lazy walker

R

rup93

Member
Joined
2 April 2012
Messages
24
Visit site
Out hacking especially but also in the school all my lazy bum of a pony wants to do is jog! He will do anything and everything to get out of walking out properly, tracking up or walking actively! He also try's his best to take the tiniest pigeon steps in trot but i can deal with that’s its the walking im struggling with. I try to push him forward and instead or his energy going forward it just seems to go up and into a jog, very annoying!
Any help would be great thanks :)
 
Hi there!
Try when asking him to go forward using your seat more by pushing with your pelvis, this will encourage him to stride more with your movement, and give him a little rein, so he can strech into the rhythm you are asking, if he try's to go forward to trot, half holt and give a little growl.
If he is also jogging alot in trot you can aply the same technique as this,by controlling your rising more, ie slower in and out of the saddle.
Hope this helps.
X
 
Have you had him looked at by a vet? If his movement is short there could be a physical reason, he might be finding it uncomfortable to stretch out.
 
Mine does this if he can... I thought it may be pain related BUT he walks out very nicely when heading home, so I have put it down to laziness. Is yours the same or is he lazy all the time?
I try and avoid hacking out with others as he just switches off and slops along like this then jogs to catch up. He is much better on his own. What I do is imagine I am in the school while we hack. Firstly I let him walk for 10 mins and encourage him to stretch out and down. Then push him into a more active walk that way. I refuse to nag with legs - I ask, insist then a tap with stick. Then I gather him up and work on walk-trot transitions. Loads of transitions, walk 4 strides, trot 4 strides, walk 8 strides, trot 8 strides etc, varying it! Horse soon starts to enjoy this 'game' and gets excited and more active in his walk. I also ask him for bend one way or the other and if there's no traffic do a bit of leg yielding.
I find it gets him thinking about his work and he is much more fun to ride and forward going. We also have places to go for a good canter, he loves that and that makes him more active.
You could try these ideas and see if any of them work, if you're sure your pony isn't in any pain.

In the school, loads of transitions in all paces, circles of various sizes etc and lateral work helped my horse improve his lazy walk.
 
Last edited:
Is there any difference in his movement when he is not saddled but warmed up for example during lunging? If so it might be that the saddle doesn't fit properly. If you are sure that it does I agree with noblesteed about the exercises but would add some pole work too. My very lazy cob likes poles with variable distance between them where he has to think and react to them individually. The little cups that make some of them higher are also useful
 
Thanks for replying everyone.
Im pretty sure he is not in pain as a few of you said he is pretty active after a good canter whilst hacking (not in the school though) and on the way home. I think i will get the physio out though as im sure this cant do any harm right? He still jogs when quite warmed up on the lunge with no saddle but i will still check my saddle he has gained a lot of weight this summer with all this grass so it could have become ill fitting. will try all the exercises suggested aswell.

Thanks :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top