How do I get my horse to trot along with me on the ground?

Question

For some reason everytime I start to "trot" and move faster she just laggs behind, any suggestions?

Answer 1

don't use treats! This is not training your horse and it is an accident waiting to happen. On a lead rope have her to your right, carry the leadrope in your right hand with lots of slack in it (about a foot should always be hanging down, never pull her from under the chin) in your left hand facing behind you carry a lunge whip or handy stick. Cue her to walk, she must do this at a walk to get into the next gate. If she lags behind your shoulder at all, cue her to walk faster (you can say walk or kiss) if she does not step up to your shoulder, without looking gently tap her on her hip with the end of the stick, without breaking stride and keep walking. If she steps up to your shoulder walk on like nothing happened. do this over and over until she is walking next to you perfectly, then move to the next gate. If she doesn't want to do this at all, go back to basic groud work on a lead rope in a circle and teach her your go forward cue (either walk or kiss and lighlty tap her hip) Remember that the tap should be no more then that, just like if you were riding her and wanted to give a tap with your legs to go forward. If she doesn't respond to this simple ground work, then it is time to go back to the roundpen and get her respecting you. Good luck

Answer 2

Easy problem to solve. If you have an extra person around have them run behind you as you try to get the horse to move forward. Have them wave their arms or clap their hands, whatever works to get your horse to start moving out. Make sure that they stay far enough back that if your horse decides to kick they are out of harms way.
If you don't have another person to help then get a long whip. I prefer a dressage whip because the long rope on a lunge whip is not needed for this, but it will work just fine. Begin by asking your horse to move forward, when she laggs behind give her a tap with the whip to encourage her to move forward.
I like to use voice comands to help in the training process. You can either just use a clucking or kissing to signal them to speed up, or actual words of walk, trot, and canter. Just use the rhythm of your voice to help signify the gait you want. Most importantly just be patient with her, she's just not sure what you're asking her to do.

Answer 3

Try holding a lunge whip in the free hand with the tip pointing toward the horse's hip. Move forward and give your command (whatever cue you use for trot). As you move out tap the horse's hip with the tip of the whip (enough to get forward motion). With practice and patience you will have the animal moving forward on cue.

Answer 4

It depends on if you are an adult or a young person and how old the horse is and how much training it has. Check with horse people in your area. You could use a lounging whip and tap her rear end with it while you are at her head.

Answer 5

Put your sugar on a short lead and she will train to follow at your pace eventually. Praise her, of course, when she obeys.

Happy trotting