The Young Horse

Weve all had a horse that was hesitant to go forward with ease and willingness. I want to share the story of one such colt I started recently and some of the strategies I employed to help him free up. These techniques work well for horses of all ages.
This article is ultimately about rider selfawareness timing and avoiding the overuse of pressure which unintentionally dulls the horse. Take special note of the tips for success and the pitfalls many riders face when their horse is dull to their aids.

This threeyearold gelding is quite tame and naturally calm. He had learned to stand quietly while receiving care for a hip injury earlier in life. Although he has a nice demeanor and is easygoing he was also sticky about going forward. 
A horse like this can often start out a bit sticky and sluggish and then build resistance over time. In my experience if this trend is allowed to continue the tension will often build and can erupt out of nowhere in a huge bucking spell that catches the rider off guard. To avoid that situation for this colt I used the strategy outlined below to help him move forward freely and easily without any tension hiding under the surface.  
With quiet horses theres sometimes a misconception that they are dull but the contrary is true they can easily learn to tolerate or even disregard a rider who uses too little feel or timing.  
The goal is for the horse to depart forward without strong aids to continue to go forward without the rider having to ask every stride and to go straight. The exercises with this colt were done out in the open pasture only after I had several rides in an arena and developed a good stop and bend through