Lost in a sea of what lessons to teach your horse next? There are two ways to go. Next month, we'll give you an outline of all the training steps in teaching "give to the bit," from the most basic, hips over, to advanced, counter-bending maneuvers. This is the sequence that I use when starting an "unbroke" horse, and it's also the sequence that I use when retraining a horse.
But this month, we'll do an exercise that you can use to get a horse under control in a hairy situation, and teaching it will also help your horse become more responsive in ordinary situations. It's called "Hip, Shoulder, Shoulder."
There are really only five steps in this lesson plan. We'll give you an overview here, and then tell you how to teach the lesson to your horse.
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Get the horse moving forward.
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Pick up the left rein. Hold tension on the rein until the horse takes two big steps to the right with his hindquarters.
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Release the rein.
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Pick up the left rein again. Hold tension on the rein until he steps back with his right front foot.
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Release the rein.
From the Ground First
Teaching this lesson first from the ground is much easier on both you and your horse. Begin by putting a snaffle bit on the horse. We're going to be working with the left rein initially.
First, you want to give the horse a specific cue to move forward. By using the "go forward" cue, your instructions will be more understandable to the horse. After you get into the lesson, you'll need a clear way to tell him to step forward - not to the side or sort of circling you. After you've stopped him a bunch of times, he'll think that stopping is a better idea than going.
Anticipate a few minutes of confusion when he's not quite sure that he's doing what you want. But the more specific your request, the less confusing the lesson will be.
Use Hip, Shoulder, Shoulder
- Teach the lesson from the ground.
- Work from each side.
- Teach hips over from the saddle.
- Sit tall, focus on the shoulder, then teach shoulder, shoulder.
- Use the exercise any time you need to gain control of the horse.
To teach the "go forward" cue, stand facing the horse's left shoulder, with your left hand on the rein, just a few inches from the bit. Your left hand guides the horse's head, but don't pull the horse forward. Hold a dressage-type whip (about 36 inches) in your right hand. Position the tip of the whip on the top of the horse's hip. Begin lightly tapping his hip with the whip. The moment he steps forward, stop tapping.
If he moves to either side or backs up, keep tapping until he begins to step forward. Be sure that you stop tapping immediately when he moves forward and that you don't stop tapping otherwise.
Allow the horse to walk a few steps forward and somewhat around you, almost as if you were lunging him. You can go to the next step - the hips over - without having perfected the "go forward."
With the horse walking forward and you facing his left shoulder, focus on that left hip again. Pretend that your eyes could tell the horse's hindquarters what to do. Pull the left rein back toward the horse's body.
Ideally, the horse will take a big step to his right with his hindquarters. His right hind leg will step to his right. Then his left hind leg will step to his right, possibly crossing in front of the right hind. In order to do that, he'll have to stop his left front foot and pivot on it.
When you see him swing his rear away from you, release the rein. The horse will most likely stop. Pet him.
This is one of those things that's easy once you have the knack, but it will take a little doing to get yourself in the right position. When the horse pivots, his head comes to the left as his rump goes to the right. If you are up by the horse's head, he doesn't really have a place for his head to go, so the rump doesn't move, either. The result is that the horse keeps moving forward or in some type of semi-circle.
Instead, allow the horse to go slightly past you so that you're across from his withers. When you pull the rein, you're probably not going to pull directly toward his body, but literally someplace between your body and his hindquarters. The direction of the pull isn't important, but releasing the rein when the horse moves his hindquarters is. We're telling you the direction of the pull and your position just to make it easier for you to learn. If you've ever danced the swing or jitterbug, you'll recognize the feeling right away as your partner goes past you and pivots.
