Cherry Hill A collection of articles and tips by author Cherry Hill on ground training, mounted training, English and Western riding, arena exercises, horse health care, hoof care, lameness, buying and selling horses, grooming, showing, and horse facilities design and maintenance. Dear Cherry, My horse is 15 and wonderful, but he is lazy and slow. But you can have wonderful AND spunky. First lets go through a check list of physical causes for low energy before we talk about training.
Parasites can rob a horse of nutrition and energy.
A fat horse is understandably lazy as it takes so much more effort to move and a thin horse often doesn't have the physical reserve for exercise. Horses on a diet of only coarse roughage will lack energy. Feed grain according to the horse's current weight, his condition, and his workload. Whether a horse is barefoot or shod, his hooves must have regular attention so that he can move comfortably and soundly. Be sure you have a qualified farrier take care of your horse's hooves every 6-8 weeks.