For my first blog ever, I want to write about one of the
problems I see most frequently when working with horses and one which I have
already dealt with a couple of times today.
The problem I am talking about is the lack of good forward
movement.
It still surprises me sometimes how often I encounter this
specific problem. It is also sometimes surprising
to horses’ riders when I tell them that their horses don’t really know how to
move forward well enough. Many of them
have ridden their horses with this problem for years and never known it. Perhaps most surprising of all are all of the
negative ways that a lack of forward movement can manifest itself and cause
problems for you and your horse.
To start I will explain what I consider to be good forward
movement. It’s really simple. When I ask my horse to go forward, I want him
to go forward right then and there. No matter
what situation the horse is in or how difficult he might think it would be to
go forward, he needs to go forward when I ask.
Now I know that every horse in the world can go forward. They do it within about an hour of being
born. Just go out and climb up on an
untrained horse and he will likely go forward so fast that he leaves you piled
up on the ground behind him. All horses
can go forward without us even telling them to, right?
Yes, all horses can go forward, but surprisingly few of them
will do it when asked no matter what. Just
this morning I was working with a recently retired racehorse. If any horse in the world knows how to go
forward it’s a racehorse. When I finally
started to step up on the horse, I didn’t feel that he was ready to be
ridden. Do you want to guess what was
missing? Forward movement!
Now, here’s a simple exercise to test your horses forward
movement. Turn his head to one side,
preferably more than 45 degrees, and ask him to go forward. What should happen is the horse moving
forward in a nice little circle following his nose. Kind of like he’s on a little circular train
track. Now, here are a few of the wrong things
he might do instead: Take a step backward, take a step to the side like he’s
about to fall down, jerk his head back straight and walk off, stand in one
place endlessly disengaging his hindquarters while never moving his front feet
forward.
If you can’t put your horse in this simple position and get
him to move forward, then you lack forward movement. Here’s another list. This list includes some of the behaviors that
are either a direct result of a lack of forward movement or can be easily fixed
my improving forward movement: Backing up when not asked, rearing, being stiff
throughout the body, bucking, picking up the wrong lead, tossing of the head,
not turning, kicking up, biting at your leg, stopping to graze while you’re riding,
running sideways, sloppy spins when reining, backing up while leg yielding, and
many additional ways that you’re probably getting too tired to read.
Ok, now for some answers about how to fix this. First I have to say: Do
NOT attempt to do any of these things if you aren’t an experienced and proficient
rider. Since I can’t see you
ride, I can’t make an assessment of your ability and it is therefore up to you
to decide if you need to seek help from someone else.
The simplest way for me to fix a lack of forward movement is
to work with a horse until I find a particular situation in which he tells me
no when I tell him to move forward. This
usually happens when I turn his head and ask him to move forward as described
above but there are many other situations in which a horse will get stuck and
not go forward. I always begin this work on the ground and don't progress to his back until I feel he is ready. Inevitably there will be
some situation in which the horse thinks he cannot, should not, or will not
move forward. It is in this situation
that I can best establish forward movement.
It is a simple concept that can be difficult to implement. In this situation when my horse is refusing
to go forward, I simply find a way to ultimately make him do it. This usually involves waiting out his refusal
while continuously asking him to go forward and not letting up until he does. I like to ask my horse to go forward by first
spanking my own leg and then moving back and spanking him on the haunches until
he goes forward. I do NOT like to spur
my horse to make him go forward. If you
start jabbing your horse with your spurs, you will very likely cause him to do something
very dangerous (i.e. flip over, buck). The
most important thing to remember is to stay calm and consistent and always put
your safety first.
I know, easier said than done. I reiterate: Don’t hesitate to seek outside
help when working with a horse. Stay positive
and stay happy. None of this stuff is
too much to handle. Good luck and let me
know if you have any questions.
