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  • Weight Aids & Seat Bones for Turning & Bending

    Weight Aids & Seat Bones for Turning & Bending

    The bend is approaching and you begin preparing both you and your horse to ride straight and accurately through the turn. However, as you ‘shift’ your seat bones into ‘position’ your horse begins, well, almost side stepping… The further you get through the turn, the further your horse is from the path you had planned; in fact, he has derailed altogether from the ideal ‘train tracks’ you had intended to stay on as you rounded the bend.

    As riders we learn early on about how important our weight distribution is to our horses way of going. We learn about positioning our seat bones, so we can indicate to our horses what exactly the next movement should be. We also learn that our weight aids are fundamental to all aspects of successful communication with our horses in the saddle.

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    What we don’t learn is awareness of how the other parts of our body directly or indirectly affect how and where our weight aids are applied with our horse. There is also not a lot of time spent on figuring out how loud or how quiet we can communicate with our horses through our weight aids. In fact, most riders seem to think that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is sufficient regardless of the circumstances, situation or horse involved.

    Learning to correctly feel and then master your weight aids in the saddle is key to developing good feel as a rider. Those subtle shifts and movements, which happen when you direct your muscles to move, rather than your actual weight or bones themselves. This is very much apparent when turning your horse and that is what I want to focus on today.

    So let’s begin with focusing on how your carry yourself in the saddle. Many riders make the mistake of going a little too overboard when told to ‘relax’ through their body.

    Relaxation is key to good riding, however the level of relaxation is also important to consider; particularly when it comes to how it affects your weight aids and seat bones in the saddle when riding

    Ideally you want your muscles to ‘carry’ you in the saddle, enough that your hips and seat are free to move with your horse and follow the motion. Following when riding is a little like following when dancing. The dancer that is following must remain in control of their body, walking that fine line between too relaxed or ‘slack’ and too tense or ‘rigid’. All the while they are looking for cues from their partner and then taking the responsibility on themselves to respond to those cues in the agreed manner.

    Riding is the same. Following does not mean you slouch in the saddle, looking like you have had one too many before you mounted. It rather means you carry your upper body, so your hips and seat are then willing and able to follow the horse’s motion as he crosses the ground.

    Bending and Turning Your Horse Using Your Weight Aids and Seat Bones

    Think about it, your hips and seat bones can not possibly be free to perform a full range of motions if your upper body is heavy and slouching on top of it. Many riders mistake this for ‘shoulders back’, which is unfortunate as this only serves to increase the excess tension and therefore rigidness in the body, rather than simply carrying yourself, through your ribcage and positioning your body in the best possible place from which to begin asking your horse to turn using your weight aids.

    Once you are sure that you are indeed carrying yourself and, as a result, correctly following your horse wiht your seat, you can then begin looking at how subtle changes in different areas of your body will affect your weight aids and therefore what you communicate to your horse through your seat.

    So to begin with, let’s focus on the half halt.  One of the reasons we apply the half halt is to bring your horse’s attention back to you and let him know something is coming up.

    In fact, you can almost think of your half halt as being a big flashing arrow, directing your horse’s focus to your seat so he can begin to get further directions on what to do next

    Not using your half halt will probably result in your horse’s attention being elsewhere and therefore, any subtle movements with your seat to communicate with your horse will have a good chance of being ignored.

    That being said, it is also worth noting that applying the half halt and then following it up with an incorrect, overly exaggerated or heavy use of the seat and weight aids is just as ineffective as not using the half halt at all.  Think of your half halt as the opening part of the sentence which will then, in turn, lead up to the actual question you wish to ask your horse.   Become clear on what you want to ask, before you draw your horse’s attention to your seat to begin with!

    Once you have his attention, think about what you want of your horse as he rounds the bend.  Ideally, your horse’s spine should replicate the arc of the bend or circle.

    Your horse’s spine will stay on the arc all the way through, from his poll or ears to his tail or dock.  Similarly, your spine will too stay centered over your horses, not leaning one way or the other, not twisting and not collapsing to either the inside or outside.

    His hips will travel along parallel either side along this arc, however his inside hip will come slightly forward or ahead of his outside hip.  Your hips or seat bones will be in this same position.  Then look at the shoulders; again, they should remain parallel to the central arc or track as he moves along (like train tracks), however the outside shoulder will have to move a little more forward in order to do so and, therefore, so must your shoulders.

    It seems like an awful lot to remember, and when starting out, it is!  I have found it easier for some riders to rather remember where their legs should be through the turn.  Because your legs are connected to your hips, by moving them into the desired position, your seat bones will generally follow suit and automatically also ‘slot’ into position.  However, as you become used to the inside and outside being dictated by your horse, regardless of where you are in the arena, you can begin rather making the subtle shifts with your seat bones, and then allowing your legs to follow suit.

    So back to how we can use our muscles, either for good or bad, to influence our weight in the saddle.  Find a hard chair or stool and sit down with a hand under each of your seat bones.  Now, begin by moving your shoulders, the right one forwards the left one back and then vice versa.  Notice how a very small movement of only an inch or so, will change how the pressure being exerted on your hands from your seat bones feels.  Similarly, think about ‘weighting’ one of your seat bones.  Many riders will literally ‘bear down’ on that particular seat bone, shifting their upper body to do so.  However, feel that when this happens, your seat bones actually begin ‘sliding’ towards the opposite side.

    Now, rather think of ‘weighting’ that seat body through a combination of elongating the muscles on that side of your torso, and sending a tiny bit more weight or pressure to the heel of that leg.  Notice the subtle change in the pressure being applied on your hand.  It only takes small but precise adjustments with your muscles to ‘weight’ the seat bone.  The more you can learn to control your muscles, the clearer your communication will become with your horse.

    Very often riders use their weight aids in the wrong way; namely leaning with the upper body while will result in their seat shooting to the outside

    The result is that your horse will move completely differently to how you had planned, because he is trying to remain balanced and, literally, stay underneath you.  If you find this happening a lot, go back to making sure you are symmetrical, balanced and straight in the saddle and, once you are sure of that , begin insisting on it from your horse also. Always think about your own body and what you are communicating with your horse while riding  through the corner.

    I really think that being a little ‘picky’ or obsessive about riding in the correct position will help you to make sure that your body is in the best possible place to apply the correct aids for any given movement or direction.  It will take concentration and consistent effort on your part initially, but as your ‘feel’ increases, you will find that merely thinking about it will result in your body shifting slightly in the saddle – and the more consistent you are with always riding in the correct way, the more effective your horse will be at reading the small, subtle changes in your weight and position.

    Happy Riding

    Lorna

    I have written another blog post on applying your weight aids HERE >>

    Get to know your core muscles better which will give you more control over them by joining the FREE 30 Day Rider Fitness Challenge…

  • More Advanced Exercises for a Young Horse

    More Advanced Exercises for a Young Horse

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    You have spent the past few months diligently improving your young horse’s standard of education. A lot of time invested on the basics of moving forward in a balanced rhythmic way.  He is happy, you are happy and the next natural progression is to ask for the canter.

    However, it seems all those carefully cultivated hours in the arena fly out the door as soon as you ask for the upward transition.

    Your horse begins running on his forehand, each trot stride becoming longer and faster… He eventually breaks into a canter of sorts, but nothing like what you imagined it to be!  Unbalanced, uncoordinated, and no rhythm whatsoever!

    Introducing ‘New’ To Your Young Horse

    Often it seems that no matter how much preparation we put into preparing our young horse for his first departure from a trot into a canter, the canter falls a little flat and well below our expectations.   But rather than becoming frustrated and demoralized with your horse’s apparent lack of understanding, see this as being the next step of the ladder with regards to your horse’s education. And one that, if he graduates from, will see him in a great position to really begin working from.

    Just like when you first began riding your young horse in walk and trot, your horse is going to feel very unbalanced and unsure of himself when you do ask for the canter when in the saddle.  

    This is due to the canter having a three-timed beat which depends on your horse’s outside back leg starting and propelling the rest of his footfalls and body forward in each stride.  In the trot, it is far easier to remain balanced. This is due to the effect the diagonals have on balancing him with each stride. However, the canter is almost one-sided and extra strength and development are required of your horse in order to really ‘power’ into.  Power into it and then remain balanced through each stride.

    Preparing the Transition

    As with most things concerning riding, the preparation that leads up to the transition will have a massive outcome on the success of the transition itself

    See the trot as now being the foundation for setting up the canter.  Not only from a rhythm and balance point of view. But also with regards to developing strength through his body.  Use your half halts in the trot to begin asking for his hind legs to engage a little more. This may only be for a stride or two each time. However, it will allow him to begin building the muscles necessary for a good canter later.

    More Advanced Exercises for Your Young Horse

    Be Patient Through the Transition

    When you feel that you have prepared the trot enough, you can start thinking about the canter transition itself.  It is tempting to ‘push’ your horse into the canter at first. Using your upper body in particular.  However, throwing your upper body forward will only serve to unbalance him even further.

    Rather think of sitting up tall. 

    Then asking with the correct aids.  Including, perhaps most importantly, your voice and seat.  And, from here, allowing him to break into the canter himself.

    He may run for the first few strides of trot before then almost falling into the canter, but this is to be expected initially.  Your job is to remain balanced and ‘quiet’ throughout. This will help to build his confidence in his ability to actually move into the canter under the saddle.

    Make sure you follow through your body and also your hands and arms.  Catching him in the mouth or bouncing on his back, particularly in the first few transitions, will only serve to punish him. It may also cause him to associate the canter with anxiety and tension

    Once in the Canter

    Once he has actually transitioned into the canter, remain quiet but keep him moving forward.  Very often with a young horse, the canter may be a little ‘fast’ at first if forwardness is to be maintained.  This, again, is to be expected and rather allow him this. It will help him to begin to settle into this new gait and find his balance and rhythm himself.

    The canter requires quite a bit more effort from him than the trot, so he will probably tire quickly.

    Try to ask for the downward transition into a trot before he naturally breaks into trot himself.  

    You will usually feel the lack of energy in the canter, it will seem to become more strung out, rather than bounding forward.  Again, make sure you are balanced and quiet through the transition, using your voice and seat first.

    Re-Establish, Rinse & Repeat!

    As soon as he has come back into trot, begin the work of re-establishing a balanced rhythmic trot.  It may take quite a few strides initially, particularly after the first few canter to trot transitions… However, keep in mind that working forward in a balanced and rhythmic trot is something that your young horse knows how to do. So insist on it!

    Working in and out of the canter initially is a great way to begin developing your young horse for more prolonged and balanced canters.  

    Be sure that the trot is balanced and working before asking for the canter again each time.  Also, try to be consistent and regular with your aids both into the canter, while cantering, and then back into the trot.

    Developing Over Time

    Over time, your horse will begin to strengthen up and carry himself for longer periods, in a more balanced and rhythmic canter. The lenght of time will depend on many things.

    However, how mature your horse is and/or how much time you have spent working on the more foundational aspects of his schooling, will play a big role in how quickly he progresses, both physically, mentally & emotionally

    Continue to use the walk, trot, and halt to reinforce the aids and responsiveness.  Only when he has truly mastered the canter for longer periods can you then begin thinking about making adjustments within the canter itself.

    Initially, you will only ask for short canter periods each time, perhaps 5 or 6 strides of a better quality canter rather than laps of ‘racing’ and running around the arena, which will only serve to teach him how to incorrectly maintain the canter when being ridden.  Then slowly you can begin to apply the half halt in the canter itself, so to shorten the canter strides.

    Remember that forwardness is the foundation to all his gaits, so make sure that you keep him moving actively and with energy regardless of what you are asking.

    Schooling your young horse in the canter takes time and consistency. However, all the initial investment will pay off handsomely when your horse is able to maintain a balanced, forward-moving canter from which you can begin to make adjustments.

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

    Additional Resources for Equestrians

    Are you looking for step by step instructions to listen to as you ride your young horse? I have created 5 audio horse riding programs specifically focusing on this topic. To find out how you can get these lessons (and hundreds more) visit https://stridesforsuccess.com/join/

  • Asking Your Horse to Lengthen the Stride in Canter

    Asking Your Horse to Lengthen the Stride in Canter

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    You turn the corner and ask your horse to lengthen the stride in canter a little.  But, instead of covering more ground with each passing stride, it feels like his legs have begun to move nineteen to the dozen.  Flashbacks to pony riding are flying through your brain…  And the rushing and racing is becoming more intense with each passing stride!

    The result is that, yes sure, you are definitely covering more ground however you also have less control, less energy, and a lot more tension in each stride.  And this is a problem, particularly when there are obstacles to be navigated on a jumping track!

    Why Lengthen the Stride?

    Being able to effectively lengthen the stride in the canter is important in both flatwork and jumping.  The key is the lengthen throughout the whole body, covering more ground.

    But doing so without losing the energy, connection, balance, and rhythm that is necessary to keep engagement during the movement.

    The stronger and more developed and agile your horse is, the easier he will find it to lengthen and shorten his stride to greater degrees which, particularly in jumping, is often the difference between a successful exercise or not.  It will also allow him to make changes faster with less transition time in between and without sacrificing balance and rhythm.

    Your horse most remain relaxed throughout the lengthening because any shortening will result in the strides actually becoming more ‘choppy’, shorter and quicker rather than longer, flowing and connected

    Lengthening Versus Increased Speed

    Often, lengthening the stride is confused with an increase in speed.  I have found that a simple exercise for riders to do on the ground (on their own two feet) is often enough to allow riders to see the differences between lengthening the rushing.

    Begin by ‘cantering’ on your own two legs on the ground.  Yes, you might look a little silly, but bear with me here.  So, as you are there, merrily skipping along, begin by seeing how little distance you can cover with each ‘stride’ of your skip.  Now, start experimenting with how much distance you can cover with each ‘stride’ of your skip.

    Notice how the longer the stride or distance, the more ‘stretching you are having to do?  Also, notice how you have to bring your initial foot that is pushing off on each ‘stride’ underneath you in order to achieve any forwardness in your skip?  Each stride sets the next up.

    Engaging Your Horses Hindquarters

    Well, it is a similar principle for your horse.  Rather than the hind end being left behind as he works to lengthen the stride in canter, rather think about the hindquarters stretching forward.

    The more underneath him he can engage his hind legs with each stride, the more they can propel him further along in the stride itself

    Straightness Through His Body

    So in order for your horse to correctly be able to lengthen the stride, his body must be straight throughout the canter to begin with.  If his hind quarter tends to drift one way or the other, it stands to reason that the ‘propulsion’ will not be equal through the body.  This will leave him unable to create the energy required to truly lengthen the stride.

    Begin by working on straightness.  Having mirrors in the arena are a great help for this as they allow you to assess your horse is truly correct and straight through his body while working.  Or you can also ask someone on the ground or take some photographs or videos.  Take from both a head-on angle and directly from behind.  These are often the easiest angles to see if there is any tendency to carry the hindquarters a little more to the inside or outside.

    Keep in mind that your horse’s straightness is often very much in relation to your straightness in the saddle

    Make sure that you are symmetric through your body and carrying yourself equally on both sides.  Also assess any tendencies you might have to be a little stronger with one leg over the other.  Perhaps you are a little crooked through your hips, which will almost always affect the quality and straightness of the canter.

    Asking Your Horse to Lengthen the Stride in Canter

    Straightness Through Your Seat

    The reason that your balance and straightness are so important when cantering, and particularly when asking your horse to lengthen the stride, is that a lot of the ‘asking’ is with your seat.  When we canter, our seat moves with the horse in an almost circular, rolling motion.  Being able to identify this movement in your body and then adjust it as you want is key to making transitions up and down within the canter itself.

    It is often described as a ‘scoop’ action and I think this is a good description because a scoop comes ‘up’.  This up part of the movement is necessary to allow the energy to connect through your horse’s back from the hindquarters to the front end.

    Spend time working on isolating the particular muscles in your core that are responsible for this movement in your body.  Then begin experimenting with your horse how modifying the movement translates across to your horse in the canter

    Remain Consistent Through Upper Body

    Also make sure that you are able to follow with your pelvis and lower torso, while making sure your upper body remains balanced and as still as possible.  A lot of riders make the mistake of cantering with their shoulders and chest.

    Rather see your shoulders as being responsible for maintaining a consistent, following, and elastic contact with your elbows.  From here, work on establishing the same connection to your horse’s mouth.  

    This is pretty much impossible if your shoulders are shaking and twisting around in the saddle, while your pelvis is locked and stiff.

    Prepare the Transition

    So, now that we have a better understanding of what our horse actually does when he lengthens and of what we should be doing while it is happening, let’s look at setting the transition up.  When starting out first, it is often easier to lengthen after you have asked for a few shorter strides first.

    Using your half halt, begin rebalancing your horse in the canter.  Think about moving with him and following him in the canter, but also about how you want him to lengthen.  If he lengthens correctly, his hindquarters will come further underneath him, which will in turn, lighten his front end a little more.

    So rather than your horse becoming all strung out with a downward trajectory, think of your horse as an aeroplane.  This bum is low his front is higher.  Keep this in mind as you ask for the half halts and also as you ask him to lengthen.

    Asking for ‘Longer’ Strides

    Once your canter is established and your horse is listening to you, you can begin asking with your seat for a ‘longer’ movement each stride.  Keep in mind that your seat and hands are connected, so it is important to also allow for this ‘stretching’ with your contact as well.   This does not mean throwing the reins at your horse; consistent contact is essential.  Also, continue to use your leg with each stride, to ensure that energy is constantly being created behind to continue to push or propel your horse forward.

    Pay close attention to the tempo; rather than speed up, it should either remain consistent or actually slow down a little as your horse covers more ground – so has more time between each footfall – with the longer stride

    If the tempo speeds up, it usually signals that your horse has excess tension in his body.  Said differently, he is rather doing his best ‘pony’ impression than actually reaching for more length with each passing stride!

    An Inch is Longer…

    Also when you initially begin to lengthen think of each stride as reaching further than the last.  It takes quite a bit of development and strength on your horse’s part to lengthen his body while continuing to work forward with impulsion.  So rather than just pushing him faster, build each stride a few inches longer than the last.  As he becomes stronger and more responsive to your aids, you can ask for a longer stride from the start, but think of it as an initial ‘building blocks’.

    You may find that your horse can ‘hold’ this lengthened stride for only a few strides initially before he begins to lose the forwardness of the movement.  

    This is to be expected initially at this point, half halt again and begin to shorten the stride.  Often a small circle ridden in a working canter can help to rebalance your horse, but remember to maintain the straightness throughout both your bodies all the time.

    Lengthening and shortening of his strides in canter is a great suppling exercise to work into your schooling sessions and will help you to keep your horse fresh, responsive, and agile regardless of what your chosen discipline is.

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

    Connection for Equestrians

    Are you interested in the step by step instructions as to how to ride your horse correctly and influence the length of his canter stride? There are 5 audio horse riding programs dedicated to this topic (along with hundreds of other programs) inside of Connection. You can find out more about it by visiting https://stridesforsuccess.com/join/

  • Assessing ‘On The Bit’ While Riding

    Assessing ‘On The Bit’ While Riding

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    Left – Right – Left – Right – Left – Right…  The horse’s head turning one way and then back the other.  Every single stride.  A misguided attempt by the rider to achieve ‘on the bit’.  Have you ever seen this?   The horse looks like he is auditioning for the role of the bobblehead in the back window of someone’s car.  The rider looks like they are trying to get a ‘swinging’ upper body workout in with their riding… Left – Right – Left – Right – Left – Right…

    On the bit is a little like the holy grail of horse riding.  It is an ideal that most riders aspire to.  However, because it is more a result that is achieved through the culmination of hours of consistent riding; many riders will never truly achieve it because they are not willing to put the work in.

    Unfortunately, just like most highly desired outcomes, the eagerness to obtain it leaves the door wide open for endless counterfeit reproductions being passed off as the real thing.  One of those being that many riders are merrily sawing away at their horse’s mouths thinking they are indeed ‘on the bit’.

    What is ‘On The Bit’?

    It almost becomes easier to define ‘on the bit’ by what it is not, rather than what it is.  However I think we should always try to see the correct picture first and then hold those above-mentioned ‘counterfeits’ against it so we can see the differences.

    ‘On The Bit’ is when your horse is creating energy with his hind quarters, that is being funnelled along, through his back to the front end of his body, where it is ‘channelled’ into the contact with the reins and bit.

    What is vitally important to note is that the reins and bit part can only happen after the energy has been correctly manifested.  After it has been connected through the back.  Reins and bit are the final pieces of the puzzle rather than the starting points. This is what generally trips many riders up.

    No Sawing Required!

    Being ‘On The Bit’ has nothing to do with sawing your horse’s mouth, or pulling his head in (or up, or down, or anywhere for that matter!).

    It has everything to do with your horse using himself to the best of his ability and learning to carry both himself and you.

    The Pre-Requisites for ‘On the Bit’

    So before we even begin discussing how to achieve this contact and connection, let’s first begin by making sure all the prerequisites are in place. This will ensure both you and your horse have the best possible chance of correctly working on the bit.   It goes without saying that your horse must be moving forward.  However, moving forward correctly off your leg, rather than just running aimlessly around the arena is also a vital disparity to make.

    Moving off your leg will ensure that your horse is responsive to your aids and traveling with rhythm and balance.

    You ask, he responds.  If you are having to push for every stride, or if your horse has a little ‘think’ about actually doing what you want each time you ask, I would highly suggest working on his responsiveness first, before you begin anything else in your training.

    Connecting the Energy

    Once you have established forwardness, you can then begin working on allowing that same energy to connect through from the back to the front.  

    Horses should work in rear wheel drive, meaning that they push from behind rather than pull from the front

    However, this energy then needs to connect or move through the horse in order to ‘lift’ and carry the front half of his body along with him.  What a lot of riders don’t realize is that they are the actual cause or reason that connection or transference of energy is not happening.  Simply sitting heavily in the saddle, or slouching through your shoulders or upper body, is enough to shut down that flow of energy.

    Correctly Working Your Horse On the Bit

    Self Carriage for Riders First…

    To prevent this, I want you to think about sitting up through your waist and ribs.  Think of trying to elongate your torso.  Use your muscles to carry your upper body so it does not collapse on your pelvis and hips.

    Once you are carrying yourself, I also suggest paying attention to the distance between the point of your shoulders across your chest.  Notice how when you draw your shoulders together – and shorten this distance – it affects your whole body.  Be aware of keeping your chest open all through your riding.

    Many instructors will teach this as ‘Shoulders Back’, but I find that simply pushing your shoulders back rather makes your body rigid.  Opening your chest is a softer and more flexible movement.

    The Final Piece of ‘On the Bit’

    Once you have your horse moving forward in a responsive fashion, and the energy flowing underneath you connecting the hindquarters to the front end of your horse, you’re ready.

    The final piece of the puzzle is gathering or channelling that energy to where you want it to go. You do this using your contact

    Establishing and maintaining consistent contact with your horse is key to riding on the bit.  The contact should be elasticized and ‘stretchy’; your elbows being pliable and supple enough to literally hold your horse’s mouth in your hands.  Pulling, forcing, sawing or any other use of physical force will not allow the correct use of the contact.

    Developing Over Time

    Through working correctly, your horse will begin to become stronger through his body, and assuming you are carrying yourself while in the saddle, he will begin to lift his back as he works.  This lifting of his back will allow him greater connection from the back-end through to the front end.

    It will also begin to free up his shoulders a little more.  The less the shoulders are ‘pulling’ the more they can begin ‘swinging’ and from here your horse will begin seeking out the connection with your contact.

    It will feel like holding a one end of a skipping rope with another person.  Not gripping or pulling.  There is a mutual understanding. Both are willing to do the necessary to maintain the connection and move the rope where they want it to go

    Don’t make the mistake of becoming obsessed with your horse’s head carriage.  Remember, being on the bit is the result of working correctly over time in order to build and develop the necessary strength and trust with your horse.  Where and how he carries his head will be the result of both of you carrying yourselves correctly.

    Reestablishing On the Bit when Necessary

    Also remember to use your half-halt, both to set up your transitions or different movements.  And also to rebalance and regroup when things fall apart, which they will quite often initially.

    Be consistent with your contact through the outside rein, and soft – almost offering – of your contact through the inside rein.

    As your horse begins to spend more time working on the bit, you can use your inside rein to see his he is truly carrying himself.  Does he continue to move forward when you soften your inside rein?  If so, he is truly moving and working ‘On The Bit’.

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

    Connection for Equestrians

    I have created 5 audio horse riding programs on this subject.  They will take you step by step through working your horse correctly in order to achieve a consistent ‘On the Bit’.

    If you are interested in listening to these programs (and hundreds more) you can visit https://stridesforsuccess.com/join/ to find out more.

    Other Info On this Topic

    Additional Resources To Help Equestrians:-

  • Turn on the Forehand; How to Ride a Balanced One

    Turn on the Forehand; How to Ride a Balanced One

    Have you ever found yourself halfway through a turn on the forehand; either purposely or not?  Perhaps you were out hacking and there was a gate… You tried a little turn on the forehand, just like you had heard about, to open it, but ended up dismounting!  Or maybe your instructor or trainer mentioned it, you tried it with the best of intentions, but the final result looked nothing like how they explained it?!

    Turn on the forehand is often seen as the very first introduction to lateral work for you and your horse.  It is a great movement to begin introducing the concept of ‘yielding’ to your horse and because of this, is one of the best ways to set your horse up for leg yielding.  It requires discipline, balance, and coordination from your horse and it is a wonderful way of assessing those same qualities; discipline, a balanced seat, and coordination of aids, in the rider too.

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    More Than ‘Entry Level’

    However, because it is seen as the ‘entry-level’ lateral movement, most riders do not spend enough time really mastering this movement before moving onto other, ‘more exciting’ things in the saddle!  In fact, because the turn on the forehand has been ridden so badly for so long by so many riders, a lot of instructors and trainers no longer use this tool when training riders and horses.

    This is a pity because while turn on the forehand might only be the beginning or first step of the lateral ladder, it does not mean that it is the easiest movement in the book to master.  

    In fact, the mere fact that you are introducing something new to your horse and then will use the same principles to build your further lateral movements should dictate that the ability to ask for and then ride a turn on the forehand should be of much greater importance when training riders and horses.

    I have found that the reasons many riders struggle with turn on the forehand is due to a lack of understanding about setting it up, confusion regarding the aids to work through it and also, lack of clarity on exactly what the horse should be doing with his body and feet to correctly perform the movement

    What is Turn on the Forehand?

    So, what is turn on the forehand?  Well, the simple explanation is that the horse’s hindquarters or back legs move in an arc or circular shape around the front legs, which remain very close to where they started for the duration of the movement.  So imagine your horse has halted square and you prepare to ask a turn on the forehand to the left.  Using your left leg, your horse will begin to move his hindquarters away, yielding, to your requests.  All the while, his front feet will remain in the same area as he moves his hindquarters around them.

    Picture the face of a clock and then the center of the clock, where the arms are attached to the clock face.  Your horse is the ‘clock arm’ and his front feet in the halt are exactly at the point, in the center of your clock, where the arms are secured. 

    Now, pick a place on the actual arc of the clock itself (where the numbers are on the clock face).  This is where the hindquarters are currently positioned at the halt.  The turn on the forehand is simply moving the hindquarters mark further around the circle, perhaps from the 9 o’clock mark, around to the 12 o’clock mark and even on to the 3 o’clock mark.  The front legs stay at the center of the clock at all times.

    Encouraging Flexion

    Your horse’s back should remain straight throughout the movement, so no curving or bending.  However, he will have a slight flexion at the poll to the inside, which he will maintain throughout the movement.  He will also step with all four feet, in sequence to walking, but with only the hind feet really covering any ground.   The front feet will merely march or keep time on the spot for all of their steps.

    A BALANCED TURN ON THE FOREHAND

    The rider must remain balanced throughout the movement.  They must ask for the flexion with the inside hand, weight the inside seat bone slightly, ask for ‘over’ with the inside leg, and then use the outside rein to balance that movement.  The outside leg will act as a ‘barrier’ of sorts, but also will help to keep the activity in the ‘steps’ as the horse moves across in turn on the forehand.

    When written in black and white, this all sounds simple enough, but such a simple explanation leaves the door wide open for a lot of different variations and wrong practices within the movement itself.

    Left or Right? Depends on Flexion

    The first part that can be confusing for many riders is the actual direction of the turn on the forehand itself.  If you are asked to ride a turn on the forehand to the left, your horse’s poll will flex slightly to the left – making this the inside -, his head will travel to the left during the movement and this, in turn, means the hindquarters will actually swing to the right (hence the confusion).

    So the named direction of the turn is the same as the flexion of you horse while he is performing the turn.  Your horse will be flexed to the inside, which is the leg you will ask your horse to move away from or yield to. So a turn on the forehand to the left will see your horse flexing through his poll to the left while moving to the right off your inside (left) leg

    Front Legs; Stationary or Not?

    Many riders are concerned that teaching their horse the turn on the forehand, with the front legs remain almost stationary, will surely mean that there is no forward movement happening – and this goes against everything they learn about riding.  However, I think this misconception comes from the fact that many riders think of turn on the forehand as just the back legs moving, the inside across in front of the outside, as the horse turns, with the front legs twisting along afterward, and forced to eventually move.  This is incorrect.  A true turn on the forehand will keep the rhythm and footfalls of the walk while it is happening.

    Think of it like the inside hind leg moves across in front of the outside hind leg, and in order to maintain alignment with the direction of the body, each of the other feet will step up, straighten out and put down, where they realign with a ‘square’ and also so as to keep the horse and rider balanced.

    So, while the horse is certainly not moving forward in the true sense of the word, the activity should be maintained throughout the movement

    Inside Leg to Outside Rein

    Another way to think about creating forward energy is by emphasizing the relationship between your inside leg, your horse’s inside hind leg, and the outside rein while the horse is performing the movement.

    Your inside leg will ask for the sideways movement, the horse will lift his inside hind leg and as he swings it across in front of his outside hind leg, your outside hand will subtly connect with that energy and tell him where to put it down.  

    Your outside leg will help to maintain the forwardness by reminding your horse, if necessary, to straighten up or align his outside back foot with the new position of the body.

    Balance of Aids

    I also want to highlight how the riders balanced seat and coordinated aids play a big part in successfully riding a turn on the forehand.  Many riders try to shove and push their horse around in this movement.  They collapse their inside shoulder and, consequently, their core muscles on that same side.  This causes their weight to shift to the outside of the saddle and is often the cause of the horse scrambling to get back under the weight of the rider to try to maintain balance for both.

    Remember to sit up through your body and ask for your horse to yield to your leg, not force.  

    I suggest that all horses are thought to yield to his pressure on the ground first, whether it be in the stable or through groundwork exercises in the arena.  Then, if your horse still struggles to understand, ask a person on the ground to help you.  Keep in mind that if your horse is confused, the chances of him doing the correct thing and, importantly, realizing what that was are very slim!

    Also, think of sitting up through your body and carrying yourself, so that when your horse does move sideways you are giving your body the best possible chance of, gracefully and subtly, following him there.

    Happy Riding

    Lorna

    Additional Resources on This Topic:-

  • Lunging for You and Your Horse

    Lunging for You and Your Horse

    Do you find that the only time you begin seriously thinking about lunging your horse is when you are about to ride, and he has just a little bit too much ‘enthusiasm’ for your liking?  Or perhaps your idea of lunging is chasing your horse round and round in circles until one or both of you are too tired (or dizzy!) to go any further?

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    Unfortunately many riders have a completely wrong opinion of lunging. It is thought of as something that, if your horse was fortunate, helped introduce him to the concept of aids, tack, balance and moving forward, but seeing as how he is now backed and riding, it is only used in extreme circumstances – or when the mood for some natural horsemanship takes hold (and I am not quite sure that falls into the lunging category at all!).

    Lunging is a wonderful way of adding some change to your  horse’s exercise and schooling routine and has many benefits which can be seen and felt for both younger and more experienced horses alike.

    Lunging also allows the rider to understand how the horse moves, what motivates the horse to move forward, to visually see how the horse can carry and use his body correctly and also incorrectly and, of course, check for soundness

    From the younger horses perspective, lunging helps them to understand how to balance themselves correctly and allows them to become familiar with both the riders aids, particularly the voice aid which can then be transferred over to when being ridden under the saddle, but also it allows them to become comfortable with not only wearing tack, but how it feels to move and work while wearing the tack.  Side reins are a great introduction to the concept of contact for young horses and allows them to begin working from behind and into the contact, without having to worry about balancing a rider on top as well.

    Just like riding, lunging is a balance that must be continuously reassessed and adjusted for if necessary.  Small, subtle actions or non-actions that are thoughtfully carried out is key to successfully lunging your horse

    For the more experienced horse, lunging will help them increase their suppleness, both longitudinally and latitudinally.  It is a wonderful way to encourage your horse to engage his hind quarter and then connect that energy to the front end, particularly with horses who have become accustomed to travelling with a hollow back.  They can really experience how to lift their backs and truly bring their hind quarters underneath them, powering them forward with every stride, rather than being in continuous ‘front wheel drive’, pulling along with the shoulders.
    Lunging for Horse and Rider
    When the horse truly begins to use his back, he can begin to carry himself better, which will help him develop, both physically and also mentally, as he learns about self carriage, again without having the rider on board.  It is far easier to then replicate this from the saddle when your horse has experienced it on the lunge, without a rider, first.  Lunging is also a great way to communicate with your horse, whether younger or older, the concept of bending through the whole body.

    However, the person lunging must first understand the relationship between the horse, the lunge line, their position, the lunge whip and their voice aids

    Now, before we go any further I feel it is really important to stress the point that lunging and loose schooling are very different methods of working with horses.  They are completely different and I feel that, perhaps due to the popularity of various natural horsemanship methods (which can be a wonderful tool in their own right), the concept and art of true lunging has perhaps become ‘diluted’ in many riders minds.

    In lunging, we are trying to replicate different movements that we can later do while in the saddle.  In order to do this your horse must be moving forward, however this forwardness must then also be contained in a contact, otherwise your horse will begin to run.

    Before you begin actually lunging, make sure you are in a suitable area.  A large round pen, and enclosed arena (which I suggest using one end or a corner to lunge in, or if you are in a field or large paddock try, again, to use a corner but if possible build a temporary fence with jumping poles or similar to create a smaller space.

    Your horse’s attention should be on you throughout the time you are working on the lunge, and often a smaller, more enclosed space can help to keep the focus on you, your body language and voice

    Correctly fitting tack is also essential and I would also suggest the use of brushing boots, especially if it is a young horse you are working with as their balance might not be the best initially!  A cavesson can be fitted with the bridle if necessary and of course, you will need a lunge line / rope and a lunge whip.  I also strongly urge you to wear gloves and your riding helmet when lunging.  A playful buck might just be directed your way and it is always better to be safe than sorry!

    Side reins are a great addition to your lunging equipment.  However, correct use of them is essential to your horse’s correct training and development.  Many riders are tempted to fit them too tightly, so their horse is ‘on the bit’ while being lunged…  Keep in mind, on the bit is only the result of a lot of other pieces being correctly assembled or established when your horse is working.  Fixing your horse’s head and neck will only result in your horse learning to hollow his back, and also, lean against the contact, both habits being the sort that will take quite a bit of time and expertise to undo once established!

    Your side reins should be used to communicate with your horse that the contact will be consistent and, equally as important, he should work into it.  Side reins are also a fantastic way, when applied the correct way so as both reins are equal, to see if you horse is truly bending.  Just like when riding, the outside rein will ‘fill up’ and the inside rein will become ‘soft’.  Don’t fall victim to the temptation to make one side rein shorter than the other in an attempt to ‘bend’ your horse.  This will only result in your horse becoming heavy and leaning on the inside rein, rather than being soft and light.

    Once you assessed that you are indeed ready to begin working your horse on the lunge line, open every lunging session by bringing your horse to the center of the circle you will be working on.  Your horse should have a basic understanding of ‘Go’ and ‘Whoa’ while being led before you begin lunging and this will become useful when your horse is working. From the center begin asking your horse to walk forward, while moving out away from you.

    Keep in mind that your position in relation to your horse and also your angle of hips and shoulders to your horse while lunging is constantly communicating messages to your horse, throughout the process

    Just like when actually in the saddle, your contact (in this case with the lunge line) and your forward or driving aids (your lunge whip, voice and also body position / language), are a vital part of the equation.  Just like when you are riding, your horse must be moving forward before you can begin making any adjustments to what is happening.

    Do not allow your horse to cross into your space.  I find that a great way to instill this concept with your horse is to make sure that when he halts, to finish his work, he does so on the ‘outer track’.  He must then wait for you to go out and ‘fetch’ him, before he can come back into the center of the circle.  If you allow him to turn into you each time you want to change rein, you are only serving to confuse your horse and eliminate any boundaries that you are working to create!

    I would also encourage you to experiment with your body language and position to your horse while lunging.  Notice at what position he associates you with no longer asking for forward.  Notice where he associates your location to him with downward transitions.  If you can begin to notice how your horse views your body language, you can then begin to refine the communication between you both, to ask for more quality work every time you are lunging your horse.

    Lunging truly does require a certain amount of discipline, accuracy and finesse from both horse and rider to be truly beneficial to your horse’s training and your education.  Becoming good at lunging takes skill, which takes time and plenty of practice to acquire.  However, investing yourself in becoming a master at this particular practice is well worth the effort in the long run, for both your and your horses.

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

     

    For more information visit the links below

    Lunging for Horse and Rider