The fix for the lazy horse can be done while doing any riding exercise. The first thing that makes a horse responsive or lighter is having a clear cue. A cue is something that you ask the horse and can get the horse to do. That means a cue to stop will be picking up the reins. That would be a cue to stop. A pre-cue is something you do before the cue. A pre-cue is "ho." If I go forward and I say "ho," and he doesn't stop, I'm going to say "ho" and pick up the reins to say "That meant stop." So pretty soon, when I go forward and I say "ho" the horse stops. So a pre-cue is something you do before a cue that makes a horse lighter and more responsive. It's the same thing with your legs. What do you do before you use your legs? You sit forward, pick up the reins, kiss to them. But what's the first that you do before you squeeze or kick your horse? You take your legs out. You take your legs out, then you bring them together. So practice that. Practice taking your legs off and if he doesn't move, then tell the horse "Hey, that meant move" with a kick. And when you bring them together, be prepared to kick them until something happens. So practice that and pretty soon, when you take your legs away from the horse's side (as if to kick), that'll mean "move forward." So I'm not using my legs to keep kicking my horse. Practice this and remember, when you bring them together, bring them together hard enough to get a change of leg speed. If you kick him and you just kick him to keep him going, then…
You’ll continue trotting, using the next 30 or 40 feet to prepare. Ask for the lope (sorry, “canter”), and shut the horse back down immediately after the fourth stride. Do your best to make it exactly four strides because the objectivity will help prove to you whether you have control or not.
What you’ll find with horses that typically become agitated when asked to lope is that after 10, 20, or 30 minutes of this speed up, slow down business, they’ll begin to relax. Why? Because they see the rhythm, realize it’s a simple request and that it’s no big deal. We’re just asking them to lope a few strides, not forcing a new gait down their throats with no end in sight. Horses who are new to loping don’t know how to balance themselves and the rider. They feel like they’re going to tip over and speed up to compensate, in effect using centrifugal force to keep from falling over. It takes time for them to learn balance and build the necessary muscle. Until then catering can be a frightening thing best eased into.
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When you're teaching your horse to back up, remember that the farther you back up, the worse your back up gets. Think of it this way: If you want your horse to quiet down at a lope, you lope him, right? The longer you lope, the quieter the horse gets. And, yes, if you do this a lot, they'll get stronger and be able to go longer – but they will have learned to relax as long as you leave them alone as you ride. As long as you leave them alone and don't give them a reason to get more nervous, they'll relax. Just sit up there and relax, maybe sing a song.
Best Start For An Unbroke Horse
• Round Pen Work
• Spooking, Catching
• Sack Out, 1st Ride
• Stopping & Backing
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If I were to back up long enough, the horse would relax – and get lazy – in their back up. If I wanted to make his back up or spin faster, then what I have to do is quit while they're speeding up, not when they're slowing down. So when I'm working on backing up, I may not care about the proper frame, I may just be concentrating on the energy, on backing quickly. I'll get the impulsion quick – and then quit. Maybe the horse was in the correct frame, maybe it wasn't. The bottom line is that if I quit when the horse is showing the energy, he'll get faster and faster. But if I quit otherwise, he'll get lazier and lazier. He may be quieter and calmer, but I'll lose his performance in the movement.
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There are certain products that every long-time Lyons fan carries in his equine tool kit. They're the "gotta haves." Here are a few essentials - as recommended by this John Lyons Certified Trainer, Keith Hosman.
