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How Do I ask for a Faster Walk?

Hi Lynn,

I am going back over my notes and didn't write down anything about asking for a faster walk.
I know we did that the first day, and I probably thought I'd never forget.  Today, I wanted my gelding to give me a nice walk (he was just poking along) and wasn't sure when to cue.

I noticed my sit bones going up and down, my legs following the barrel side to side, and my hips coming up and forward as my sit bone was lifted up...couldn't remember what leg to use when...it was easiest to increase the pressure in the leg following the barrel down and away, but my gelding didn't respond. It seemed like he "picked it up a little" when I increase pressure with the leg following the barrel up (and maybe a little forward) if I am remember the feeling right. Does that make any sense?  

Anyway, it matters because he will not give it to me unless I am "in the crosshairs". After about 5 minutes of my being inconsistent he figured out I wasn't in the crosshairs and that I was just a nag. That is not how I want to ride.

It seems like you might have asked if I felt the "whoosh", which to me is the up and forward way, but harder for me to coordinate with his stride.
If this makes NO sense, I will throw it to the pigs.

It feels SO good to communicate effectively with the horse and nagging them feels gross! Plus, this is the hardest gait on my gelding for me and it is worth a lot of points in Intro. I just KNOW we can get a good, pleasant walk.

Louise T.    

AHA!
You have confessed to doing the right thing! 
Specifically, you played to find out what worked!

The hardest thing about the walk, which is silly because it's the easiest thing on the planet, is to LET THE HORSE DO THE WALK. 
Now, I wasn't there, but I bet the conversation went something like 'He's not walking fast enough, get him to go faster.  To get him to go faster, start doing (DOING) whatever it is ....'  and he then got slower.  Your gelding strikes me as that kinda guy.

So just remember, horses know how to walk, even though he's now making it your job to make him walk.  It's his job.  Give it back to him.

If we get straight-aligned and released (no tension, no pushback) and ask them to walk, they usually walk just fine.  (OK, so those 3 things: "straight-aligned," "released," "ask them," are generally seriously hard for a lot of people, but it's only 3 things - well, maybe even only 2 things, so at least it's a short list!)

Your lazy-susan exercise will get you straight-aligned and released.  RED will get you the walk.

So to diagnose how this might be falling apart, here's some things:

• where is your yellow arrow?  if the horse doesn't know where it's going, it won't go so well.  check in on your yellow arrow.
• what channel is he on?  I don't know if we talked about bone vs. muscle vs. gut.  (I'll bet he's a gut horse!)  run through the channels and see which one works best.
• are you letting him walk?  all it takes is a little mental pressure (ie HE'S GOT TO WALK) and some horses will go slower just 'cuz.  also, if you're mentally getting wound up in making him do something (and his tolerance might be really low) then you're probably physically getting tight somewhere.  So now your focus is internal (which isn't telling him to go anywhere) and you're body is creating a roadblock he has to work against.  Return to the head, chest, belly, pulse, send out the arrow, turn red, enjoy being on the horse, let him walk.  You set it up, it's his job to walk.
• when that's all in place, the answer is: let him move!  (put that in flashy lights!)  to this end, remember that the movements could be asymmetrical and they'll probably change.  He's not from carriage horse stock.  You've got all the seat bone things happening, and it sounds like you have all the leg things happening.  You've even got the leg timing - on the up-forward swing.  When he doesn't move, you ask your body, "what can move in here, in my body?"  ie "what isn't moving right now?  would it be possible to move that thing?"

I would throw in some self-confidence for you so you wouldn't feel you need to do more and you would feel comfortable knowing it's his job to walk him (and you) not your job.
And then  I would throw in some 'looseness' so that your body moves freely and provides an example to him of how to be free in his movement.

NOW - for those dicey times when someone (like maybe a gremlin or critic in your head?!?) tells you to make your horse move out and you feel you must do something to get free-er, here's a list of how to do things:

• remember the ho-down
• remember kicking your own butt
• do some knee and ankle circles (yes, even on the horse)
• remember that which one to use when just depends on what's going on and what works.
• pretend your feet are bowling balls at the end of strings that are getting swung around by him.  the weight of the bowling ball will put the cue in the correct place.
• let him move your legs and tell you where the movement is.  match that.  (eventually you match then change it)
• remember it's an observing/witnessing-&-accentuate-what-works process.  Some horses free up on the side-to-side movement, which is horrific in the dressage world, but it's the door in.  Some horses free up on the up-up movement - lift one side, lift the other.  You can get nice walk to trot transitions this way.  Some horses are just charging forward.  (They actually need to go forward, too.)
• whatever movement feels better, use that to begin with.  accentuate it a little bit to essentially ask him 'hey - you're doing this thing - did you know that?  do you want to be doing this thing?'  let him decide it's gnarly and he wants to quit.

O - so this is one last niggly thing: Fast & Forward are 2 different things.

'Forward' usually doesn't make sense outside the horse world, so often folks will say 'fast' when they mean 'forward.'  I don't know if you and your regular instructor have had this discussion yet, sometimes these things take a back seat for awhile, so just in case you haven't, I'm going to throw some of it out there now. 

Do you remember when I said 'That's a working trot?'  There is a balance and purpose to that kind of trot.  It can move forward intentionally, it can lengthen, it can shorten.  It's tractable.

When horses are 'fast' there is a business to it.  The legs are doing something quickly but the mind is not with you.  It wants to leave. It wants to leave quickly.  That's 'fast.'

'Forward' is when the horse hears what you want, prepares itself (you'll feel the head, chest, belly, pulse happen in the horse of it's own accord) and then it shifts gears and turns on the after burners.  But you won't feel like you're about to die because it might run straight into a wall or sideways out the arena gate.

Sometimes when IRS went into the canter there was this wonderful gathering first and then it was really nice.  Then other times there was this running thing that happened.  The first is 'forward' the second is 'fast.'  You want the preparation.  You want the forward.  (even when they're halting...)

And then sometimes we all say 'make the horse go faster' just 'cuz it's really long winded to say the other thing.


I hope this helps!   

Best,

L

ps btw - ok, seemingly in total contrast to everything I've already said, you can use the 'go stick' to back up your leg.  as your ankle starts to travel forward-up, use it then.  use it quick and with oomph suitable to the horse you're on.  This is not a punishment thing, more a 'punctuation' thing.  Instead of '.....'  at the end of your sentence, you want  '!' -- keeping in mind how much '!' your horse can handle.  Remember Goldilocks -- not too much, not too little, just right!

Have you had a chance to play with this in your riding?  What is your experience with this?

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