The fast, rushing horse. The horse that just runs and runs and won’t stop. Many people will tell you that this type of horse is full of energy and can’t contain it. It might be true that he is full of energy, but the ironic part is that he is being lazy by not using it properly.
Misconceptions About the Fast, Rushing Horse
Imagine you are on a horse who, once you’ve started trotting, just wants to keep going like the energizer bunny. This horse will not want to come back to the walk, and he’ll just keep trotting, faster and faster as the ride goes on.
And when you try to put on the brakes, he resists your aids and pushes through. He gets heavier in your hands as you nearly pull his head off in order to get him to come back to a walk. You might think, “Wow, this horse just wants to work! He is not lazy at all!”
A horse that runs off and doesn’t slow down with the rider’s aids is not in any way an energetic, powerful, active, hard-working horse. In fact, this type of horse is a LAZY horse.
Yes, that is correct. A fast, rushing horse is a lazy horse. Usually.
But Why?
It’s much harder work for a horse to use his hind end to push, so the horse will often resort to pulling himself along with his front legs.
Keep in mind, though, that a horse who is really out of shape will rush away on the forehand and we can’t really hold that against them. They need to get stronger to be able to use the hind end properly. So take it one day at a time with a horse who has been out of work for a while.
But even horses who are in great shape will resort to taking the easy way out by pulling themselves along with their front legs. It is much easier for the horse to go this way. It’s much harder for the horse to accept more weight onto his hind legs and push.
But once the horse learns to rock back and take more weight behind, he will become more engaged in the hind end, and his rushing, leaning, heaviness, and pulling will dissipate. Click here for a great exercise to engage the hind end.
If the rider cannot correct a horse who is rushing away on the forehand, the horse will become very accustomed to moving this way. So it is very important to correct this way of going.
A horse who rushes and leans on the bit is often hollow as well, and this can be detrimental to the soundness of the horse. When a horse learns to move in a proper way, it is good for his physical and mental health.
Physics of Rushing
Image yourself running in place, very quickly. You are just pounding your feet really fast, up and down on the pavement, but you are not really going anywhere. This is the same for the rushing horse. His feet are moving fast, but they aren’t taking him anywhere.
Now imaging if you were sprinting. You need to really spread out your stride in order to get anywhere. Each of your footfalls will cover more ground, but your feet are hitting the ground less frequently than when you are running in place. Your are getting more airtime between footfalls.
So when you are running in place, your feet are hitting the ground very fast, one after the other, in a quick tempo. Like this, “one-two, one-two, one-two, one-two, etc.”
But when you are sprinting, the tempo of your foot falls is much slower. Like this, “One……..two, ……one……two, ……one……two, …….one…….two, etc.”
So for a fast, rushing horse, it’s almost like the example above of running in place. The horse is not wanting to use his hind end to propel, or push, himself forward. Instead he is using his front legs in a chaotic manner and pulling himself along, which is the lazy way of going.
How to Fix a Rushing Horse
First you need to recognize that it is happening. Remember: Just because a horse is fast, does not mean he is going properly. So if your horse feels “fast,” heavy in your hand, and won’t stop or slow down promptly, he is probably rushing away on the forehand.
So you need to slow the tempo, but increase the energy. Then you need to recycle that energy instead of letting it all fall out the front of the horse.
The real secret to this is riding a really good half halt. Learn how to do that here.
Try this in posting trot and slow your post. Then add your leg to kick up some energy from behind, and finish it off with an effective half halt. Recycle all that energy that you’ve captured with your hand back to the horse’s hind end by adding leg again and giving with your hands to send the horse reaching for the bit.
Once your horse gets more of his weight on his hind end, you will feel more in control, and your horse will become lighter in your hands.
While you are in the process of transforming a rushing horse, you will want to avoid long straight-aways and use more circles and lateral work. The lateral work will naturally help to get a horse off of the forehand. Try leg yields and shoulder-in.
Learn how to do a leg yield HERE
Learn how to do a shoulder-in HERE
Check out this other amazing exercise HERE
Conclusion
Remember that this might take a while for a horse who is either out of shape or is in the habit of moving fast and on the forehand. So keep practicing and things will improve day by day. It will take time and patience to instill a better way of going for your horse, but your horse will thank you and ultimately, riding your horse will take less work on your part and you will enjoy it much more.
Keep Riding, Keep Refining
The Refined Rider
