Prior to the first horseback riding lesson, new riders frequently worry about their horse making a break for it and running off. However, the more typical issue during horseback riding for beginners is just the reverse: it is difficult to get the horse moving.
This is particularly demoralizing for the raw beginner, who hasn't developed enough leg power to deal effectively with a sluggish animal. He doesn't know what else to but kick and hope for the best.
While horseback riding lessons are not designed to teach you specifically to nag your horse with your legs, there are steps that you can learn to help you cure your horse of his laziness.
Potential Causes of Laziness
Before you can motivate your horse you should try to figure out why he is feeling so lazy. If your horse is accustomed to spending hours each day with unbalanced and inexperienced riders on his back, he may have learned to "switch off" or block out the commands of student riders.
Other lazy horses may be overweight (a common and understandable reason for sluggishness) or have feed or medical explanations for their lack of energy. If you own the horse, check to see what the source of the problem is and what you can do to give him more pep.
How to Wake Up a Lazy Horse
Bring a short whip with you to the horseback riding lessons, but make certain that you do not accidentally hit the horse with it.
Ask your horse to start off at a walk with quiet legs and should he fail to do so, emphasize your request with a sharp jab of your heels. If that prompts him to move on, rub his neck and say "good boy."
If he doesn't do as requested, tap him on the shoulder while applying your leg. You should get a reaction without having to resort to smacking him on his rear end, but if you do need to, make it one swift reinforcement of your leg aid.
Walk for about half the distance you want to go and bring the horse to a complete stop. Start at the beginning with simply asking the horse to walk, and repeat the steps above as needed until he will begin to walk without extensive prodding. Continue working with your horse until all you need to do to make him energetically walk is to brush his sides with your legs. Make sure to praise your horse when he responds.
In the same manner as you got him to start walking in the first place, ask him to move from walking to trotting. By this time the horse ought to be responding to you and paying attention to your aids. Should he "forget," support your aids with a brisk pop of the whip.
If you will maintain a consistency with this method, your horse should quickly learn that he might as well react appropriately the first time. And you should be on the way to building a riding camaraderie built on mutual respect which will be enjoyable for you both.
Beginners, visit Jim Milton's horse riding instruction website to learn how to ride a horse and read more from Milton's horseback riding lessons.
