Horse won’t move forward
Today’s horse training question comes from Chris. He writes: “my two year old horse I just purchased has been started with basics I tried riding him but he won’t move. He just stands trys to cow kick my boot. Do you have any tips for me?”
Hi Chris, this is actually a very similar problem to the one Shiloh wrote in about a few days ago.
To correct this problem teach your horse to disengage the hindquarters. This is what I teach each time I have a horse who won’t move forward off my leg, and I teach it on the ground before I get on a colt for the first time so they will have a way to understand what my leg pressure means the first time I get on them.
Begin teaching this exercise from the ground with either a halter and lead rope or your bridle. Stand to one side of him, and ask him to move his hips over by walking towards him, swinging your rope, etc. You are looking for his inside hind foot to step across in front of his outside hind foot. It is very important that the inside hind foot actually crosses in front of the outside hind. His front feet should stop all forward motion when he crosses over with his hind end. By asking your horse to step under himself in this way, you are taking away his ability to brace against you. Once your horse will disingage the hindquarters on both sides on the ground, teach it from the saddle. Once you are on his back, take your rein on one side, walk him forward, and pick up on the rein, bending his head to the side and asking him to step under with the inside hind foot. If he bends his neck but keeps walking a straight line, bump him with your inside leg until he steps over with his hindquarters.
Thank you for your horse training question!
