Aida warming up warmblood mare Tesse
I read a lot of people looking for horses that are more “whoa than go”. I tried to figure out why someone would want a “lazy” horse. But then I realised that what they probably mean is that they want a horse who won’t bolt, or become overly nervous at the canter.
I am assuming that people who want a slow horse are more interested in quiet trail rides, perhaps even only at a walk. I am a huge fan of trail rides and enjoy every minute out in the bush just meandering and letting my horse enjoy the surroundings without focusing on doing a specific task.
When going to riders who would like to ride a certain discipline be it dressage, raining or show jumping, it is so important to have a horse that will GO, and by that I mean move forward.
A horse is a pray animal and has a very strong flight response. In its mind it says, run and ask questions later. If you observe your herd, if they get spooked, they will often run a short distance and then stop and reassess. This can also happen when they are ridden. A horse might spook at the goblins in the corner, or at the proverbial plastic bag flapping in the wind. The horse might tense up take a few hurried strides away from the object and then stop and look.
Then there is the outright bolt when I horse loses all sense of reality and just blunders off at top speed. As a rider, you NEVER, ever want to experience that, it is beyond terrifying – trust me I have tried it a couple of times and wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
When you train a horse under saddle, you are the Apex predator, sitting on their back no less.
Therefore, it is of paramount importance to teach the horse that speed is not the same as flight. These are two very different things. When horses are young and start to experience their own ability to run, it can somehow scare them as their flight instinct is so closely associated with speed.
We as responsible riders and trainers need to make sure our horses are comfortable moving at varying speeds without provoking the instinctual flight response. If you train your horse to go a little faster than you might think is his comfort zone, soon he will understand that speed is part of the job that is being asked and not something to fear. You need to teach your horse that you are in charge and that what you ask is part of his job, and that when you do ask for it, he knows you are there to protect him.
In dressage we don’t use flat out speed at any point; however, training a dressage horse to gallop will do wonders for their ability to use their body correctly. During daily dressage training sessions, the main focus is having the horse thinking forward. Moving forward is very different from rushing, which is so counterproductive in training. You want your horse to move his body and understand where his legs are going, all the while, doing it freely.
After all, who wants a ranch horse plodding after a herd of stampeding cows? We want a horse who can run like there was fire in his behind after the cows, and then stop up and cut the cows without any frazzle 😊
Jessica galloping her Canadian mare Moxy (bitless bridle - dressage saddle!).