is when the hind leg lands in the print from the front leg (or even beyond it) and means that the horse has his hind legs underneath himself and is pushing forwards from them. (To give you an idea - the bay in my siggie is *almost* tracking up.) Initially someone on the ground will be able to tell you if this is happening or not and over time you should gradually learn to feel when the hind legs are working underneath you.
Sorry about the essay - I seem to have rambled on a bit!

Hope this is of some help.

 

[Sillymoo]

Thank you!
The problem I'm having is horse evading the contact. My instructor has told me I should get my horse going forward but then she'll say 'not faster' as I'm trying to push my horse on so that leads me to believe that getting a horse to go forwards isn't just a case of kicking & throwing the reins at my horse & getting it trotting round as quickly as she can?!
I've been told I need to open the stride up?! So again I'm thinking it can't be a case of just going faster & faster?! But impulsion is created with the riders legs isn't it?!
I'm confused!

 

[Sillymoo]

Thank you
So it's not about going fast as you can & giving away the contact?
That's what I thought - if I just let my horse go round faster & faster it feels very out of control & that can't be right?!

 

[harrihjc]

It's not about going faster, just having more energy, taking bigger strides or more 'active' strides rather than more frequent. You create the energy from yor legs, then contain it by maintaining the contact with your hands. Easier said than done on some horses tho

 

[Booboos]

It depends on how he is evading the bit.

Some horses come back at you, tense their neck and become 'behind the bit'. The best way to ride this kind of horse is with a really, really soft, but steady, elastic hand, keep asking from behind and encouraging the back to come up (swinging your hips well forward in trot can help, many horses of this kind find it a lot easier to warm up and bring their back up in canter before trotting).

Some horses stick their head in the air and become hollow. A stronger leg can be useful here and exercises on bends, circles and leg yielding can be helpful.

A more subtle evasion is leaning on the bit and becoming heavy - half-halts and transitions can be helpful with this kind of horse.

As for the 'forwards' bit, think of your horse being more elevated through the shoulder rather than faster as such. If you think about it going really fast drops the horse on its nose so has the opposite effect from what you want, so think about energy from behind, contained in front, so it all goes up through the shoulder.

Overall you might want to get teeth/saddle checked out in case there is a physical problem and might want to play around with different bits (many places will loan out bits before you buy so it's not as expenssive as it could be!).

 

[Dressagebabe]

In a nut shell to all the other good advice people have given you is: your legs say Go and your hands say No!! This means drive your horse up into his bridle with your legs but if they are working too hard then back them up with a quick flick of the whip just behind your leg at the same time, then hold your hands still, NOT pulling back on the reins just a holding hand with your arms bent like a capital L as if you are carrying your mums best china on a tray and dont want to drop it. The impulsion from your legs should coil him up into your hands and just gently go with the flow without throwing the reins forward or he will just 'run'. Good luck