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Annabelle is a lazy walker. I'm not sure how much of that was trained in, but she is capable of a pretty good, ground-covering walk. Most days I put her on the lunge before I ride and have her march around the arena in a bigger walk a couple times. Even when the steps are big, it doesn't seem like a forward thinking walk though. She is more pokey under saddle, though it has been getting better with the pre-ride marching and a little more encouragement from the saddle. I'm looking for other suggestions though, as I know it's easy to ruin the walk, but this sluggishness isn't going to cut it in the dressage arena.

StraightForward wrote:I know it's easy to ruin the walk, but this sluggishness isn't going to cut it in the dressage arena.

I think it's easy to ruin the walk by trying to collect it, not by trying to get it more forward.

I put off working on the walk for a long time because I was worried about ruining it (although it was probably more because I prefer to trot), but then when I did start working on walk I was just careful to make sure I was aware of the rhythm and didn't let the walk start to get more 2 beat instead of 4.

Does she ever walk with purpose? Like on a trail ride? Or coming in at meal time?

I know you're just starting your journey with her, but have you had her out on the trail at all?

Bliss can start off very pokey indeed in the arena at home, so I warm him up on the trails or doing something fun outside the ring for the first 10-15 minutes. He's naturally more forward outside of the arena because he's less confined. Then when I get him into the ring he's got that forward marching walk established for the day and keeps it fairly well (with occasional encouragement) in the arena.

heddylamar wrote:Does she ever walk with purpose? Like on a trail ride? Or coming in at meal time?

Not really. Her QH side is western pleasure bloodlines, so maybe the pokey walk is just built in. It's funny, because she is pretty forward in trot and canter.

I haven't had a chance to get her out on trails yet. We have to trailer out to get to a trail.

I can't remember if you subscribe to Karen Rolhf...I subscribed to the video library and there is a very interesting video under the "foundations" heading that might be of interest to you. It's a lesson she is giving to a 2nd level dressage rider who has no background in natural horsemanship. The horse is sticky. Not exactly "pokey" but the fundamentals may be similar to Annabelle's. If you have access to the videos, I can look up the title of that video and post it for you. She does the work mostly in the arena and a little bit outside the arena, not on a trail but just out in the area right outside of the arena. She shows some "eye opening" comparisons of how the rider is using her seat, both before they get the horse unstuck and after.

Tio starts out with a pokey walk but he now marches along just fine. To improve his walk, I work on it when he's on the lunge and do not accept the trot until he marches in the walk--likewise, i do not accept the canter until he tracks up in the trot. At any rate, up in the saddle, i very early in his training went to raised cavelletti. Initially they were only about 4-6" off the ground, spaced 9ft apart and the goal was to get him march through them without hesitation, without a change in stride. He seemed to take it as a game (he likes to jump) and learned very quickly. Gradually, he learned to keep that stride and tempo throughout the arena. Btw, there's never an issue out in the trail. I do try to think "marching in a parade" when we're walking and I know from experience, it is best to sit quietly while thinking positively.

Thanks, but she lamed herself up again today, so won't be able to try any of these ideas for a bit.

What??? Mares aren't supposed to be as self destructive as the boys..I thought. Kyra is always available (although very out of shape). Life has kind of thrown me a few curveballs so she has been sitting.

Karen Rohlf always has you checking in on the energy level. If it isn't what YOU want, get after them (leg or voice or stick...whatever works without fireworks) and to go past the energy level you have in mind...knowing they are going to back off and when they do you hopefully arrive at the energy level/stride length you want. No nagging or pecking...ask, expect and then leave them alone. Rinse and repeat if necessary. I often have to do this with Kyra in our warm-up but it usually only takes one or two reminders before she gets to her marching 'business' walk.

I guess I just have this effect on horses. :/. Hopefully she'll be good to go again by mid-week. She has bodywork scheduled for Monday night since she scraped hair off her loin, had cuts on her face, knee and pastern in addition to all the big scrapes on her left hind. Too bad for her I've got some new motivation to do in-hand stuff so long as she can walk.

Once she's back in business, I'll get after her a little more. I'm thinking throwing in a couple trot transitions earlier in the warmup might help. The combo of TB and western pleasure QH bloodlines is kind of interesting. She can be a little hot, and also a little pokey. I think the training can accentuate one or the other over time, but it's kind of all over the place right now.

I am following this for ideas have similar issues in fact 1 judges comments were pony barely walking at times. We are now working on my not blocked my her by allowing my hands to move with her and my hips, I unconsciously stop my hips from moving with pony at walk so I try to ensure they sashay along with her. I can feel the difference having tried this with closed eyes at a walk in the arena. Also being consistent in insisting on a forward walk rather that a poorly even in a lose rein has helped.

Lots of good ideas in this thread. Here are the things that I did to get large walk...

1. Stop starving my horse to diet him. Even though he is a bit overweight, I feed him calories so that he can work. My choice seems to be thin horse with no energy or overweight with energy. I pick the latter. I think he is metabolic in this way.

2. Train the walk on the trail and bring it in the arena. Get into the bridle and stay there. Don't block. To see if I am blocking the walk, I swing my legs with the hinds. If the walk gets bigger then I was blocking with my hips. Stay over the back with the neck lowered and nose very far out.

3. Make sure they are sound and even.

Okay, so try to make the desired behavior more attractive than the undesired behavior.

You want to allow the horse to choose what you would like.

First make sure you are not closing the door on them with hands or seat.

Second. Make the undesired behavior less attractive. So anytime a horse lags I move it off the leg til it becomes more attractive to go forward. By which I mean off the leg sideways.

Reward the forward moments

Kyra Kyrklund's book (from long ago) had a great illustration about forwardness that really rang true for me. She liked getting forward in the horse like pushing a sled, as long as the sled is going at a good clip leave it alone, ONLY once it starts to fade off give it a push to build the energy back again. Same with the horse (again as others have said, make sure you are not blocking with hand or seat, but I also don't like a driving seat here) as long as they keep the energy up and going stay quiet, when they begin to tail off, get after them.

I had to do this with Rip, not so much about the walk per se, but to be able to keep that energy from marching walk into the trot. It really makes sense to be able to feel the trot in the walk, feel the canter in the trot. That level of energy makes it easier to ride the horse.

SF so sorry about your mare getting banged up, I swear horses!!

Khall, I picked up some of her videos when the VHS copies were being cleared out for 99 cents. I need to make a point of actually watching them! She is pretty forward at trot and canter, it's just the walk that feels like molasses.

SF if she has WP bloodlines then she may have difficulty with the swing and reach needed for a big forward walk. My boarder horse (the one we just lost beginning of the month) was WP bred and just did not have the flexibility for much overstride or reach at the walk. If you asked for more he would often just give you trot. You could judiciously ask but just not expect much from him and it certainly was not in his genes to have a big walk! So I wonder if focusing on building flexibility with Annabelle (hey that in hand work!) using the lateral work to do so would really help her.

One of my WBs, Gaila, Rip's younger sister, also did not have a big active walk. Two things I think really helped her, the in hand work building that flexibility (she is a big muscled horse) and the work on the lunge asking for activity. Was watching her lately as I am taking her out to pasture and now she is over striding a good 6-8 in with a good free shoulder and swing the hip.

Sometimes the "lack of desire" for a big walk is also lack of gymnastic ability. If the horse is tight through the shoulder and rib cage then "big walk" is only going to be "fast walk down hill" so you really need to look at her ability to reach under with the inside hind leg and "forward and around" with the outside fore and hind. I'd be looking at exercises that expand the rib cage on the outside, firstly in-hand then under saddle. Including poles in a fan where the outside has to reach further and then lots of changes of direction that include change of rotation in the back.

Then when you add energy you will have more reach.

Thanks, Bats and Khall. She is capable of a pretty good walk, like overstriding by a hoof length, but it's not her built-in gear, so it takes effort, and she'd rather do it s-l-o-w-l-y. The pole fan is a good idea. We'll be doing walk work in-hand this week as she recovers from her most recent accident.

She's kind of weak in the loin and seems to need to put extra effort into the big walk and maybe doesn't have the strength to do it yet with a rider, so I'm thinking plenty of in-hand marching each training session, and limiting the mounted walk work for a while.