Teaching a horse to gallop?

dwi

dwi

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Daisy, bless her, is not built for speed and would much rather mooch along at a gentle trot than actually break a sweat but unfortunately for her I'm entering her into a ODE so I could do with a bit more speed for the XC.

Any tips of teaching her to gallop? She will gallop behing other horses but it doesn't translate into galloping on her own. She could probably do with some huge pony club kicks but I can't do those and keep off her back at the same time. I feel a bit mean whipping her into it, she's got a lovely relaxed hacking canter that lots of novices would love.
 
She shouldn't need to. I good ground covering canter is better than a gallop.
My mare can gallop but is actually quicker in a good canter as she covers the ground more.
 
Unfortunately her canter isn't particularly ground covering. Do you reckon I'd be better to teach her to stride out in the canter then rather than ask for more speed? How would I do that?
 
I get funny looks but i make hunting horn noises when i want lucy to go faster. She loves hunting and starts looking for hounds when i do that. Have you tried wearing spurs then you can just poke her for more speed when you need it.
 
lol, hearing hounds sets her off, maybe I should get a tape of them!
grin.gif
 
Don't know what the situation is for RC but if it is a PC ODE at levels 1,2 or 3 (upto and including 90cm) there are no penalties for going too slow, only too fast. For a 1st ODE I would think about having a nice round in a rythym you both feel comfortable in, even if that is very steady. If you both enjoy yourself and you want to do more, then think about speed.
 
If you have someone you can hack with go for a gallop with them, and she should try not to get left behind! If you make sure after each jump you immediately encourage her fowards again to keep the fowards rythm, that might help too.
 
Thanks KittyH, I didn't know that, I've emailed the organisers to ask. No point going hell for leather if we don't need to.
 
hehe he

i've got an ex racer who needs pony club kicks to get him going....doesn't wanna gallop either......except when we are in company and doing something interesting!!!
 
as long as she's in front of the leg when you canter, you should be able to give her a push for a bit more, without needing to resort to pony-club kicks. if not, i'd give her a tap (or more if necessary) with a whip to get her in front of the leg. this is essential for safe xc riding anyway, she must react when you ask her to lengthen or shorten. a few good clicks with the tongue can help motivate them too if they're really clueless! hope you have a great run round the ODE.
 
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