Zeus has very little go when I ride him. Many people have told me ‘just lunge him, that’ll get him going’. I recognise that sorting problems from the ground is far better than trying to solve them ridden. I am also mindful of the fact that a horse that doesn’t move its feet when you ask it to go, planned on never going in the first place. When a horse plans not go when asked, one must ask ‘well what did he plan to do?’. So get him forward on the ground. But how? I don’t want to drive him.
I use my lead and encourage him up to a trot. That’s half the battle, but what about canter? I move my trotting horse over to the long side, so that he arrives at the wall as he comes around. Without driving or increasing my energy, I encourage him to go up a gear using the lead rope. Voila! Canter transition. So I have addressed the issue of a horse not going forward, uncovered possible inclinations to buck rather than flow through and I havn’t upset my horse by chasing him. Happy trails!