Tips for getting the best out of lazy, lazy, LAZY horses???

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Look into the biomechanics of your own riding - I went for a simulator session at Ashen EC with Becky Chapman who teaches the 'Ride With Your Mind' way and found that I had been riding my boy with a 'whoa' seat. A couple of basic changes and I now have a 'go' seat

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Absolutely - I've battled with my "lazy" mare for years and years and years and believe me "hit it" just doesn't cut it with her, she has a massive ability to switch off and and hitting her more just makes her back up into herself and switch off more. I am ashamed to say I learnt the hard way over the yeras on that one
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Many instructors in my opinion don't highlight that whilst a "lazy" minded horse will take the options and excuses given to them, so yes do need to have lessons on being light to the aids, it is very often the rider that as Helbels is saying is actually blocking the forward movement being generated, so even when the horse reacts to the smacks, it is being unintentionally punished for going forward by a "stop" seat.

This I am sure is the case with my mare, as after some lunge lessons a few years ago (then a year out for both of us due to injury), I have made some changes to my seat after doing lots of reading and the difference in my mare is astounding!

Yes she still needs small reminders at the start of a session on occasion, but once I have her listening, she stays listening nowadays as long as I concentrate on not blocking her movement.

Sadly I feel her lazy behaviour over the years has been her saying "enough, get your signals right and not confusing and I might listen to you!!"

Now I'm not a "bad" rider (well hope not anyway!!), have competed dressage lower levels etc, can ride more forward horses (and possibly more forgiving ones) with absolutely no problems, but IMHO some horses, my mare being one, are actually less of the lazy and more of the sensitive type, so they take great umbrage at conflicting aids.

Certainly now I am trying to sort myself out, I find I actually have a horse that needs the mearest whisper from my seat and hardly any leg!!!

The major thing that I was doing was tipping onto my pubic bone I think, now looking at me in the saddle its probably not that noticeable, certainly no instructer has ever given me instructions to the contrary, my body itself isn't tipping forward, its just a drop of the public bone a the front. I read on a classical forum a message by a lady who said had anyone ever noticed that men by and large have less problems with lazy horses than woman and that it is often because they physically can't tip onto their pubic bone and hence block the forward movement. By just imaging I have say a pair of boiled eggs in front
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, this simple analogy gets me to lift my pubic bone ever so slightly and low and behold I get and maintain forwardness with my mare - its in no way a tipping back or sitting too far back onto my seat bones, but more keeping the pelvic in neutral and just lifting the pubic bone for more forwardness.

Urggh.....sorry I can't really explain it properly as still figuring it out myself with trial and error, all I know is that the work I am getting from my mare when I get it right is so easy and forward and this was a mare that could ignore a bomb up her backside if she wanted to!!!!

Plus interestingly she now has far more respect when I do actually have to back up any aid with a smack etc, as it has now I hope become much clearer to her that when I say forward I mean forward and not blurry round the edges and confusing for her.
 
Lungeing can often help.

I completely echo a lot of what has been said in this thread about immediate response to lazy behaviour i.e. you need an immediate pony club kick or a tap with the whip if your horse does not respond immediately, however a lot of horses become dead to the whip if used too regularly and a big pony club kick often results in you losing position and balance thereby unbalancing the horse.

I find that some regular lunging sessions can help because the horse can balance itself better on the lunge without a rider on board and therefore may be more inclined to go forward. They also have the added incentive of the lunge whip! (not that I'm condoning whacking a horse with a lunge whip but often the sound of it will get them moving forward quite quickly!!) Hopefully in time as the horse gets more used to moving in a more forward rythmn this will get translated into its ridden work.
 
Get it fitter that it needs to be. So he is jumping out of his skin. Maybe some tiger oeats depending on bdy condition. Worked wonders on my "lazy" horse. I don't have to have him over fit now, or give him oats. Just did it for a couple of years which got him in the right mind set. Also agree get someone to check that you are not constantly driving with your seat or niggling with your legs. A very common problem and the majority of horses will just switch off totally.
 
My lad can be a bit 'ploddy', the pony club kick definitely works, I now can just move my legs away from him and he gets on with it!

Also lots and lots and lots of transitions, different movements, don't keep just going round in circles.
 
That training centre looks fab! Might ask o/h if we can go there as a treat for when I've done my exams. I also get £1,000 from work if I pass, so that will finance it. Wow, that's really given me something to look forward to.

Also, lots of tips to try. And it's not only me who's got an idle lump either!!
 
Oh yes that's the other thing I do with my mare, I have her slightly "over topped" energy wise as Pep has suggested, just gives her more incentive.

Currently using Allen & Page Power & Performance and have to say its the best energy feed I've come across and I've used most of them over the years.
 
school out hacking. dont use too much stick/leg as just switches mine off completely . get some one in arena with lunge whip so irritant is not you - doesnt needs to use on horse just flick whip behind and crack it. although hold on tight if they do catch it as REALLY gets them narky then !! realize nothing is going to make it into a whizzy one get really depressed, have lots of nice people making supportive comments on forum and feel much better at end of it when you work out that you love it really and its quite nice not falling off an excitable one !! oh also propell plus helped a bit and I dont do it as have to fight to get turnout anyway but he was perkier after 2 days in with the snow !!
would also go along with lazy can = sensitive as when finally found an instructr who didnt say sell it and get a better one she showed me how sensitive to seat aids and straightness he is and how much I 'block' his forward but not having him straight and being unbalanced
 
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feel much better at end of it when you work out that you love it really and its quite nice not falling off an excitable one !!

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that made me smile
 
Thanks for the comments, JLD! I am impossible to please - when I had his predecessor, the late Catembi (in avatar) I would have done *anything* to be able to hop on without worrying about the effects of wind, tiny bits of litter, him being in a funny mood, him *thinking* that he could see a plastic bag that wasn't actually there... I was always nearly getting spooked / spun off, & the 100's of lessons we totally wasted cos he wouldn't go near one end of the school, walk past a jump pole, stop snorting & pratting about etc.

I was moaning to Allen & Page about Adrian once & the lady said that thousands of people would be v glad to have him! I'm glad to have him really & I loooove that he never spooks & will quite happily school with a plastic bag blowing on the fence, touching him as we go past etc. It's just that I want to make some progress with him, but he would rather eat, sleep & admire the view!
 
Well we had bob. Bob did not move out of walk unless you really made him think it was worth it, and think again about cantering! He didn't buck but was a very safe, sensible chap.
Once I put spurs on, and a dressage whip and used the click, nudge, kick, SMACK her very quickly got the idea and in fact he did some lovely dressage for a horse of his type.
But I do have an 'electric' bottom :O
 
Get it very fit, feed it lots of high energy food ( spillers power cubes mixed with allen and page endurance mix with Dengie naked oats worked well with my very lazy mare) ride with spurs, carry a stick, dont give it an inch, vary work as much as possible hack, go for a gallop, box up and go to the beach.
 
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