Or just pick up a book with exercises and play. You can identify areas that need work and find exercises to address those. The better books will identify common difficulties and advise how to handle them.
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Ride her in a field or pasture. You can do flat work there.
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I’ll take her! 
That’s my favorite type. But I also agree with much of the above. Sometimes, all it takes is some variety. Even doing poles. A little outside the arena. And variety in the flatwork that isn’t just hunter hacking around.
On a sensitive horse, you might also be used to hugging them. It’s usually more leg on a sensitive type and actually more leg off on a duller type. So when you apply the aids to the duller horse (albeit perhaps more sharply than you’d do on a sensitive horse), they hear it. And don’t just squeeze and grip and push all the time. Remember to allow them to go, give them room under you to move.
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Update: I’m going for it! If the owners are willing to sell within our budget, she’s too close to what I want to pass up. Thank you all for the advice on how to motivate her! Unfortunately, I don’t have access to a field, but I can “trail ride” around our property a little bit. I will look into adding lots of variety to our flatwork. I’m thinking most weeks we’ll jump 2x, trail ride 1x, and flat 2x.
Thanks again! 
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I think you made a wise decision and will be fine. 
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Good luck and fingers crossed for you! You can still do lots of flatwork exercises on the trail if you don’t have a field 
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I think you made a good choice. Good luck! Look up different training patterns. And have fun. I use a lot of patterns I learned feom Amelia Newcomb videos. She is a dressage trainer, but her patterns are for any horse and rider. She has a ton of videos on YouTube. Try some!
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I hope you will be very happy with each other! Post pics once it’s official
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Congratulations!!
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Lazy on the flat or non responsive. You can work on both but it will take time. What kind of true physical shape is she in? Too many don’t train horses for proper self carriage, they just slap spurs on the rider.
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She’s in great shape ridden/walks on the treadmill 5/6 times a week, my trainers definitely keep an eye on proper self carriage they’ll want me to learn her buttons better before wearing spurs to refine my aids I’m thinking
I’m late but getting her was the right decision, IMO!
I have a similar story here… I am riding about to lease a similar horse.
I am a former dressage rider turned jumper who has always leased forward horses. I pride myself on my flat riding and rarely struggle due to my years and years of dressage from ages 12 onward. My whole identity as a rider was tied up in the “quiet rider who makes hot horses look calm”.
Jokes on me, I had no idea how to ride something that wouldn’t shoot off if you even thought the word “canter”…
TLDR horse that is very similar to the one you describe is one I now I adore.
I started riding him in Julyish of this year & I cried the first time I rode him & I only flatted him - I don’t think I could steer properly or get him to canter. And I used to school 4th level movements… I cried on the way home thinking I should just quit riding because now at 34 this was getting embarrassing. I was exhausted after 20 minutes of walking and trotting.
I had a random fall in January off another horse that sent me to the ER and this horse was said to be an absolutely saint of a hunter/eq who would help me find my “wings” again.
Now in early December after riding him 3x a week since mid July I am having an absolute BLAST because we worked on basic responsiveness. Be sharp and loud and then be quiet. Now I don’t remotely need to be as sharp and loud from the initial aid.
He was made dull by a lot of riders with varying degrees of finesse or lack thereof - he is still a horse where you have to ride the energy, especially out of corners, but I am not squeezing and kicking for it every stride. He’s teaching me so much and because he is “energy efficient” he doesn’t really spook, buck, scoot, etc.
He also had some time off and was ridden relatively backwards by a lot of folks, making him loose the muscle to be able to be responsive. So much of the last few months was improving both of our fitness and muscle control. Now after our initial walk and lateral warm up of a true 15+ minutes- we have a “hack winning trot” and a canter where I jump my first solid little hunter gate (in like 5 years) without peeing my pants.
I am able to ride him with loose dogs around - even loose horses - he remained still while I was able to dismount safely… when the sprinklers for the arena are on with him IN the arena, Amazon trucks barreling down the farm driveway… ears prick and a slow blink
To think I HATED him this summer…yeah. Now I am entertaining hunters and the adult eq with him because I am having fun and not “freaked out” on course.
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Love this! Makes me feel less nervous about my decision, I don’t want to be that person that can only ride the sensitive ones I need to learn to find the right buttons on the horses that don’t just go if you think it
My first thought the first time I rode this mare was “omg I can’t make it go, no way this is gonna work”
And then I started jumping and it was the most amazing feeling ever (jumped my first big oxer!) and I’ve improved a little bit the next two times I rode her its just a really big change compared to my current lease!
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Yep - I had no idea how to ride to a fence a less hot horse either I came to find out - not just my flat riding. All of my adult jumper career was on forward forward forward horses, which can give some confidence in certain ways, but also left me with what I now observe as an incomplete tool box!
I would leave strides out, I would sit back down too early over larger efforts because I needed to “sit” to feel secure on the backside where we’d gallop off at Mach 10 or have a little buck and play (I was stuck at .90s and would have rails on oxers), soo many things that riding a different style of horse is helping me fix!
Photos please when you’re ready!!
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For sure! I find out if her owners are going to drop their price to our budget this week and therefore if I get her or not 
fingers crossed
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Any news??
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Yeah- update? I missed this thread but my guy can be lazy on the flat(def NOT lazy o/f) and that is primarily what I do at home. So I throw in cavelletti or xrail into dressage training (he’s a jumper but we dabble in eventing) and it perks him up AMAZING.
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Still trying to agree on a price we’ll know by the end of the month, my trainers want to try and wait them out as they really want to keep this mare around!
Here’s a picture though
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Just looking at that horse’s face gave me a feeling of confidence.
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Aw, I loffs me a nice bay mare!
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