Lazy Boy!!!

[Thorthepony]

I have got a very lazy Dales pony who just does not see why he should work! The lady who is riding him for me is doing well with him but I just wondered whether any of you have got any ideas, training exercises or suggestions for making a lazy boy more forwards. His favourite resistance is to buck if he decides that he either does not want to do something or is being pushed to hard but his rider is now very good at reading his body language and knowing when he is going to buck, pushing him forwards through it and not giving him the opportunity to do it. He is much more forward when he is out hacking but he has got to do some work in the school and learn to work rather than purely plod round the block on a hack!!

As I said, any ideas, training suggestions etc gratefully received - oh, and he has had all the normal checks of back, saddle etc etc done!

Many thanks

 

[Littlelegs]

Don't plod round on hacks, school on them. As his fitness increases, & he builds the correct muscles from working correctly out hacking, it will be easier to transfer to a school. I also find few natives see any point in endlessly doing very basic exercises. They get bored very quickly. However, if you bring them on to a level they can do more interesting exercises its easy to keep them interested in a school.

 

[Boysy]

As above poster - Native + School = 'i'm bored mum'

30 minutes in the school, set yourself the target of 100 transitions within that 30 mins, i'd bet after just 2 30min sessions that he is more forward for you.

Walk, trot, walk, halt, extended trot, medium trot, collected trot, extended walk, collected walk - you get the picture?

And shapes, constantly change rein, 20m circle to 15m to 10m etc, spiral in and out, jazz it up, one end of the school to the other fast as you can, serpentines.

Really make those 30mins work for you and him or sharer, it can be mindnumbingly boring for you but try and keep count and don't stay longer than the length of two letters in the same pace.

Totally transformed one of my ponies when we really put our minds to it and concentrated, he went from a plod, kick, plod, kick humpf along to a springy boing 'what next mum?' ponio and doesn't mind a jot going down the school to play.

 

[Thorthepony]

Thank you folks!!

Littlelegs, he does not get hacked very much at the moment for the very reasons you have said. We want to spend the riding time that we have improving him hopefully and his occasional hack is used as a reward for being a good boy. Plus recently the conditions have not been very safe for hacking with all the mist, rain, ice, snow and other such meteorlogical delights

Boysy, I am a great believer in transitions too so we will try that as a next step. He is a beautiful boy and I just want to see him being more active and keen rather than dragging himself round the school looking grumpy. When he does decide to do it, he can be really forwards, as he should be for his breed, so it is not as if he cannot do it, he just chooses not to most of the time the monkey!!

Keep the ideas and suggestions coming please as we are willing to try anything to get him moving!! Thanks loads

 

[mandwhy]

But hacking will make him more enthusiastic about working my haffy is very anti-schooling, basically she is young and clever and doesn't see the point, so hacking to get her thinking forwards (when I can as agree conditions aren't great) and when we do come to schooling I will make it as fun as I can, interesting objects such as poles on the ground, a cross pole in the middle (she likes jumping so I know this will get her interested) even bending around cones gymkhana style, and making the work really varied and introducing challenges, he needs to learn its not all circles and hard work and boredom