# Asking for Lope?



## mypaltrooper (Oct 28, 2014)

I have owned my horse for 2 years and before that he was a camp/trail horse. He's been out of consistent work for basically the past three years. He is ridden about 6-7 times a month. Last July, he was ridden Monday-Friday for a couple hours but he was mostly just standing there watching the campers do stuff. He only rode for maybe 30 minutes, and mostly at the walk. He's getting back into work, about to start riding 3 times a week. I've done a few rides with him in the past month and he's having trouble loping. I don't know if it's him doing it on purpose (he is a very lazy, stubborn horse- does not like to be ridden) because he knows if he doesn't do what I ask it will frustrate me. OR if he honestly just can't do it. OR if I'm asking wrong. I'll explain how it goes to the best of my ability:

I read to properly ask for lope, you apply pressure with inside leg and apply pressure with outside rein. I had this working when I had a guy there helping me, but I didn't really hear what he was saying- I just did exactly what he said as he said it. Now, it doesn't seem to work. So I also tried to applying more pressure at the walk. This is how he used to go into lope at the camp he used to do. 

So, I ask for lope and he picks up lead and drops it like one stride later. He hops into and then falls out of it. If he does stay in the lope, he will fall out several strides later. Sorry this is a really bad explanation. 

What is the "proper" way to ask a western horse to lope? Right now I have him on tight reins (like English) but I really want to get to super loose reins with voice commands! Opinions are appreciated!!


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## Jumping4Joy (Jan 29, 2014)

If you haven't cantered your horse in a while, it could very well be you causing the problem. You can be throwing your horse off balance, and/or anticipating him doing that and he understands the vibes you're giving off.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## mypaltrooper (Oct 28, 2014)

So how do I fix my throwing him off?


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

More ways have probably been devised for asking for a canter or lope than for any other gait. A good resource for learning the many alternative methods is Martin Diggle’s book “Masters of Equitation on Canter”. Gathering knowledge from a variety of sources including those outside our immediate area of interest can often prove very beneficial. I remember seeing a telephone and security systems man using fiberglass poles to push wires through wall insolation much more efficiently than the wire “fish tape” used by electricians. It was only years later that I found such poles for sale in electrical supply stores.

There could be a number of reasons for the behavior you describe. Of course, the horse could simply be lazy. He could, also, have physical issues ranging from chronic joint problems to simply lack of strength and suppleness which can be resolved through proper exercises. Balance can be a big factor in both lope departs and sustaining the effort. 

A horse is balanced on only one leg during two phases of the lope, so the rider’s balance as well as the horse’s balance is very important. That said, it is the inside hind leg that works the hardest in a good quality lope. This can be witnessed through careful observation of the horse’s movements. The outside hind leg normally remains straighter as its primary function is to accept the weight of the horse as it comes out of the suspension phase of the movement and serve as a pivot while transferring the weight to the diagonal pair. In a good quality lope, the inside hind leg does the greatest job in both supporting the weight and in providing the energy for the next suspension phase which comes after the horse pivots over its inside front leg.

While the outside rear initiates the canter depart, the quality of the movement depends on the energy of the inside hind. That is why some riders use their inside leg as the primary cue – to activate the inside hind, asking it to step further beneath the horse and provide the driving force. If the horse’s center of gravity is located too far forward because the rider has failed to direct the horse to bring it back, or if the rider himself is balanced too much to the front, the horse’s inside hind leg with be less effective.

The horse’s inside hind leg needs to be both supple and strong to provide the necessary energy for a good lope, especially for the lope depart. This is where systematic development of the horse through proper exercising proves so beneficial. You will often see horse's that lack the necessary strength and flexibility draw their haunches to the inside to relieve the stress on the inside hind leg. If, in addition, the horse's body is stiffer on one side, you will notice the bend of the haunches more on this side.

Once a horse has developed a good lope, he can better respond to a verbal cue you suggest or, as I used on one horse, a simple drawing forward of my inside hip to indicate which lead I wanted the horse to assume.


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

Can/does he lope on the lunge line/round pen or out in the pasture? Ruling out pain is always the first step, but if he's been on vacation for awhile it's quite likely he's just grumpy about being put back to work.

Firstly, if he's a "western horse," give him his head - holding him in contact like an English horse is probably confusing him, because you are essentially asking him to stop & go at the same time. If he's lazy to begin with, I'm confused why you'd be riding with short reins anyway.

IME, western horses are typically cued with the outside leg - so if you're in a circle to the left aiming for a left lead, move your right leg back slightly and then many of us use a kissing sound to get him to lope off. If he's out of shape and used to getting away with not loping, it may be tough to get/keep him going - so even if he picks up the wrong lead at first, just get him loping! Even if you have to push your hands up towards his head and squeeze with both legs, get that horse going forward for a few strides.

Since he's out of shape, I'd be happy with even just 4-5 strides my first few requests, and ask him to come back to a trot or walk BEFORE he breaks on his own. If he breaks on his own, force him back into a few more lope strides - he has to be reminded that you are the boss and you control his speed. Gradually work up to more strides as he builds endurance.


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

We had a bit of a problem getting my greenie to lope. We suspected that he may have never been loped with a rider on board before so we gave him time to find his balance before worrying about the finer points. A camp horse may never have been loped or may not have been permitted to do it under saddle for so long that he doesn't believe you actually want him to do it.

What helped in the beginning stages wasn't so much trying to get the cues right (we just used a constant squeeze with both legs and a nudge from the seat) or pick up the correct lead as much as allowing our idea to become his idea. 

His favorite gait under saddle is the trot. He has about three different gears there. The nice soft trot that he could go all day with, the quick trot and the go as fast as you can possibly go at a trot without breaking into a lope. We utilized that third gear. Kept him at it until he eventually figured out it was less work for him to just slide into the lope. 

His first few attempts we dropped him back down to an easy trot after a few strides, and then brought him back up gradually for a few loping strides again. Eventually he started eliminating the crazy legs trot completely and just went into a lope. Then from there, we extended the time we allowed him to lope and started working on getting the correct leads and proper cueing. 

And, yes, give him his head....cynical is right, a western horse gets confused with a combination of a tight rein and a cue to go forward.


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## mypaltrooper (Oct 28, 2014)

Thanks for all the help! 
I'm sort of new to the terminology, as I learned kick to go and pull back to stop. I never learned the technical stuff. What exactly does a horse "drawing their haunches to the inside" mean and look like?

We currently don't have a round pen, but I do lunge him. He will lope, but he usually goes back into a trot before one circle is finished. Also, another side question- When lunging, he prefers to lunge in one direction, is thee any reason? I can't remember if it's clockwise or counter-clockwise, but I don't know if that matters.

I honestly never even thought of the fact that tight reins could be confusing him, but it's so obvious!

He was definitely loped under saddle as a camp horse, a good bit actually. I was the one riding him for a bout a year before I bought him! But six months before I actually got him, he was out of work. And for the past two years, I have been a very weak owner. I haven't made him do much of anything, and it's definitely come back to bite me in the butt.


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

mypaltrooper said:


> Thanks for all the help!
> I'm sort of new to the terminology, as I learned kick to go and pull back to stop. I never learned the technical stuff. What exactly does a horse "drawing their haunches to the inside" mean and look like?
> 
> We currently don't have a round pen, but I do lunge him. He will lope, but he usually goes back into a trot before one circle is finished. Also, another side question- When lunging, he prefers to lunge in one direction, is thee any reason? I can't remember if it's clockwise or counter-clockwise, but I don't know if that matters.


Lopes have leads. The right lead begins with the left hind. Then, the right hind and left fore strike together. Finally, the horse pivots its body over its right fore and glides through the air as it repositions its legs for the next stride. In the right lead, the horse's right shoulder and right hip travel slightly in advance of the left shoulder and hip. For a description of the left lead, simply change "right" to "left" and "left" to "right" in the preceding sentences.

It is generally easier for a horse to travel clockwise in the right lead and counter-clockwise in the left lead. If a horse's muscle are stiffer on one side than the other, the horse will prefer one lead over the other.

For example, a horse with a stiff right side will prefer to travel in the right lead and, thus, prefer to lope in the clockwise direction. This is because it can stretch the muscles more on its left side so that it can bend its haunches to the inside and relieve some of the stress on its inside (right) hind leg when traveling in the right lead. Many people fail to notice this crookedness in horses, but you have probably noticed dogs running with their butts to one side.

When cantering counter-clockwise in the left lead, the horse's stiff muscles on the right side of its body prevent it from carrying its haunches as far to the inside, and its left hind leg would have to work harder than its right hind leg had worked in the right lead. Therefore, this horse would prefer to canter clockwise in the right lead.


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