Move Up to the Saddle
Now you're going to do this same exercise with your horse. You'll move those same jeans pockets in the same direction until you get the same feel in the turn that you had on the ground. When you're in the saddle, if your hip pockets have moved, so has the horse's back end. Your pockets and his tail, hindquarters, and hips will all move in unison.
Your short-term goal will be to bring the horse to a stop by swinging his hindquarters (hips, tail, your pockets) toward the center of the arena. The fence helps to explain to the horse that although we've used the rein to turn his whole body before, now we only want his hindquarters to respond to the rein. We don't want him to walk forward or to make a small circle toward the fence.
Here we go! Walk your horse along the fence line about two feet in from it. Slowly begin to reach for the outside rein while focusing only on his tail. Gradually add pressure to the rein until the instant his tail begins to move toward the center of the arena. As soon as it does, release the rein.
Ideally, your horse will stop with his hindquarters toward the center of the arena and his chest facing directly at the arena fence.
More likely, though, your horse didn't stop. He only slowed a little. As soon as you released the rein, he continued to move down the arena fence in the same direction. This is okay because he did move his hips in response to your cue.
Repeat the exercise. This time, release the rein just a little later, as the tail moves a little further toward the center of the arena. Or, pick up the rein, move the tail a little, then release. If the tail doesn't move as far as you wanted, pick up the rein again and move it just a little further, then release again. If the response from the tail was still not enough, pick up the rein a third time and move the tail a little more. Finally, you will have the tail moved far enough that the front end of the horse stops.
Repeat the exercise on both sides from the beginning of your walk down the fence. Each time you pick up the rein, try to use less pressure than you used the last time your horse responded. We tend to like to repeat success, but for this exercise don't automatically use the same amount of pressure or bend his head to the same spot on the last time you got his tail to move. Each time, try to use less pressure and get less bend. One of your goals is to put less pressure on the rein and have the horse move his head less to the side while you achieve the same result with the tail. This is what makes the horse more responsive to your cues.
Trying is Believing
It's very important to remember that you don't have to do everything perfectly right away. This can be a hard concept for us to learn. We have the "correct" exercise already pictured in our mind before we start. We know how we want our horse to respond. It's natural for us to start trying to achieve perfection, but this can really mess up the progress and performance of your horse.
Remember that cake we put in the oven? It looked very different when we first put it in than it did when we took it out an hour later. Continue practicing this exercise until the amount of pressure you put on the rein to cause your pockets to move and face the center of the arena (as your horse faces the fence) is less than one or two ounces. At this point, you can move the hindquarters without taking all the slack out of the rein. You're now causing the hindquarters to move by using the rein only. You're seeing a connection between the rein and the tail. Be sure that you're isolating in your own mind the movement and control of the hindquarters. Finally, you can feel the hindquarters moving while the front end of the horse is staying in one spot.
Watch your saddle horn as you walk your horse down the fence. When his tail (your pocket) moves toward the center of the arena, the saddle horn stops moving forward and slowly rotates in one place. This represents what the horse's front feet are doing.
Continue doing the same exercise, but move the tail more and then less. Sometimes move it past the center of the arena and watch what happens to your horse.
As you practice any exercise, become more observant of how many different aspects of your horse change. The art of doing anything spectacular is perfecting the simple and seeing the detail of all that has happened.
Does he completely change direction? Does he do a partial turn on the forehand (a half turn that keeps his front end in one spot as he rotates just his hindquarters)? If you move the tail halfway toward the center, but keep the horse moving the same direction down the arena fence, does this cause your horse to slow his forward motion? What about his inside hip bone? Can you feel what his hip is doing? What does your own hip pocket feel like on the same side? What about the hip bone closest to the fence? What does it feel like and how different is that compared to the other hip bone?
Can you as a rider visualize the tail as it is moving to the right or left? Can you cause it to move exactly the amount or distance that you want?
What does his mouth feel like now compared to when you started? How much less pressure do you have to put on the reins to get the tail to move? How much lighter has your horse become in your hands?
What about his head? Is he bending it less to the side? Is his neck softer and more flexible? Is his head lower than when you started? Is he more relaxed and focused on you?
These are all great questions. Keep observing the reactions and changes both in your horse and yourself. Remember that any change your horse makes is a reflection of a change you have already made in your own riding habits.
This is deliberate practice, but it's fun because the joy is in the trying. Anyone who wants to give it a try can do it. Even if you're not sure how or what to do, try something. Even if you don't understand completely, try. Even if you don't do it exactly as I'm thinking, try. The try will improve you and your horse.
