# Motivating a Lazy Horse?



## RideroftheWind (Jul 15, 2009)

My instructor is putting my on a new horse now. He is very smooth but also really lazy! I don't want to have to use spurs all the time with him, so how do I keep him going in a good pace?
He is a very good horse other than the fact that he's REALLY lazy. Any suggestions? :wink:


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## My Beau (Jan 2, 2009)

You have to give him a refresher on what leg means.

If you put your leg on and he doesn't do anything, get after him with a crop. Not hard, just a "hey, listen to me." Pretty soon he'll know that leg means he has to go now!


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## RideroftheWind (Jul 15, 2009)

I've tried giving him a lot of leg, but he doesn't respond very well. I've been depending on my aids (crop and spurs) and I don't want to anymore.


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Is he a school horse that is reguarly ridden by a multitude of riders? If so, if you only get the oppertunity to ride this horse say once a week, you're not going to be able to do a huge amount to 'train' the 'laziness' out of him. He's probably not lazy, just ignorant to the leg from being ridden by different riders of different levels, school horses just learn to ignore the leg after a while unless they get a rider on them that REALLY tells them where to go.
When you use your crop, is it on his neck or behind your leg? Neck does stuff all! You want to have a dressage whip and if he doesn't move off from a light touch of the leg, give him a good whack behind your leg to re-enforce that aid. Horses get dead to the leg because riders repeat the same aid with the same intensity constantly, or slowly build up the intensity, by this time they're usually waving the reins around and yelling and flapping their upper body telling the horse to stop while screaming at it to go haha! No wonder horses get confused??
By asking nicely once, then giving him a whack, it lets him know that you mean business. You won't hurt him, trust me! Unless your're leaving welts or cuts, its not hurting him so don't be scared! Give your reins out when you ask. If he doesn't move off from the whip, ask your instructor to stand behind with a lunge whip, and if he doesn't move off with your aids, your instructor can 'chase' him with the lunge whip. Sounds bad and I'm sure people with argue against it, but she's not hitting him with the whip, just shocking him into going. He'll soon realise that he better get that butt of his moving when you ask him to, or that scarey lady is going to chase him with a long whip!!!
Has worked for every horse I've ridden that has had going forward issues!


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Ugh. I hate lazy school horses. There's not much you can do about it. Most are so tuned out to having so many uneffective riders on them. I'd personally just ask for another horse.


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## LolaGirl160 (Sep 12, 2009)

If you can carry a whip with him use it for encouragement. I usually use q's to encourage also. When I want a bigger walk and my leg isn't getting a repsonse I cluck. Same thing for trot. When I want canter I make a few kissy noises. I'm not sure if this will work for your horses cuz our are trained this way but I hope this advice helped.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

School horses suck. Lol. You don't realize how much until you move off them!

However, the best way I deal with a lazy horse is to use escalation of pressure. Start with the lightest ask, then ask harder, then hardest. Ask, tell, demand.


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## coffeemama (Jul 10, 2009)

Yes I have exact same problem with mine. Instead of perpetuating the dulling down with crops and spurs, I decided to get him tuned more into me by going from walk to trot for 5 paces then down to walk for a few paces, then immediately back up to trot then down to walk and quicker up to trot and do this a couple of times around and these lazy school horses tend to wake up more to this exercise because they are forced to pay attention and it puts a spring in their step. Now, afte 4 lessons like this, I found his motor finally. I've been riding him for several months dulled down by other students and this worked with flying colors. yesterday I actually had to slow his trot down a bit which was so funny me and my trainer were laughing because THAT was a first. I'd rather teach him to tune-in to me and start paying attention rather than be part of the dulling process of over using crops and spurs.


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Agree with the transitions comment, however not entirely with the dulling down with crops and spurs. YES if applied all the time and applied incorrectly by beginner riders or riders who have not been educated in their application they will cause dulling of the horse's sensitivity to the aids. However, if applied at the right time, right after the basic leg aid, they will sharpen the horse's reaction to he initial lighter aid. 
Horse's lose sentitivity by rider's that endlessly kick them, using the system of 'ask, tell, demand'. This is a great way of training, if you know how to apply your aids properly. But usually it ends up starting with a soft kick and ending up with the rider flapping around kicking and carrying on while the horse ignores them. IMO a light aid, then a quick flick of a whip behidn the leg will get a much sharper response than continuous kicking!!


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Ask, tell, DEMAND. Any horse will respond if you give 'em a good wailing. That sounds terrible, so I shall elaborate.

Ask him to move off your leg as softly as you want him to respond, usually something as light as a feather. Then get firm. Nothing? Give him a swift kick in the rib with spurred heels and a whack behind your leg with a good whip. He will go, one way or another, and he can either go when you ask nice, or he can go when you demand it.

As others have stated, don't continually kick and squeeze. If your tiny squeeze doesnt' work, use that crop until he moves forward, and then praise the living daylights out of him. Don't be gentle, you simply don't weigh enough or have enough force in your body to do real harm to a horse. Hit him hard, it will jolt him out of his lazy reverie and get his butt moving.

I HATE lazy horses. Ugh.


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## ChingazMyBoy (Apr 16, 2009)

Ehhh, well I use to ride a lovely school pony called Blue. Blue was lazy, but for a few riders he would go. Because he had learnt that this certain bunch of riders didn't want to be wandering around the ring aimleslly and cutting corners. My way of getting Blue to understand this was, Blue loved pats. So when he went I would give him a pat or scratch and soon he worked out that if he wanted a scratch/pat he had to go.


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## ridingismylife2 (Nov 4, 2008)

Ugh..I hate lazy school horses... thank god my riding school only has a few and we don't use them in my lessons. 
The only plus side to them is, is that you also learn from them.
The others have given you some good advice.


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## RideroftheWind (Jul 15, 2009)

My instructor is putting me on him because he is very smooth and we are doing a lot of work without stirrups and sometimes bareback. The horse that I used to ride had arthritis so he was very bouncy and made huge leaps to get over tiny fences.
He is lazy but my trainer thinks I'm up to it. I've already done a couple of lessons with no such luck except for when I'm depending constantly on my aids. I don't mind using a whip but I want to eventually be able to ride him without spurs.
Nifty is actually very good when he has is in a good pace. He is an amazing jumper. But, until I can get a good pace..........................


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

It will be good for you to learn how to get him forward, it's not good to ride just one type of horse all the time, this is why alot of rider's with their own horse that they ride all the time and nothing else will often struggle when put on another horse. You need to get used to different horses, it will make you a much better rider


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## Larra98 (Jan 17, 2009)

I like this thread. I am learning a lot!


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## MissDiva (Nov 5, 2009)

I hate this thread, it's making me scared! 
How can so many people HATE the "Lazy" school horses that had to put up with you falling on their backs, yanking them in the face and thumping their sides constantly-before being told to deal them a "swift kick to the ribs with a spurred heel". IF you've even graduated beyond that.

The more leg you use, the more leg you need, it's just that simple. Lots of leg (Consistant, not sharp or cruel) with a hot horse and lighter aids with a dull horse will get you what you want. Just don't abuse him, please? Horses are not anger outlets or punching bags, nor do they owe us anything.


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## LoveStory10 (Oct 31, 2009)

My gelding is a schoolmaster, he got so dead to the leg from others riding him that in the end he wouldnt do ANYTHING! So my riding instructer pulled him out of the school and I spent the next two months retraining him, and now he responds to the leg instantly. But lately he has been "relapsing" back to his old ways, and we have to use our crops... but with any luck he should be ok...


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

Maybe you should try a dressage whip. I've had better results with those than crops or bats. They have more "sharpness" to them, if you know what I mean. Usually a quick tap does the trick.


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## shanoona (Oct 29, 2009)

Ask him by legs...once...two times...no reaction? whip. Ask him from walk to trot by legs and seat. once... two times..no reaction? whip. If you are the only one or one of quiet small group of people who ride him, he will learn soon that no response means whiplash. But it's important to be used by all his riders. Talk to the others (if there are any) and decide together. Two times and whip.
Do not use spurs to push your horse. soon he will ignore them, too. 
If the horse is yours now, or he has only you or two riders, try just to get him a month pause of riding, do a lot from the ground with him, try to join him, play wit him, let him know what do you want by voice. It's slower method, but better for both of you, I think


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## horsequeen373 (Oct 4, 2009)

I love riding stubborn, lazy horses. haha I think they are fun and I love kicking the fire out of them when needed.
But, what I do is I start with a gentle sqeez with my calves. If that doesn't work, gentle kick. If they still aren't listening I give them a "cowgirl" kick as my train calls it (really big kick slightly farther back then a normal kick, generally gets more response). Then if the horse still isn't listening, crop them on the shoulder. Finally, if they STILL aren't listening, crop behind the leg. Most horses will responde to the crop behind the leg. As long as the horse has a little bit of brains in em they will learn that the longer they don't listen, the more is demanded of them.
Just a little side note, if they really aren't listening, the best way to punish a horse is to make them work a lot harder then they are use to for one or two rides. They learn to appreciate and respect the work they normally receieve. (Obviously don't totally overwork them though)


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## LNW0923 (Nov 23, 2009)

I dont ride english. But at my house we have a few lazy horses. When we were training my old horse the trainer helped my friend by telling her to squeeze, cluck, whip. squeeze with your thighs then if jus that dosent work cluck then if both of them dosent work whip and after awhile of doin this they learn that the squeeze and cluck means the whip is coming and make them move.


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

horsequeen373 said:


> I love riding stubborn, lazy horses. haha I think they are fun and I love kicking the fire out of them when needed.
> But, what I do is I start with a gentle sqeez with my calves. If that doesn't work, gentle kick. If they still aren't listening I give them a "cowgirl" kick as my train calls it (really big kick slightly farther back then a normal kick, generally gets more response). Then if the horse still isn't listening, crop them on the shoulder. Finally, if they STILL aren't listening, crop behind the leg. Most horses will responde to the crop behind the leg. As long as the horse has a little bit of brains in em they will learn that the longer they don't listen, the more is demanded of them.
> *Just a little side note, if they really aren't listening, the best way to punish a horse is to make them work a lot harder then they are use to for one or two rides. They learn to appreciate and respect the work they normally receieve. (Obviously don't totally overwork them though)*


Ummmm. Ok :? So even if the horse is being beautifull and responsive on the second ride, still work him super hard just because you're 'punishing' him for being 'lazy' the day before. Sorry but horses don't think that way. Yes work them harder if they are being stupid and taking off or something, then by all means, push them into it and make them realise taking off isn't going to get them out of work, it will get them more work. Then give them the oppertunity to behave again. Don't just ride hard for 2 rides straight because you're punishing the horse. Horses don't understand punishment. They DO understand comfort and discomfort. If you make bad behaviour/reactions uncomfortable, and good behaviour/reactions comfortable, the horse will start to pick up what will make life easier for them.
Riding hard for two rides is 100% pointless, the horse has no idea what you're 'punishing' it for, it will only resent the work even more and you can create a nice sour horse for yourself.


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## horsequeen373 (Oct 4, 2009)

Kayty said:


> Ummmm. Ok :? So even if the horse is being beautifull and responsive on the second ride, still work him super hard just because you're 'punishing' him for being 'lazy' the day before. Sorry but horses don't think that way. Yes work them harder if they are being stupid and taking off or something, then by all means, push them into it and make them realise taking off isn't going to get them out of work, it will get them more work. Then give them the oppertunity to behave again. Don't just ride hard for 2 rides straight because you're punishing the horse. Horses don't understand punishment. They DO understand comfort and discomfort. If you make bad behaviour/reactions uncomfortable, and good behaviour/reactions comfortable, the horse will start to pick up what will make life easier for them.
> Riding hard for two rides is 100% pointless, the horse has no idea what you're 'punishing' it for, it will only resent the work even more and you can create a nice sour horse for yourself.


I said 1 or 2 rides working harder. The 2nd one would only be if they still weren't listening. In my experience this has worked, I can believe that it wouldn't work for all horses but many of the horses that I ride learn from this method.


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## HorseWhisperer (Feb 4, 2010)

*try this.*

_I think you have made it very clear that you want to use the whip less and not have to use spurs. Riding school horses are use to just riding round in circles all the time and just like you would they get bored and lazy. Also just like us horses may get miserable with bad weather. When you are riding a lazy horse first of all just play around with the bit in his mouth by gently fiddling with the reins. Also when you use your leg aid to ask him to walk or trot in a clear happy voice say the command out loud to your horse, it may feel stupid but it can have good results unless you say it in a bored fed up voice then your horse will go slower. They respond to the tone of voice eg exited voice means go bored voice means no. Also ask your instructor if you can do something different as this may get the horse interested and exited in what it is doing. do some transitions as well just to make the horse listen to you more. If you want to loose the whip you will have to teach the horse that every time is ignores you leg aid it will get a smack behind the girth, this way the horse will not need you to use the whip as much. well good luck._


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## CancunRider (Apr 30, 2010)

*The Lazy Dollar...*

I bought a horse named Dollar 3 months ago. When I saw him trot and gallop, he was beautiful. He had also won 1st place in the last 25 jumping competitions. He has a great personality and is really playful. He loves to walk with me in the sand and then lay down and roll around in it like a dog. 
He became quite ill in the first month with a lung inflammation from the cooler weather and the dust in the air. I was unable to ride him for over a month and a half. When I finally got to ride him, I had such difficulty with him that I was more exhausted after the ride than he was. He walked fine, but would refuse to trot and if I used my calves or whip, he would buck trying to throw me off my balance and throw me off. Sometimes he will throw me off and take off in fast run while still bucking.
I have not been able to ride him well since I've brought him here. The ranch had a lot of visitors and parties with loud music, so I just moved him to another ranch hoping that he will calm down some with the quiet. 
I hate to admit that I've become so frustrated that when he acts up and starts bucking, the only thing I can do to stop him is to pull his hair on his mane. I don't want to hurt him, but I don't want to be hurt anymore either.
I'm hoping that having a training take him back to the basics will do the trick.


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## Jordan S (Jun 7, 2009)

Lazy horses :twisted:


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## azarni (Aug 17, 2008)

My mare is a full Percheron, and she's pretty much the definition of lazy. Eventually I got tired of constantly nudging her with my heels. Here's what I had to do for a day:

1. Barely touch her with my leg
2. SQUEEEEZE with my leg
3. *HUGE* whack of the crop, on her rump. The kind that's so loud and fast it startles everybody around. Including the horse!

It took only 3 good smacks and she was moving off my leg like a dream. This was about 4-5 months ago, and she's still being really responsive. However, she's smarter than the average horse, I'm not sure if it would take longer with another.

I find that one really good smack leaves more of a lasting impression with the horse. The crop is the alternative to working - therefore, work has to seem better than the alternative. A teeny little tap doesn't do much.


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## Odin (May 3, 2010)

A lazy horse will try and find as many possibilities to get away with it and each time he gets away with it he knows he can try it again. Now to simply find the solution. I would agree with the crop but as you said you no longer wish to depend. 
I had a lazy horse, I found a few odd little things really helped. Horses rely on your body language (as I'm sure you're away). I try and think light and try and think energetically and I've been amazed how my mood transcends. I try talking to him, a really up beat tone I click I kick a little more I try and think those light energetic thoughts I try and make sure my posture is correct. 
It's hard with some horses, some are just so persistent. I really hope you find something to keep him going.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

I haven't read all the post but I am hoping you have ruled out pain and health issues. You might try a little red blood cell, could be a vitamin deficiency. Sure woke up my horse that I thought was lazy. I gave about 25% of the suggested dosage


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## RideroftheWind (Jul 15, 2009)

Whoa I thought this thread died months ago...  I guess not.


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