Cant get my horse going?

Question

i recently bought an arabian who i have to constantly squeeze my legs and kick just to keep him at a trot.... i can hardly canter him because if you stop sqeezing for a split second when your legs get tired he will stop and i have tried to use a crop with him but it just makes him fustrated and he kicks at other horses.....any suggesstions to keep him moving....my trainer says he is one of the most fit at the barn so i dont understand?.....he is about middle aged around 10 or 11 so he should still have lots of energy!

Answer 1

I rode a friends horse a long time ago that did that. I dont know if its the same case as your horse cause i dont know his history. But the person that rode the horse i rode used spears on him. So you would have to squeze very hard to get him going. But with spears it was just a little tap and he would move. But if you are going to use spears the lightly tap him with them and if it doesnt work then try something new, dont kick him with spears that will hurt like h**l.

But other wise i dont think he is lazy, he may be just testing you. If you are riding him for the first time then he may just want to see if he can get a way with anything. try to get a stronger bond with him. When i bought my first horse she was 15. She would try to go in the oppisite direction that i was going and kept either trying to canter, or not move. But with a littler persitance she learned that im not dealing with it. lol.

GOod luck!

Answer 2

If your using split reins get his attention by slapping him on the neck. Also you should wear spurs. That'll get his attention. He's trying to test his boundries as a lead horse and you need to let him know that you are the boss.

Answer 3

if you bought the horse knowing that, that would have been good. Well, I would keep 'showing him whose boss', and whenever he stops, jiggle his head a little with the reins, (not to harm him)so he is preoccupied, then squeeze with your legs. When he moves, pat his neck and talk calmly to him. If he stops when you  do that, immediately stop talking to him, or use a less calm voice and repeat. If this doesn't work, the best option I can give for you is to get those tiny spurs. I am not a big spur fan, but I had a pony that sounds like yours, and I had to use some English riding spurs, (not the spiky spinning ones lol)

hope I gave you some ideas!    :D

Answer 4

You should squeeze, if he doesn't respond, kick then if he doesn't respond give him one sharp smack where your leg would be to re-enforce the aid.  Keep him away from the other horses when you do this and you may find it better to try to school him on his own for a while so he nothing else to concentrate on except you.  

Do lots and lots of transitions up and down, in and out of the paces.  Trot to halt, come back to walk for just 3 to 5 strides, halt to trot, canter to halt etc until he is really listening for the next command.  The more transitions you do, the easier they become and the more responsive the horse.  In half an hour aim to do at least one transaction per minute.  It will not only give your horse more impulsion and make him more responsive but also help make him and you more balanced.

Answer 5

It sounds like you're horse is stubborn, arena sour, sore, or possibly has ill fitted tack.

Make sure when you're trying to get him going you give him firm signals with your voice, legs, and crop.

Also is your tack a proper fit? Is your girth/cinch on correctly, is it too tight? Is your horse perhaps sore? Is his skin being pinched? Check all this.

You could try spurs but you must make sure you know how to use them correctly and use them only for reinforcement, you cannot become dependant on your spurs. You always must use correct signals as well.

A few tips on using spurs:

-Never kick your horse with spurs, it'll just teach him to be afraid of your leg.

-Heels down, toes pointed so you don't accidently spur your horse.

To use spurs start out by lightly pressing and squeezing with your calf as normally. If he doens't go, give very gentle rythmic taps. If he still doesn't go, you can gently roll/rub the spurs.

If your horse is arena sour you could try going on a short trail ride or a ride around the farm yard. If he listens to you well then he's propbably arena sour. Make sure you don't always do the same thing in the arena or always go in the arena as your hrose may get bored.

And as for the kicking problem, make sure there's a red ribbon on your horses tail to let others know he kicks, whenever he stops to kick give him a sharp smack with your crop and firmly tell him to "move on." And try to keep him moving, its hard to kick while moving.

I hope this helps some of your problems!

Answer 6

When you use a horse he should not be around better horses.  For getting arabians you have to be a pretty good rider...so you should be able to stay on during a buck (they are kind of fun...!) and so he might throw one so be ready. Work longer and longeer on squeezing at all times!  Strengthen thoses muscles if the crop does not work!

Answer 7

try a short blunt pair of spurs a short sharp dig in the ribs is much better that constantly banging away on his side with your legs i think hes having you on a bit this often happens with a new combination

Answer 8

Well, one of the horses I used to ride had this problem and my trainer did the following. Before anyone rode him she made him walk and trot on the lunge every other circle at a fast trot and then the others at a slow trot. This will teach the horse that he needs to move even if there is no pressure from your legs. (this method works best without the use of a whip)

In the lesson you always had to wear spurs and you were not allowed to squeeze unless you were asking for a difference in speed instead you  had to use voive commands and your spur. (that is where the first part of trainig comes into play because your horse has to listen to voice commands like he did for the lounging)

if your horse stops kick (HARD) and say in a rough voice 'COME ON' then cluck.

Also, check your tack. Is the bit too heavy? is the cinch/girth adjusted correctly? And one more thing, this might sound stupid me saying this but, make sure your reins are slack so you are not pulling on his mouth AT ALL.

good luck

Answer 9

Sounds like he's lazy and is testing the waters with his new owner. Keep on him hard and make him work, he'll soon learn

Answer 10

Constantly kicking a horse in the sides does nothing positive, only negative...firstly, it eventually deadens their sides, secondly, it pisses them off so that they just want to fight you.  Go back to the round pen, do some ground work, get your horse responding a lot to verbal cues and when you do ride your horse in the round pen, first, use a verbal cue while you are squeezing his butt under him  and ask him to move on...if he doesn't the FIRST time, use the quirt...once, effectively!  Go back and repeat the process...begin walking from a standstill and get that down pat, then advance from the walk to a trot...don't let your horse dawdle and decide when he wants to respond, if he doesn't respond to your leg and verbal cues the first time, enforce the command with your quirt (short whip)...leave the spurs alone as well, it's another good way to over do things and p**s him off...be consistent...and when you do give verbal commands.., let it show in your voice..,obviously your voice should'nt have the same pitch to it when you are asking your horse change to a higher gait than when you are saying, "E-A-S-Y"   and are about to slow him down.  You can do a lot of this from the ground by ground driving him as well, then repeat what you have taught from the ground when you get in the saddle.

Answer 11

try spurs

Answer 12

Ok i have been thru lots of horses like this...I find that if u can't use a whip u probly won't be able to use spurs so wut I did was was learn the rythm of the trot and canter....trot has 2 beats to it and canter has thre fast beats. Soo I wud cluck or kiss over and over again while he's trotting and cantering...like this...say he's trotting u wud do this...cluck cluck..cluck cluck...cluck cluck...and the canter is cluck cluck cluck...cluck cluck cluck....cluck cluck cluck...I mean its hard work and sumtime frustrating but it works for me...

Answer 13

whip him with a whip

Answer 14

It seems to me like this horse has neither a bad attitude, is lazy or anything of that sort.

It is more likely to be a deeper routed problem. If he is already 10, then an arabian should be a thrill to ride, not a terror.

I think that prehaps this horse has never been taught how to ride.

A good schooling lesson is in order, and use all of your aids.

Make sure that you are clear (ie, don't pull on the reins even slightly when you kick him on, he'll jjust get confused), and also i find that instead of shouting at him or getting angry, when you want a healthy trot, say, "ha!" loudly, kick and tap on his shoulder sharply ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

It is much easier for a horse to stay in canter for a long time rather than trot, so i wonder if it is routed deeper.

if all else fails, ride out with another fast, easy going maybe younger horse.

Arabs are famous for showing off, so maybe if he sees another horse going off faster than him he'll want to catch up.

Then gradually start weaning him off.

It may be a long process, but that hrses all round i'm affraid!

Answer 15

Whip him and show him who is boss I just broke my two 3 year old paints and they were like that I whiped them and now they go when kicked.