Horses get lazy just like we do. Sometimes it’s a little thing, such as they don’t pick up their feet or they don’t watch where they’re going. While a sudden, noticeable difference might indicate a health problem that you should investigate with your vet, if your horse has just gotten lazy, maybe a session with ground poles will help.

Practice with poles on the ground. Start with one or two poles.

Start with the poles several feet apart, especially with young horses, and move the poles closer once they can negotiate the rails with ease.

When you’re teaching your horse to jump, you’d use a preset distance. For this exercise, though, put the poles at random distances and angles from each other.

Begin this exercise at the walk to build confidence. Don’t hurry the horse, but allow him to find his own way.

If you’re leading your horse, be sure to ask him to move his shoulder away from you, so he doesn’t jump on you. It’s best to send him around a round pen or use a lunge line, if you’ve taught him to lunge well.

Give the horse his head over the poles. If you hold your horse’s head up, you may find that he’ll try to leap or hurry across.

Add speed control and halts to help keep the horse light. This also keeps him from leaning on his forehand through the poles.

Do the same exercise while riding.