After you teach your horse to go through the gate with the push maneuver, you'll want to teach him to do it while you pull the gate toward you. This requires your horse to move more before you ask him to go through the gate.
Once you unlatch the gate and move your hand to the top rail, ask your horse to back up a step or two while you move your hand down to the middle of the rail. Ask for a sidepass away from the gate while you pull the gate toward you. Ask your horse to move his hips away from the gate-just as with the push, essentially another turn on the forehand-until he can face the opening.
As your horse goes through, you'll have to pull the gate after you. Ask him to back up while you slide your hand back along the gate's rail toward the latch.
Above all, Bonham advises to keep the training sessions fairly short. "Don't just drill and drill and drill," she says. "We want them happy to do their job."
If you take your horse through a gate step by step, he will be happy going through it. Once he's mastered the technique, think of how much farther your trail rides can expand.
