Lazy horses: Training that ensures better forward movement

“The horse is lazy, I can’t practice what I want”
“It never wants to canter”
“I have to keep pushing the horse forward constantly to keep it going”

Do any of these statements sound familiar?

Most of us have ridden “lazy” horses and know how frustrating it can be. Too often, we assume that this is just the way the horse is, instead of asking:

• Why does the horse seem lazy?
• How can I adjust the training to make the horse more responsive to the leg?

Fortunately, forwardness is actually quite easy to fix with the right knowledge. It all starts with breaking the problem down. Then, you work on the absolute basics without asking anything extra from the horse.

In this article, you’ll find everything you need to start the training yourself.

Why won’t the horse go forward? Is it really lazy?

There are several reasons why a horse might not respond to the leg. While it’s true that horses naturally want to conserve energy, this is rarely the actual cause of the problem.

Before you start training, it’s important to make sure you understand the real reason behind the behavior. Otherwise, you risk training on top of a problem instead of solving it.

Here are four possible causes that must be ruled out before you move on with the training:

Rule out these four reasons before you move on

1. Pain: If your horse suddenly changes behavior and refuses to go forward from the leg, the first step is to have a vet check for any signs of pain. Also, make sure the saddle fits well and doesn’t pinch or restrict movement. Discomfort can easily be mistaken for disobedience.
2. Anxiety or nervousness: If the horse seems tense or uneasy, you need to focus first on helping it feel calm, attentive, and relaxed. Especially in the place or situation where the problem occurs. Some horses may appear lazy, but the truth is they might be nervous.
   • In fact, instead of reacting with obvious signs of fear, some horses completely shut down. That’s why it’s essential to read the horse’s subtle signals and make sure it feels safe before you begin any training.
3. Lack of understanding: The horse may not have learned what the leg or the forward cue actually means. This is most common in horses that haven’t been ridden yet, but it’s still something to consider.
   • As long as the horse gives some forward response to your leg, you can move on with the training.
4. Unbalanced rider: An unbalanced rider can make the horse hesitant to move into trot or canter. This is especially common in young or green horses. If you suspect this is the reason, get help from a more experienced rider using the method you plan to train with. That way, the horse learns to move freely and confidently right from the start.

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Not lazy, just hurting?

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Your horse isn’t lazy – these 2 mistakes kill forwardness

When you’ve ruled out pain, tension, lack of training and rider imbalance, there are usually two reasons why your horse has stopped responding to your leg:

1. You don’t follow through consistently: You ask your horse to go forward but accept a lazy answer. Instead of insisting on a clear response, you keep pushing with your seat, squeezing with your legs, and clucking—until you get tired and give up. Over time, your horse learns that it doesn’t need to respond properly, because nothing happens when it doesn’t.
2. Too many demands after the horse responds: You ask for too much after your horse goes forward, so it sees no reason to move faster and chooses to stay still instead. Even when the horse gives the correct response to the leg, it’s still followed by more leg pressure, rein contact, tapping with the whip, and demands for flexion in the neck and body.

If you want your horse to respond to the leg, you have to mean it when you ask—and stop asking when you get the answer.

Also read The one simple trick to get a relaxed and attentive horse

Trying to fix everything at once? Here’s why it backfires

We often try to fix too many problems at the same time. We want the horse to move forward with energy, stay on a straight line, maintain the right tempo, stay soft in the contact, and flex at the poll — all at once.

When we then add the pressure of asking for all this in a direction the horse doesn’t even want to go, we often end up with resistance or even rearing.

That’s simply too much to ask when we’re dealing with one of the most basic issues in the horse’s training: that it doesn’t give us enough forward energy when we ask for it.

When we ask too much from the horse without enough preparation, we often end up with frustrated riders and unmotivated horses.

Below, you’ll find a simple training method that will, without a doubt, improve forwardness in every gait.

Teach your horse to move off with energy — every single time

No matter which transitions you’re struggling with, always start from halt. That’s where the foundation lies. If it doesn’t work here, it won’t work in trot, canter or anywhere else.

The real problem?
Your horse hasn’t learned that the correct response to your leg is more energy — and to offer it quickly.

Before you start the method below, make sure of a few things.

• Your horse must be sound, alert and relaxed.
• You need a closed area where your horse can move freely.
• You must feel comfortable letting the horse go wherever it wants — without steering or stopping it.
• Your horse should already have a rough idea that leg pressure or a cluck means “more energy,” even if the reaction is small or delayed.
• Be ready. Your horse might take a leap forward or break into trot. That’s part of the process.

Get this right before you start — or the rest won’t work

Always start with a relaxed horse standing still in the arena. Let it face any direction it wants, preferably facing a direction it already wants to go. Direction doesn’t matter, what matters is the energy.

In the learning phase, you will accept any energetic response after your ask. That’s exactly what you’re teaching — more energy, nothing else.

So yes, the correct reaction might be three quick sideways steps, trotting off to the gate and stopping, or even two steps forward before spinning around and trotting the other way. That’s all fine.

At this point you only work with the energy. No matter what the horse does, you go with it. Don’t grab the reins to stop it. Don’t try to steer or have contact. If you feel unbalanced, hold the saddle — never the reins.

If the horse keeps trotting without signs of stopping, gently and slowly bend it onto a large circle and let it slow down on its own.

In the guide below you’ll see multiple steps to prepare your horse for what you’re about to ask. This part is important.

Pause for 2–3 seconds at each step before you move on. That gives the horse time to process and find the right answer before you raise your energy.

As you work through the steps below and ask for more energy, let go of any expectations.
Don’t touch the reins. Don’t steer. Just stay with the horse and focus on the energy.

And remember — in the beginning, you only work from halt.

How to ask for more energy — and actually get a response: 7 clear steps

1. Visualize more energy from your horse. This often activates your own muscles without you realizing it and helps you prepare for what’s about to happen.
2. Engage your core. Tighten your abdominal and back muscles to create tone in your body.
3. Engage your seat. Tighten your glutes without squeezing with your thighs.
4. Give a light leg cue. Just a gentle signal to ask for more.
5. Increase the strength of the leg cue. Lift your leg slightly off the horse’s side, then let it drop softly back — avoid kicking.
6. Use the whip for sound or rhythm. Wave it lightly behind the horse or tap your boot to make a small noise.
7. If you still don’t get the energy you want: Attach a plastic bag to the end of your whip and let it make noise or movement near the horse’s hindquarters. This may cause the horse to step sideways at first, and that’s fine. As long as the legs start moving with real energy, you’ve got the response you’re looking for.

Follow the steps calmly and with control until you get an energetic response. One slow step forward isn’t enough. Keep increasing the clarity of your cues until you see real movement.

You want the horse to offer more energy than you’ll eventually ask for — ideally enough to take a few trot steps. Once the horse gives the right response, let it stop and rest.

At this point, you’ve changed the rules for what happens when you ask for energy. That may cause the horse to toss its head or swish its tail. That’s perfectly fine in the beginning. Don’t correct it.

Teach your horse to respond with real energy — from halt to trot and beyond

Before you start again, always make sure the horse is completely relaxed. Then go through the same steps until you get another energetic reaction — ideally, a few clear trot steps.

When done correctly, you won’t need to repeat this many times. Soon, your horse will begin to respond quickly and with energy. In fact, you may even notice a reaction before you apply your leg. Still, always follow the full sequence until you get more energy than you’re aiming for.

Take your time with the first three steps — the preparation before using your leg. Pause for several seconds between each. This helps the horse understand that something is about to happen and gets it ready to respond. Don’t skip straight to the leg aid. That’s not fair, especially when you’re asking for such a strong reaction.

This training method works just as well for horses that won’t move from halt into walk, trot, or canter, as it does for those that are hard to push into trot or canter.

No matter the situation, you’re training the cue for “more energy.” And once that’s solid — from halt to walk or trot — you won’t need to practice the other transitions. They’ll happen on their own.

If we teach the horse to give lots of energy from a relaxed halt into walk, trot, or canter — with light cues — everything else falls into place. That’s the secret to solid foundation work.

Build on transitions as you move into the rest of your training

Once you’ve practiced transitions and your horse offers energy every time, it’s time to raise the bar. The next step is getting the horse to maintain the gait and tempo — without slowing down or breaking the gait.

Repeat the method — then let the horse make a mistake

Ask your horse to move into trot using the exact same sequence as before. Let it break back down to walk like it’s done earlier, then ask for trot again after a few steps.

Let the horse make the mistake fully before asking again.
That’s important. The horse needs to understand what went wrong. And it should feel that breaking gait means more effort — because it has to go back into trot again.

In this early phase, allow the mistake. That’s how the horse learns.
And remember — don’t worry about steering or rein contact at this point. That comes later, once the horse holds the tempo on its own.

You’ve probably noticed by now: we break exercises down to their simplest form. That makes training easier for both horse and rider.

Three ways to build on this work

1. Maintain steady tempo in every gait — without rein contact
   Let the horse go wherever it wants. Most of the important work happens in walk. Once that feels solid, trot and canter will improve naturally.
   As you move into faster gaits, be mindful of the horse’s fitness. Let it walk before it gets tired. Over time, you can gradually increase how long the horse stays in trot or canter.
2. Keep the tempo while steering lightly with one rein
   Ask gently with one rein. As soon as the horse responds, release. Start in walk, then try it in trot and later in canter.
3. Keep the tempo while riding with light contact (if that’s your goal)
   Ride with soft contact on both reins while steering.
   As always, build a solid base in walk before you move on to trot or canter.

From energy to relaxation — and back again

The goal is for your horse to shift between relaxed and energetic with ease. You want the hind legs to step under, push forward, then return to calm.

Every time your horse stops reacting to your leg or cluck, go back to basics.
Check the foundation. And take a moment to reflect on whether there’s something in your own riding that might explain the reaction.

5 key things to remember before you start

1. A big reaction is better than a slow one

It’s better if your horse reacts too strongly than not enough. Be ready to go with the horse if it suddenly takes off into trot or canter during this training. Let the horse do whatever it wants once it moves off.
Don’t touch the reins. Don’t steer. Just follow along until it stops, then let it rest. That teaches the horse it gave the right response.

2. Don’t stop asking until you get a clear answer

Keep going until the horse gives a real forward response. Once it does, make sure there’s no correction. No pulling. No pressure. That clarity rewards the right behavior and helps the horse understand what you’re looking for.

3. Let the horse reset between each attempt

Always make sure the horse is fully relaxed before you ask again. Don’t build on tension.
Watch for signs like a lowered head, blinking, crossing the hind legs during turns, sighing, chewing, or licking. These all show the horse is ready.

4. Increase your energy steadily — not suddenly

Focus on gradually increasing the energy in your cues. Don’t rush. Don’t stack your aids faster and faster. Build rhythm and clarity instead.
If your signals come too strong, too fast, the horse may lose trust in the process.

5. Take your time — let the horse figure it out

Your horse needs time to think. It needs space to find the right answer.
Try counting 1–2 seconds between each increase in energy. This helps you stay calm and gives the horse a fair chance to respond.

Feel free to leave your questions in the comments. We’ll answer as quickly as we can.

Good luck with your training!