Lunging the Dull Horse

[Lillijw]

My sweet percheron cross was sold to me as a trail horse who is great to ride. I guess the fine print would say great to ride if you force her. My goal is to teach her to lunge so we can work on w/t/c from the ground since she has big opinions on doing anything faster than a walk. It’s fairly obvious to me (an amateur) she is used to being ridden with a lot of pressure/a heavy hand. We have had to work on just placing a saddle blanket on her as she will start twitching her skin along her side and back in anticipation of pain.

All of that to say she is incredibly dull and unwilling to move in the lunge. The videos and resources I’ve seen are aimed more towards horses with plenty of go or even being flighty. I have a horse made of stone who could care less about the crop or lunge whip (I’m not doing anything more than a few firm taps to encourage her to move away from it with no luck). I really want to start her over so she’s excited to work again. Not beat her into submission. I would love to work on the babiest of steps to restart her but I need a great outline of what that is.

[JB]

Has PSSM1 been ruled out? What’s her diet, turnout, etc?

What have you tried so far that is, or isn’t, moving in the right direction? How long have you been working on this?

[Trekkie]

This may be obvious and perhaps you have ruled things out but it may be that she is unwilling to go faster than a walk because she is actually in pain. Start there if you have not and have a good vet go over her.

[Huntin_Pony]

And how old is she? What do you know about her previous situation?

Have you ridden her at all? How is she on trails with other horses in front?

I’m sure others will add questions too.

[GraceLikeRain]

Super dull is tricky because a lot of discomfort can manifest as being protective which seems like “dull”. Some horses will even take a pretty heavy hand to avoid trotting out on sore feet or stepping under with ouchy hocks, etc. I do think that a true lameness workup is always the most ethical place to start along with x rays of the feet a once over by a body worker and a saddle fit check. I know that’s a cavalier go drop like $1k depending on where you live but doing the investigation up front is really important. A horse sucking back from discomfort can explode if pushed really hard or engage in behaviors like front end popping or going backwards.

My ride is light as a feather when in front of the aids and a plodding cart horse if she can get away with it. I have gotten pretty good at getting very sharp on the ground and under saddle to be very clear because clear is kind and then the rest of the session can be very light and harmonious. I also am beyond paranoid about soundness and all of the things above to ensure that when I crack a lunge whip or she gets the business end of a dressage whip I am confident that she is physically comfortable and well supported to do the task at hand. If her feet are remotely ouchy or her glutes are tight or her blanket is making her shoulders sore or or or the stickiness dramatically increases. Every ride is a careful verification of where her body is at to ensure I’m being fair. If this is truly your horses nature you may want to weigh out whether that mental load is worth it. It can be fatiguing to be that focused on every single detail and expensive (body work, 2x/year foot x rays, saddle fit check every 3 months, BOT apparel, etc). I wouldn’t choose it again.

[paw]

How is she in turnout? Does she move out faster than a walk on her own accord? Can you “entice” her to do so?

She may be in pain. She may be completely shut down. How long have you had her? Did you see her go before you bought her?

Start with the basics - take her on walks, make her feel safe with you. Approach her as though she knows nothing, and have patience.

[Pico_Banana]

Agree with @GraceLikeRain. For my mare, if she has any tightness in her shoulders, she is slow as molasses. So you work through that with massage, stretching, groundwork, etc before you even get on. Then even when you get on, her back is a gradual warmup. Once you get her in a good place, she’s in front of the leg, has tons of push from behind, and feels like a rocket ship with an unlimited gas tank. But you can’t rush it.

Some specific ideas:

Get Jec Ballou’s book on corrective exercises. The ones I use most often are backing up, the labyrinth, the figure 8s over 3 poles, and the 6 meter circle. Lots of bending exercises in other words.

Try putting ground poles or cavaletti in your longe circle. Start with one. Eventually put another on the other side of your circle (3 and 9 for example). Once she gets that, put a second one next to the first one so you have two trot poles. My horse finds this very motivating.

Be willing to get some exercise along with her. Abandon the idea that you stay in the middle of the circle and only rotate. Use your body language to communicate. If you want a transition from your horse, you do a transition. Be willing to travel on a circle so your longe whip is in more direct communication.

Use positive reinforcement. Many people who hear me longe my mare think I’m a bit nuts, but lots of jubilant praise is very motivating for my mare.

Go slowly. Your horse may be out of shape. Take the small wins and bring her back to the walk after a quarter circle. Use repetition to your advantage. Always ask for an upward transition in the same place. Your horse will start to expect it and will be better prepared for your transition request.

Good luck! You can do this!

[Midge]

Is there a marked difference in how she went when you tried her?

[findeight]

How old was this horse represented as being?
Has the vet ever seen this horse?
Who did you buy her from-meaning people you have known well for some time, a dealer or from a private party off an ad?
Do you have a professional helping you?

There is a possibility she is just a placid draftie who finds things like lunging pointless or maybe she just does not know how because nobody ever taught her?

Need more information to form a meaningful opinion.

[Simkie]

@Lillijw

We have had to work on just placing a saddle blanket on her as she will start twitching her skin along her side and back in anticipation of pain.

Fwiw, this was a symptom of neurological wind up syndrome in my mare, which was caused by arthritis in her neck. It wasn’t an anticipation of pain–she WAS in pain, just from the saddle pad. Her nervous system was so ramped up, light touch hurt her.

This doesn’t sound like a training issue, but a veterinary one.

[findeight]

I missed the twitching when touched by the saddle blanket part. Some people shrug off all sorts of behavior as “it is because they were abused” glossing over the real causes-bad/no training or pain. Or both.

Not sure how you are concluding she was “ridden with a heavy hand” as the cause of what you are seeing. IME it has been pain and I admit to making excuses to explain it because I just did not know any better.

How long have you had this horse and where did you get her?

[Pepsy]

If you do not know about PSSM 1, look it up. Absolutely pull hair and get test done. You can do that all on your own. It is cheap, likely the cheapest diagnostic thing you can do for your situation. How old is this horse?