How do I get my stuffy old mule to move forwards????

[PoppyAnderson]

Well, more stuffy young mule to be honest. Pony's been recently backed (by me) and has been coming along nicely for the last couple of months. No real pressure put on her but everything's been going well. And continues to go well really but I can't seem to get from where we're at now to the next stage. I've got some really good help but I just wanted your thoughts on how I get her to move forward in trot better. She will trot but I am literally like a wrung out rag when I've finished......and we only do 10 minutes!! I'm pushing every inch of the way. I do lots of transitions, I boot it, I try softly softly, I back it up with the whip when needed, I give it a decent thwack every now and then. Do I just accept that it's a naturally lethargic animal or is there a trick I'm missing?

 

[golddustsara]

Oats?! I have the extreme laziness issue with my pony and I too tried 50 transitions per schooling session, lots of lateral work etc but unless he is XC/hunting he just is a lazy g*t! Tiger oats seem to help or try Spillers response feed.

 

[TinselRider]

what feed is the pony on??
have you tried trot poles to lengthen its stride??

 

[Daisychain]

Start hacking her out with a friend, and go for some canters in company etc, that should start to get her a bit more forward at this stage.

 

[Kallibear]

My friend has an exmoor who was similar. He's wasn't a particularly lazy animal but found going forwards hard as it required extra balance. Much prefer bimbling along slowly, thank.

So she forgot all about schooling and we went out hacking and bombed about the countryside for 6 weeks.

It made a huge difference to him - he tried harder to go forwards because he had to keep up, and learnt to balance himself better as he went along. He's now a proper whizzy pony

 

[PoppyAnderson]

She's on virtual no feed, as she's a very good do-er. 12 hours of grass, haylege net at night and a handful of balancer and chaff when others get fed. She's not a native type - she's a coloured half quality half old mule type! Just lazy lazy lazy! The advice of getting her out and about will definately do the trick. When we bimble round the fields, there's certainly a bit more spring in her step!

 

[mickey]

Personally I would stick it on the lunge and be very assertive with motioning the whip behind. If she is still lethargic bring her onto small circle and tap her with the whip. Keep tapping until she moves. She will soon learn that if she does not move on a larger circle then she will be put onto a smaller one where she can be reached with the stick. Throwing some sand or rubber up in the air towards her may well get a reaction. I'd just really get after her and the sharper she is and speedier she goes (even if you want and she breaks into canter) the better. You don't need to do lengthy sessions on the lunge which will tire her, just get the desired response and stop. The voice will help too.
Don't accept that she is lethargic, she's playing her luck. You know the thing about if a horse doesn't respond to pressure add more until it does, getting a little firmer each time. This applies to ridden work of course. Make sure you release pressure as a reward when you get the desired response.