this week l had to ride a slow pony, and l have only been riding 11 months and l need tips on how to get a slow pony to walk faster, trot faster and stay in canter for a longer time (i have a crop for if l need one =])

Wear spurs, crops, etc.

You usually wont need spurs or crops (unless the horse is very lazy & stubborn), only a bit of common sense.

Just let her head go & be persistent. Usually horses that r taught to be slow & collected r used to be ridden in a certain frame, at a certain speed. If u let off their face & give them their head, not only do u free them up to go but u also remove any inadvertent cues you, as an inexperienced rider, might be giving. You may be hard on her mouth or holding her in too tight of a frame (behind the bit) & not knowing it. When u ask her to go, do not worry about how she looks yet, just focus on getting the upward transition & the forwardness. You can work on frame after she learns its ok to go. When u ask, make sure ur rein is loose, u lean slightly forward, urge with ur seat & legs & let off a bit, but still keep a strong driving seat, & leg on when she speeds up. Learn to know what ur pony feels like when she is about to do a downward transition. Once u know, u can squeeze before they actually break stride, & they will be less likely to try to sneak down.

Also, if u ride English, u can speed up her trot by posting faster in addition to doing the above. If you're western, u can urge her to go faster by using ur seat & legs to drive on the downbeat of each stride. Also, vocal cues like clicking can help. Usually a horse or pony will follow ur speed in that respect.

Also, if ur trainer will let you, take the pony out of the arena & into a field. You'd be surprised how much pep that will put in a ring-sour lesson horse.


EDIT- After rereading ur post, it might also be that because u r relatively new to riding u just r not used to asking a horse to move out. Sometimes it is frustrating trying to make ur body do the things that horseback riding requires. You might still be working on getting ur body parts to move independently, something that does not always come naturally. The horse might not be the problem, u might just need to work on leg strength & position a bit more. Do not be discouraged. Like anything else worth learning, horseback riding takes time, practice & discipline. It is frustrating at times, but u will get it!

Some horses r just naturally slow paced, so the first step is to realize whether you're dealing with a 'slow' horse or a 'lazy' horse. If this horse is just a bit lazy or dull, give them their head, stay out of their way when they r responsive & be persistent when they r not responsive. Patients & persistence really pay off, & remember to release any pressure when the horse is doing what u ask, i.e. going faster. If you've got a naturally slow paced horse on you're hands, u can try to ask for fast speeds but be aware that if they r not physically built for it, they may just not be comfortably able to do it.

Artificial aids such as spurs, crops, etc. can be benificial IF USED CORRECTLY! They r NOT to be used to 'jab ur horse in the sides' as the below posted mentioned. That is not their purpose. They r to be used as an extention of ur leg to get more lightness & responsivness out of ur horse.

spurs.
Crop.
Jab your heels in into his sides a bit
or maybe dont work him as hard. check your saddle

Everyone Will Just Say Spurs And Whips.

Be Careful With Spurs They Are Good But They Are not Ment To Make Your Horse Go Faster.

keep Your Leg On And Drive Him/Her On With Your Seat.

When Using A Crop Use It Behind Your Leg Rather Than On The Shoulder.

Good Luck x x

keep leg presssure on. if that dosnt help try spurs.

ignore all the people who r telling u to use spurs, they obv. didnt read the part that said u have not been riding for very long..especially the girl instructing u to jab the horse with them -_-
spurs r only for very experienced riders on tolerant horses, & they shouldnt be used violently or as a replacement on the leg.
right- to get the pony to be a bit more forward, give him/her more rein so they can stretch out & so that you're not holding them back. however, dont let ur reins loosely flap & swing around. keep a bit of contact on the reins - u should be able to feel something on the other end.
keep ur legs firmly pressed against the horse is sides. if you're rising/posting, squeeze with ur calfs every time u sit to the trot. if not, just give the occasional squeeze. make sure u use ur calfs rather than ur heels to keep ur heels down. avoid kicking, cos it is very incorrect & untidy & really does not do much good. horses do not respond well to constant nagging.
reinforce ur leg aids using the crop if u really need to. make sure u only use the crop if ur leg aids r being ignored. also, continue to use ur leg after you've used the crop to keep the horse motivated. use the crop behind ur leg, but if the horse is being cheeky or ignorant u can give him a little slap on the shoulder. do not be too rough - be firm with the pony.
when he/she speeds up a bit, reward him/her by using less leg (just the occasional squeeze to keep the momentum) but do not let them get away with too much.
some horses r just really slow by nature, especially lesson ponies (they've probably been round that arena a million times before, & they know every trick in the book. especially the grumpy old wise ones)
hope l helped (:
x

So it obviously sounds like a squeeze does not get the slow pony moving, but follow the Squeeze, Kick, Crop pattern to get the pony moving. Spurs might be the answer, but horses can react differently to them. Make sure ur not always nudging the pony with spurs. l always suggest carrying. If the pony is not listening give them a quick whack on the shoulder, & if he/she is still not listening. Take ur crap & whack them on the bum. Be prepared for a little ''hop'' feeling, because some horses do that. You need to teach yourself to feel the horses movements, because the horse can gradually start slowing down, & before we know it, the horse ''broke down''. If u feel that u r starting to slow, squeeze more & kick more if necessary. Soon, ur pony could start listening better, but if not, then just always wear ur spurs and/or carry ur crop.

Also, do not forget ur ''clicking sound'' with ur mouth. Or in some horses cases & wester, a big kiss sound will work.

l suggest using the ''ask, tell, demand'' theory in which u ask ur horse to move forward by squeezing. If ur horse refuses to move forward, kick ur horse & cluck. If ur horse still refuses to move forward, kick, yell & hit with the crop (yell ''GEETT'' - make it sound angry & forceful). When u finally get ur horse moving forward, do not under any circumstances take ur leg off - constantly be squeezing with ur lower leg & encouraging ur horse to move forward - the moment that u ''give up'' will be the exact moment that ur horse decides to not move forward any longer & u will be back to square one.

l know exactly how frustrating it can be - l have been in ur position!!

Also, if u r anywhere where it is especially cold at this point in time, make sure u r giving ur horse an adequate warm-up. When u warm-up, let ur horse plod along, but after 10 minutes or so, make ur horse move forward into a working pace. Just like people, horses need time to warm their muscles up - especially in colder weather.

If u were more experienced, l would suggest playing the ''lunge whip game'' ( l know l am going to get thumbs down for this one). This is where u have someone more experienced on the ground chasing u with a lunge whip (preferably down the long side of the arena). Guaranteed it will get ur horse moving but u must be ready for it too so that u do not accidentally get left behind & pull on ur horse is mouth. Once ur horse is going, keep the leg on & keep ur horse moving forward. l have had to play the lunge whip game several times with the current horse I've been partboarding (you can use a crop & spurs on this horse & he still moves slower than a snail most of the time).

On the plus side, this stubborn horse will allow u to grow ''legs of steel''!