I've delt with this problem recently. My mare had a lethargic walk at
times when she was not excited or in a hurry to get somewhere. I tried
getting animated myself as you said you have done. That didn't work at
all.
The solution I've found is dressage in the off season. From November
through February or March each year, we do dressage once a week. Usually,
that's the only ride I get in each week during the winter, due to weather
and lack of day-light.
Dressage accomplishes several things beneficial to all the horse's gaits.
1) It builds the topline and tones the abdominal muscles to allow the horse
to carry itself better and not just shuffle along. 2) It improves the
horse's balance, so it is not falling on the forehand. 3) It improves the
rider's balance so they are not interfering with the horse's movement.
In finding a dressage instructor, seek one who is a serious rider, Grand
Prix level, and one who has an indoor arena if you live in a wintery place.
If cost is a problem, get a group of riders together for a class as I did
and save a bundle of $. Don't expect to see results overnight. It's great
fun and a wonderful break from cabin fever.
Linda Van Ceylon Colorado State University
lvanceylon@vines.colostate.edu Property Accounting
phone: 970-491-1428 122 Johnson Hall
Fort Collins, CO 80523
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Original Text
>From nancyc@nwlink.com (Nancy Churchill), on 2/14/96 5:13 PM:
To: endurance@moscow.com
My horse, Chavo, has many wonderful qualities, but his walk is not one of
them. He has this plodding, slow, take-me-to-the-knackers walk that I just
can't seem to improve. Even when on a loose rein on a downhill on the way
home, his walk is just plain POKEY! In addition, he trips frequently at the
walk, but hardly ever at the trot.
After spending the winter mostly walking, due to poor trail conditions, I'm
out of ideas. Any encouragement to increase the speed of the walk (legs,
stick, voice or a combination) results in either improvement for a few
steps, or movement into a trot. I'm using more energy to get the horse to
walk on than it would take me to walk the trail myself! I swear!
So if any of you have any ideas about teaching an old horse (he's 15) a new
trick (a faster walk), I'd be very interested. In the meantime, I have
decided to do more work at a Very Slow Trot.
Nancy Churchill nancyc@nwlink.com Redmond, WA