sluggish 3 year old filly

Question
I was given a 3 year old quarter horse filly 16 hands and I feel she is under weight. I rode her for about 20 min and she acts like she is old. There is no energy in her and I'm wondering if it because she is too thin. She is green broke, smart and gentle but to ride her you would think she is 20 years old. It takes a lot of effort to get her into a lope. She has been checked by the vet and he did not find anything wrong with her but recommended senior feed along with hay. I would like to start working her and I don't want to use spurs to make her move.. can you help????

Answer
hi sherri, she does not have enough energy to perform like you want. feed her alfalfa and senior feed as well as rice bran and a weight gain supplement. take her lazyness to your advantage though. when riding her work her on basic commands such as giving in, stopping, turning, walking in a straight line, and so on. these are all very important. once she has more weight then you can ask for more hard work.
amanda groff