You are right, pleasure horses are more commonly spur broke. I knew a western trainer (not too common around here) that did the AQHA shows. A lot of her horses were multi discipline, and were spur broke. One of them won some big reining award and while I boarded at her barn one winter, she offered to let me ride him. I’m a lifelong dressage rider and it took me the whole ride to get into the canter. 
he really humbled me
6 Likes
My best tip is to spend a good 10-15 minutes at the beginning of the ride getting the horse properly on the aids at the walk. Don’t nag with legs/spurs; squeeze once, then crop, until walk is a proper march. When I take/ have the time to do this, I get a completely different horse than if I rush to trot/canter. Of course, that advice might be horse specific. But never a bad thing to work on the walk!
5 Likes
Somedays, my brain just doesn’t work or put two and two together. After a long hour plus trail ride, I took maresy into the open outdoor arena for a slow walk on a long rein to cool off. After started chatting with fellow riders. Maresy starts pawing, dropping her head. My brain: Gee it’s almost like she’s gonna roll. Derrrp". Someone calls out “Hey she’s gonna drop on you”. My brain recognized the signs but failed to compute the obvious. 
Also something I’m feeling both stupid and proud of: maresy is a she-devil to catch, even the seasoned barn staff have trouble with her. After a ride (a different one from above) and untacking, I turned her loose in the big empty outdoor arena for a nice roll. Boarders do that with their horses a lot. Then it’s time to catch she devil. After a few mins of her running around I managed to cut off her drive line enough times to push her into a corner amd catch her. Any horsewoman worth her salt should be able to catch a horse. So I shouldn’t be so pleased/ proud of this.
but I really expected catching the brat to take longer than it did.
1 Like
I do try this. He’s one of the ones (and my Old Man is the same, but only at the walk) that if you let off for even a millisecond, his energy deflates.
I always say that my Old Man thinks walking fast is stupid. Every other gait, he’s actually really easy to get in front of the leg, and stays at the pace you set. But not the walk… he wants to grandpa walk darnit.
This horse drops gait, any gait, whenever and wherever he can. I have tried riding him as if he has walk-“extended trot”- hand gallop as his only gaits for a few rides, which did not seem to help. Quotes on extended trot, as it’s the Western version of that, which is not comparable to the english version.
I just hate whacking him so much, especially when it seems like he doesn’t care one bit. But come on dude, you’ve GOT to get off my legs! If I whacked either of my horses like that, they would come out of their skin trying to move forward.
As far as seat, I have ridden quite a few reiners, and that’s how I started riding him. That’s why I said “I don’t know the whole story there” because he doesn’t ride like any reiner I have sat on. He just feels… dull.
I need Andy Kochers electric spurs. (that’s a JOKE, relax lol)
4 Likes
Have you checked his thyroid, maybe he is pre- or full Cushings?
Our 16 year old went from nice and responsive to dull and slow.
He was cushinoid and once started on Prascend, he returned to his nice self.
2 Likes
Unlikely, but not impossible. The horse is a 6yo. I’ll suggest they run a panel at spring vet check.
Bar nagging riders from riding him? If you ride him correctly 1x per week and others ride him incorrectly 5x per week horse may not have sufficient consistency to improve. IME some horses will ride to the rider on board and others will stick with their average ridden experience
7 Likes
The girl who regularly rides him is “taking lessons” from me (in quotes because no money is exchanging hands, this is my bizarre desire/need to pay it forward to the younger generation). She wants to be his friend, which is great. I love that. Trying to get her to understand she can be his friend AND expect performance out of him… a little harder.
So yeah, that’s 99% of it, as to why he’s dull to start with. I’m still surprised he’s so whip-insensitive though. I mean, at some point it’s gotta HURT to get whacked. I’m not sure I’ve ever met one that cared less about getting popped with a dressage whip. It’s weird. He doesn’t even pin his ears or get nappy. It’s like it’s not happening at all.
That is odd.
And I’m ready and willing to let him explode forward. I’m ready and willing to never punish him for the answer he gives IF it’s forward (buck, run, whatever, it’s fine!). But… I get NO response until I’m on my third (or sometimes more!) whack. And when he does respond, it’s to sigh and kind of begrudgingly do what I ask.
Again, on the lunge he’s spot on. No problems. Same voice cues in the saddle, get little to no reponse.
And… this is why I love horses. Always challenging you in a new way. This guy is a stumper lol
2 Likes
I feel your pain @endlessclimb. I’ve been on a couple horses that wouldn’t react to ANY “go forward” aids from the rider and it’s so frustrating. In your case it sounds like you need to train the rider and not the horse. Unfortunately, I have no advice on that front
1 Like
Interesting. I’ve never had anyone just “pop up” from out of sight. Riders in the arena can always see if someone is approaching; and if you’re outside coming in you have enough sense to wait until the entrance is clear before entering. Just like entering a main road from a side street – you yield to oncoming traffic even if there’s no sign.
I’ve never been at a barn with a “Door!” rule – wouldn’t it be more logical to say “Gate!” instead?
At the dressage barns where I’ve ridden, slower traffic always kept right, just as out on the public thoroughfares. Ride on the right, pass on the left.
Interesting that different barns have different practices. 
1 Like
I would start with riding him on the lunge. Any 1 of 100 they should be praised. The rider takes over from the lunger.
I have seen an experienced rider on a horse that would not go forward from the whip, raise a dressage whip above her head with an extended arm and ask for forward and then bring it down as hard as she could and hit him with it as hard as she could behind the leg. He went forward and was praised. I know my boy needed that but I am too chicken.
What did work is making him walk quickly on the lead up to the mounting block. Halt several times. Click and he must walk before I walk and a meaningful walk. Then when I hopped on I asked for trot and used the whip immediately if he didn’t respond. I put a grab strap on the saddle and I wasn’t chicken to use it at walk. Rinse and repeat. I only had to do it a few times and it was like he knew I meant it so he went forward.
Find out what works best for him leg or whip and use that consequence every single time. Not whip one time and legs the next.
Good luck.
Sounds like you havnt been in an arena with solid walls and solid doors.
9 Likes
Fitness. I did almost an entire winter of long lining the lazy draft cross I evented years ago before I rode him much, because riding was way too much work to keep him going. Became much easier to re-sensitize to the leg one he had more of his own motor.
2 Likes
I have, though. Three as a matter of fact. Each one had wide entryways, with a gate at the entrance. The doors were not closed with the arenas were in use, so we could see out.
1 Like
you can see through a gate. You cannot see through a door. If the arena is heated (I know a few up north that are), the doors are closed so the bit of warmth does not escape into the barn proper.
3 Likes
Interesting. I’ve only been up north twice; never ridden there.
I have boarded my mare at 5 different barns, all with indoor arenas. Only one had an actual gate into the barn. For doors to the outside, they were Dutch doors, you could call the bottom half a gate, but everyone stuck with “door!” for consistency. ETA: the doors to the barn were always kept open unless it was very cold.
2 Likes
The indoor attached to the barn where I board has solid wood sliding doors on the short side. Many of us leave it a bit open so we can see who is entering and they can better see the person riding (no heat anywhere!) BO doesn’t want the dust in the barn from leaving it substantially open.
Still, even with the ability to peek, it is nice for people to call door before the big, creaking door moves and a horse and rider enter onto the riding track. It is not that the rider “cant control their horse”, it is to prepare a nervous horse and/or plan a track to avoid those who enter.
I am one of those wussies who appreciates the courtesy of a call even when there is a good sightline. It is a heads up for the rider who can be obliviously working on something and a reason to pause and think for the person entering who otherwise might be distracted and not think of “traffic”.
6 Likes
