Waking Up the Lazy Horse

[ManyMinisFarm]

My 4yr old stallion does great with work and training but he can get LAZY and lose focus. How can I wake him up and keep him awake and get him more engaged and focused while training?

 

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

Keep it interesting and challenging. Lunging in circles can get boring so change up speed and direction and add poles and jumps if appropriate. If you are doing obstacles don't repeat the same one over and over again because the horse can become resentful and confused why it has to keep repeating the same thing despite doing it correctly. Also change location, don't always practice in the same area. Try the barn, middle of the field, road (if safe--we live on a rural dirt road), trail, etc. Having a crop handy is helpful. Sometimes all they need to hear is a crack of the whip or a light tap on their rump.

 

[Minimor]

You may want to look at his diet too; some horses get hot on almost no grain; others need more to boost their energy level. What does he currently get for hay and grain?

 

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

Time of day is also important. I normally work my mare in the evening so when I practice in the afternoon she can be a bit more sluggish, so breaking routine can impact performance.

 

[minihorsecwgrl]

I also have a lazy lazy horse lol. Does your horse have anything specific they like to do? Whether he likes to graze, jump, or just get treats.... make the end of a practice fun! Reward is always awesome! My gelding who is lazy gets treats and then a pad of hay in his dry lot after practices. My younger gelding who is not at all lazy, but looses focus easily ( 3 year old problems ) gets to trot over some ground poles then go for a walk!

 

[ManyMinisFarm]

OK thank y'all. And he is going on 1cup Beetpulp 1cup Ultium 1/2cup Oats with Orchard Grass hay. I am limited on pasture so he is fed hay throughout the day and in his stall at night. He gets the Beetpulp, Ultium, and Oats 2 times a day.

 

[Minimor]

Increase his oats--a half cup is not even a taste. Mine get 1 pound of oats twice a day.

 

[chandab]

Minimor, how big are your horses? I've been feeding some oats, but probably not as much as they can have. I'm in the process of trying yet another feed program, found a ration balancer I can afford and going back to a ration balancer. My horses haven't looked as good since the last ration balancer priced out of my budget, despite several different feed trials. I'm going to try to go back to the ration balancer diet and see how they do, adding oats to those that need the calories. I'm still in the middle of changing over, so they aren't fully off their old feed yet.

 

[Minimor]

I have horses from 33" to 38"--I never feed less than a pound of oats per feeding, some get more.

A big handful would be a "treat" here, and that likely makes well over a half cup.

 

[chandab]

Thank you. Last night, I moved them up to a full scoop, they had been getting half (rather small scoop, but will likely up it again when they are fully on the ration balancer only, waiting for my order to come in so I don't run out first).