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HorseAdvice.com » Training, Behavior, & Conditioning Horses » Beginning Lateral Movements » Leg Yielding » |
Discussion on Teaching a horse to Sidepass | |
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 11, 2001 - 10:50 am: Hello All,I have a six year old Arabian that I ride in competitive trail events. A training suggestion that I was given by another rider was to teach my Arab how to sidepass on the trail (for obvious reasons - moving off the trail for other riders/horses). This skill is something I've never done with any of my horses in the past, so I'm a little unsure how to get started. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much, Leah |
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 12, 2001 - 5:54 am: Hi, Leah,There is no mystery to teaching sidepass. As in directing any movement of your horse, the handler needs to decide which cues to use and the horse will respond to the cues if the handler is patient and consistent and doesn't release the cues until there is a correct response. For trailriding, I'm wondering if your friend meant teaching your horse to leg yield which is a sideways/forward movement, i.e., your horse will move forward on a diagonal line. If you are riding on a dirt road and want to get out of the line of vehicle traffic, a leg yield will allow you to move off the road while keeping forward motion with your horse. A sidepass is a direct, sideways move. In the leg yield, the horse is reaching out sideways and forward with his outside front leg and crossing under in the back. In a sidepass, the horse is crossing over sideways in front and back. Both moves are accomplished by asking the horse to move away from the pressure of the outside rein and rider's outside leg. If you want your horse to move to the right, you will want to apply left rein pressure (lightly) against his neck by moving your left hand toward your right hand where it is positioned over or just in front of the horse's withers. The reins control the front end of your horse. The outside leg, or in this case, the left leg, put pressure against the horse's side just behind the girth (your legs control the back end of your horse, i.e., impulsion and telling the back end where to go). In a leg yield, you will want to be sure to keep your elbows soft and elastic, allowing for forward movement at the same time. A common problem is that when a rider is teaching leg yield, he may tighten the elbows when applying pressure against the side of the horse, and then not understand why the horse slows down or stops. If your horse has never done lateral movement on cue, you CAN teach the basics from the ground by placing your knuckles on the spot where your leg would go and applying pressure and a verbal move cue until you get one step from the horse. Remember to go just one step at a time with lots of praise in between. If teaching the leg yield, get one step over from a front leg and then allow the horse to walk forward for several steps before asking for another sideways step. If using your left rein to move to the right, your horse's nose should come a little toward the left as he steps out and over with his right leg. In teaching sidepass, I find it helpful to place a pole on the ground and have my horse stand with front end on one side and back end on the other. Then, when I ask for a sideways step, I ask first with the rein and get him to cross over in the front, then ask with the leg and get him to cross over in the back. This allows me to see if the horse is staying straight in his sideways movement. If asking for movement to the right, the left rein is applying pressure against the horse's shoulder, but the right rein is static and ready to apply backwards pressure IF THE HORSE DECIDES TO MOVE FORWARD. If this is new to your horse, he will probably think any pressure from your rein or leg is asking for forward movement. Take your time and go one step at a time. Just using the rein cues for sidepass movement and just using your outside leg pressure lightly at the girth will get your horse to do a turn on the haunches. Hope this is understandable to you. If you are a visual learner, get your friend to demonstrate how she/he asks his horse. The movement you get should be soft and fluid, not forced. Remember, you are not PUSHING your horse over; you are asking politely for him to please move to the side. Put yourself in the horse's shoes, so to speak. Holly |
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 12, 2001 - 7:07 am: Hello all,My wife gives a somewhat clinical dissection of the techniques to teach horses the lateral movements that may complement some of Holly's practical advice. See Training Horses: Begining Lateral Movements. DrO |
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 12, 2001 - 10:41 pm: Holly,Thanks for all the training tips, and yes, everything you suggested makes sense. I definitely am interested in teaching Gabe to sidepass as he's already pretty decent at leg yields. I have a couple more questions that kind of complicates some of the tips you offered. 1. I ride Gabe with a hackamore, and have primarily two hand reined him. He is just now learning to neck rein, so should I be using a combination of both in moving his front end? 2. Gabe has successfully crossed his front legs over in the proper sidepass motion, but does not seem to get the back leg movement. I know I'm using proper leg pressure behind the girth, but he ends up usually backing up after sidepassing his front legs. Any suggestions/ideas as to what I may be doing wrong. Thanks again for all your help; everything was very insightful. Leah |
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 12, 2001 - 11:42 pm: Leah,Using a left indirect rein while using a right direct rein to, say, move your horse to the right is a way to teach the neck rein. As your horse becomes accustomed to feeling the indirect pressure, along with some direct pressure, when you are asking for shoulder movement, you will be able to gradually decrease the direct rein and rely more on the indirect rein. Time and consistency; time and consistency. If your horse understands your leg yields, he must have some inkling of the indirect rein already. As for the backward movement . . . It seems to me that your horse is understanding the shoulder movement, but because you have pressure on the rein, he is reading your leg pressure as "move" and the rein pressure as "back." Until he understands the language, he will keep trying his best to do what it is he "thinks" you are saying. Check to make sure you are not holding back on the reins when asking for hind end movement. It is common for riders to tense in their arms when applying leg pressure. Of course, if he moves forward on the pressure from one leg, you will apply a "stop" signal with the rein (preferably as you feel his body start to lean forward so you can "nip it in the bud") and release the pressure immediately as the horse halts. Then praise him and ask with one leg again. If he backs up and you are sure you are not tensing in your arms, then apply your "forward" signal (preferably as soon as you feel his body start to lean backward) which for my horses is pressure from both legs, and release the pressure immediately as your horse takes a step forward or starts to lean forward. It's really quite a fun exercise if you move very slowly and only expect movement from one end of the horse at a time and one step at a time. It's a real test of body control for the rider, and it's a real thrill when you know your horse is understanding your cues the way you are meaning them. I hope this explanation is not too confusing for you. I can picture what I mean when I'm writing, but hope it is able to give you a picture also. If not, I will try to explain it another way. Holly |
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