Equestrian Life Magazine September Issue 220 | Page 44

Training
Feature

Kirsty demonstrates a ‘stretch
break’ on her own horse Owen

Speedi-Beet Team
Member Kirsty Loveday discusses
how to get a lazy horse moving
forwards, illustrated by her pupil
Stephanie Davis riding her five-yearold Welsh Section D mare.

Getting Your Lazy
Horse Moving!
Trainer - Kirsty

hurting. When these have been
eliminated other areas can also be
looked at. Is he lazy on the lunge
or out hacking? The whole picture
needs to be addressed clearly.
To get your horse thinking
forward you need to make a
constant effort in all aspects of
his training and exercising. For
ridden work engaging a forward
response in both body and mind
of your horse is critical.

In all ridden work your horse
needs energy. If there is enough
energy, in a relaxed and supple
horse, the movements ridden
will be more fluent and easy. If
your horse is lazy or backwardsthinking it can make riding
much more hard work and less
enjoyable for you both. Even
responsive horses may not
necessarily be quick thinking.

forward it is very important to
check there are no underlying
issues first. Teeth, back, feet and
tack are the usual suspects. Your
horse could be lazy as he is trying
to tell you he is uncomfortable or

The first step is getting a
response. If your horse is walking,
let your legs hang loose. He
should continue in the pace you
have set him in. If he goes to
stop, ask him to go forward, ride
positively and give him a tap with
the whip. You can send him off in
trot for about the length of the
arena before bringing him back
and repeating. This applies to all
paces. Think ‘gymkhana pony’
when sending them forward.
You may find initially this is more
useful out hacking as there is
more room to help you get the
‘forward’ feeling. Larger areas
tend to allow the horse more

freedom and horses seem to lose
the stuffiness that can develop
from arena riding. Fitness can
affect a horse’s energy. Hacking
is a great way to solve this and
encourage more natural energy
in an arena.
In an arena, horses are generally
asked to produce different and
more ‘gym’ type work. This is
where a responsive horse can
mislead their riders into thinking
they are forward-thinking when
they are not. It is down to you
as a rider to make it fun and this
is usually portrayed through
transitions and directions. Many
riders get put off by sideways and
backwards movements. However,
horses actually love this even
though it is hard work for them
which the rider must understand
and remember.
Moving your horse around in
different directions will increase
suppleness throughout your
horse. A supple horse is a happy
horse and a horse more willing
to move forward, as he will be
feeling much looser and more

A rider’s position can be deeply
affected by unresponsive horses.
Commonly, the lower leg will
move backwards and riders will
tip forwards to counter-act the
constant nagging and kicking
which results from the horse not
listening. This is however, the
biggest give-away that your horse
is not responding as he should
do. It can be hard to maintain
good positioning but this is the
simplest way to start getting
your horse listening. If your leg
remains in the correct position,
it will remain at its most effective
place.
When trying to get your horse

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