DOES YOUR HORSE HAVE MORE “WHOA” THAN “GO”?

DOES YOUR HORSE HAVE MORE “WHOA” THAN “GO”?

Or maybe you have a horse that lacks a willingness to go forward? Or one that is exhausting to ride?

In this blog I am going to give a brief overview of this issue and give you some ideas to help overcome the problem.

WHAT CAUSES A HORSE TO STRUGGLE WITH A WILLINGNESS TO BE FORWARD?

There are two main causes:

1. The horse just DOESN’T UNDERSTAND they are supposed to move freely forward

OR

2. The horse is NOT MOTIVATED to be forward moving

WHY THE HORSE MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND

There are three reasons why a horse might not understand it is supposed to keep moving forward under saddle.

i. The rider is not applying a consistent aid to communicate to the horse to do an upward transition. When I say this, I mean an AID that is applied ONCE to the horse to communicate to it that it needs to do an upward transition and stay in that gait until given another aid to change!

ii. Secondly, the rider is not being “quiet” or “releasing the pressure” after the horse has performed the transition or moving freely forward. Instead they might keep squeezing or kicking or tapping with a whip to keep the horse going.

iii. There is no consistent or significant consequence if the horse does not respond and do an upward transition when asked or if it decides to slow, transition down or stop!

WHY THE HORSE MIGHT NOT BE MOTIVATED

Simple – doing so makes them uncomfortable! The cause of the discomfort can come from a tack, soundness, biomechanical or a rider issue!

IDEAS TO HELP THESE HORSES

If the horse appears sound, not in pain and tack appropriately fitted, then I will approach the issue as a training problem and help the horse understand what is expected of it. If the horse fails to learn or is inconsistently in their response to training then this is a red flag that there is a soundness issues than needs veterinary investigation.

Here are the steps I use to set the horse up to understand upwards transitions and to maintain forward.

Step 1: Apply an aid/pressure sequence - I squeeze gently with my lower leg, if no response after 2 seconds, I keep squeezing and start using a clucking noise. If not response after 2 seconds, I keep squeezing and clucking and start tapping with my whip. At any stage if the horse trots I will cease whatever pressure I was applying and leave the horse alone. Therefore, if I just squeeze and the horse trots, I release my squeeze and go quiet. I only escalate with clucking or tapping with the whip if they don’t respond. By repeating and applying this sequence consistently the horse is set up to identify that they can avoid the whip and any warning the whip by going off the gentle squeeze of the legs.

Step 2: Remain “quiet” in the saddle – the horse must be set up to identify that when they are moving forward that you leave them alone! Therefore, working on this issue I give riders a rule – they are not allowed to keep a horse going by kicking it. They are only allowed to use their legs to do an upward transition! This means that if they feel the horse slow or break gait, they are only allowed to put their leg on to do an upward transition! For example, if the horse is walking and slows or goes to stop the rider must do a transition to trot. If the horse is trotting the rider must transition to canter. They only need to do a few steps of the upward gait before asking the horse to do a downward transition back to the gait they are working on and then go quiet again. This sets the horse up to further identify that if they stay in the gait that has been communicated by the rider the rider will leave them alone. It sets the horse up to identify that legs on mean go! When people are constantly squeezing or kicking the horse it feels constant pressure applied to it sides and its response to the leg dulls as it loses meaning amongst all the constant pressure. But when riders are quiet with their legs, and only use them specifically it is easier for the horse to sense them and to learn what it means.

Success tips:

a) The rider must go with the horse and let them move forward freely underneath them. If the rider is nervous, grips with their legs, snatches the reins when the horse does move freely forward - the horse will not be inspired to change.

b) Taking the horse through a groundwork program can solve the forward issue and improve the biomechanical issues without having to deal with it in the saddle.

c) This is not a 5-minute fix. I typically seen big changes in horses after working on this consistently for 10 rides.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

Most horses are helped very easily with this approach. If the rider is patient, consistent and effective in applying the approach the horse is set up to learn. However, if the horse’s lack of forward continues or improvement minor or inconsistent then there is a soundness problem. I have worked with a number of these horses and every single one of them has turned out to have a soundness issue that took multiple vet visits to diagnose. Horses do not have to be obviously “lame” to be unsound or in pain. Examples of issue I have come across include arthritis in the feet, spine, neck (particularly C6-C7 cervical vertebrae malformation), cystic ovaries, gastric ulcers, neurological conditions, respiratory issues and biomechanical issues such as straightness, balance or posture problems. Therefore, if your horse does not improve with effective training then please consult with your vet.

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