Get your horse moving forward

 Here are some ways to get the “go button” working and create a willingness to move forward freely. 

- Jonathan Field

Have you ever felt more tired than your horse at the end of a ride?

Horses who have lost forward impulsion are typically seen  as lazy and dull. Maybe some are---and  sluggishness can also be a sign of ill ness or another physical problem---but in most cases, horses lose the “go but ton” because of two issues. 

The first is mostly caused by boring, repetitive activity in an arena. Have you ever seen a path worn into an arena surface by horses going round and round, day in and day out? Even if you don’t see that sort of evidence, the horses feel the effects of excessive repetition. For most horses, being locked into the same daily routine for weeks and months on end is like staying in kindergarten forever!

The second reason is the rider. Many people make the mistake of working too hard to get these sluggish horses to pick up the pace: kicking, squeezing and swatting them to try to get them going.Unfortunately, this only makes these horses duller, less motivated and less willing to go forward. That’s because from the horse’s point of view, this rider is irritating and unrelenting. If the horse could speak he would likely tell his rider, “No matter how much I speed up, you keep grinding your leg aid leg against me. It just never lets up!” 

To which, the rider might reply, “If I don’t use my aids, you stop moving!” There is the dilemma. So what to do?