Exercises to improve walk

[Gixer]

Right now Glen is proving that he's actually quite fit I need to work on his walk, heading away from the yard its like riding a seaside donkey! and we spend half our time trotting to catch up with the others!

Any tips/ideas for getting a more energetic walk from him? he can do it when he wants to, I'd like to get his forward active walk when I want it though!

[shoveltrash]

i like your new siggie strip!

hmmmm.......this subject has the potential of sparking some interesting discussion, regarding "motivation."  because you get into the highly debated territory of -R & +R .  you could employ CT.  or you could 'ask a bit' (light leg aid, backed up with a tap tap with stick), 'get a response' then let him slow back down on his own.  & again, 'ask a bit, get a response' ad infinitum - with a JOYFUL intention!  always always, and rewarding for an increase in energy .
"oh what a GOOD BOY, SUPER!!!!"

and then there is the subject of rider.......is the rider blocking the horse somehow? (probably not the case here )
or is the rider dulling the horse unintentionally?
it's all about getting a horse responsive to the lightest of aiding.  being consistent, and fair.

Glen looks like such a lovely boy

[SueC]

I'm finding more and more that's it not worth worrying about it.  Make sure there's nothing blocking him and then just get the horse fitter and happier about going out.  Bareback can be a good way of assessing what the walk is really like.  It's much harder to block when riding bareback.

We used to work on getting an active walk with the more sticky horses and insisting on no dribbling, now we relax about it, ask once and take the walk we get, oddly the walks have become better all by themselves. 

YMMV

[issywizz]

Suuuueeeee, why is it harder to block when riding bareback please?

I have found this to be true  ( especially canter) but I didnt know if it was just me 

[thecatsmother]

Suuuueeeee, why is it harder to block when riding bareback please?

I have found this to be true  ( especially canter) but I didnt know if it was just me  

Because we I can't brace ourselves myself against the stirrups (even slightly) and sort of be "on" the saddle but not "in" the saddle truly being with the back's movement.

Because there's more immediate feedback when we I lean/twist/drop a shoulder/otherwise contort our my upper body as we I  throw our my weight out of balance  i.e. we I  would start to slide off, so we I sit up straighter with better posture and even weight distribution.

Because flapping/nagging with the lower legs for more "go" actually often makes us me actually tense the hips/buttocks higher up, so blocking the forward movement at a more fundamental level than the legs are apparently asking for it, and bareback we I tend to be more fixated in wanting a smoother ride   so we I am very careful not to ride with handbrake on and constantly dumping the clutch/pumping the gas pedal - no kangaroo jumps please  

We think it's working very well  ("we" in this instance being Sue and me and Chocky   )

[Naiad]

I sort of noticed this yesterday. I was doing walk work and it was good work - I did not appear to be blocking Amigo as he was moving well. Then during the ride I switched to stirrupless for a bit (not quite bareback, but takes the stirrup out of the equation), and we started to walk around. At first, I felt a bit of tension in my thigh/leg (probably what I had been carrying with me with the stirrups) so I then deliberately got rid of that tension which was easy to do while stirrupless.

This made me realize that even without knowing it and even in a nice position and with Amigo riding well, I might sometimes carry some small degree of tension. I think that I may do a fair amount of slipping out of the stirrups during my rides as a regular "check" on myself for relaxation...

[issywizz]

  thanks Lesha, not the Royal 'we' then 

But what about that vid that got posted in society a while ago? do you remember? parelli-ite bouncing all over the horses back bareback 
Before seeing that I would have reccomended it for people to get a better feel of harmonising with the horse but not so sure now 

[winnieandben]

I have been told in dressage tests that my horses walk is too slow (lacking impulsion)  and that she needs a bigger over track in free walk.  I dont want to end up nagging her though  so will just stick at her own pace.  (I dont actually think its that slow!)

[SueC]

Oh, sorry I meant in walk.  If you're walking bareback on a loose (or no) rein and start clamping with your thighs, or gripping up, you're likely to start to lose your balance, so have to learn to release a bit.  Perhaps I should say it's easier to block with a saddle, without realising you're doing it.

I think many people find they block trot or canter less when riding bareback than they do with a saddle, as they're concentrating on staying with the horse and keeping their balance, which is easier if you're relaxed and going with it.  Rhythm and comfort becomes more important than impulsion, which can have a nice effect and free the horse. 

OTOH, some people would deliberately block the horse more in trot and canter bareback, in their efforts to keep it as slow and easy to ride as possible.

[issywizz]

Makes sense, thanks 

[Gixer]

wow now there is some "should have been obvious" sense...
I have noticed that when I ask (nag) for more forward I lose the motion in my seat so must be blocking him.
Will just have to think more forwards I know he listens to my seat as if I slow the motion in walk he slows will have to see if the reverse is true.
It could just be that he doesn't like leaving his girlfriend

[shoveltrash]

hmmm.....now thinking i need to hop on bareback to test these theories

Gixer fantastic!  self-awareness is the first step .  plus it IS oh-so-hard to leave a girlfriend behind!

[thecatsmother]

wow now there is some "should have been obvious" sense...
I have noticed that when I ask (nag) for more forward I lose the motion in my seat so must be blocking him.
Will just have to think more forwards I know he listens to my seat as if I slow the motion in walk he slows will have to see if the reverse is true.

Yes,  this is what I was finding, the more I used my lower legs the more my hips/buttocks were tensing up, i.e. blocking him  . I'd just add that one thing to be wary of if you try, as you say, doing the reverse of slowing the motion, is that you don't inadvertently end up driving with the seat. I find it useful to concentrate instead on fully allowing the dropping of each hip in turn as that leg steps under. I used to concentrate on feeling the lifting of the hip on the side of the hind leg on the ground, but it turns out that in "allowing" that hip to rise, I was ever so subtly tensing the other side and sort of holding my backside on the saddle instead of actually sitting on it i.e. in my keenness to not block the lifting of the back, I was inadvertently blocking the stepping under of the hind in the air  . n.b. this was even more of a breakthrough for me in sitting trot i.e. concentrate on allowing each hip to drop in turn rather than focussing on the rising one. So concentrate on a big sweeping movement of your hips and see what you get   Let us know how you get on!  

[Naiad]

I find it useful to concentrate instead on fully allowing the dropping of each hip in turn as that leg steps under.

I will try this evening when I ride!

[SueC]

So concentrate on a big sweeping movement of your hips

NB: Chocks is a big moving warmblood, some may sweep more than others.