 |
Re: [RC] Was Tailgating, now Improving the Walk - rdcarrieTry alternating sides when you bump him. Watch his rib cage for a few strides as he walks...you'll notice it swinging slightly from side to side. Get into the rhythm of bumping him lightly with your left leg as his ribcage swings to th eright. Next step, rib cage will swing to the left, so bump him with your right leg. Think of it as giving the rib cage an extra push in the direction it's going. You'll feel him start to walk faster, with a longer stride. Your legs will get tired after awhile - you need to keep doing it with each stride as you walk along, otherwise they'll slip right back into the pokey walk. Eventually, he'll learn to walk out better. In 2004 I borrowed a friend's old gelding (had him at my place) to do some rides on...had him abut 7 months or so. He was a tall horse, but had a horrible walk, and I abhor horses with slow walks. So I every single time we rode, I spent some time working on his walk. He did improve.&nb
sp; When I gave him back to my friend, and she rode him, one of the first things she said was, "You've been working on his walk!" :) I'm fortunate that my 6 1/2 year old has a pretty good walk, and my 5 year old has a truly outstanding fast walk.
Good luck,
Dawn in East Texas (slow walks drive me nuts!) -----Original Message----- From: WRSINOSKY@xxxxxxx To: tref@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 16:49:35 EST Subject: [RC] Tailgating Okay...so I'm going to come from the other side of this problem. My horses will stay with the horse in front, and aren't too difficult to keep at a reasonable distance. Doimas was ponyed by Sebastian for over a year when he was a baby, and he had a great ground eating walk at the time. Had no choice actually, because Sebastian would have drug him. My problem is if Doimas is alone, he has a tendency of goofing around and not exerting any energy into his walk. On the way home, of course, it's a different story, but when I'm conditioning him around my home, he really lollygags. I've tried the bumoing him with my heels at each stride to push him along, and he ignores me. When I do get him to move out a little, he goes about three strides, then starts daydreaming again. I can't think of any other word to describe it. Suggestions??? Cindy Edwards M33041 Buckeye, AZ
|