Getting stressy in rein back

[Charlie007]

I had a lesson on Saturday and started to introduce my horse to rein back. We eventually managed to get 4 or 5 steps back in a sort of straight line so left it at that. I tried again tonight and he was getting stressy about it. He struggled to go backwards and when he did he was all over the place. I managed to get a few strides then called it a day. My instructor has said do it in the middle of the school so that I don't encourage him to turn his quarters in along the fence and also to use some poles each side of me as a guide. I am keeping my seat light and am not hauling him back with my hands. I suppose he could have been sore after saturdays lesson??? When I got off I backed him up on the ground. It took a while for him to realise what I wanted but then he was ok. Any suggestions?

*Edited by admin* See how Michael Eilberg teaches his horses to rein back: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/how-to-teach-your-horse-rein-back-509828

 

[eggs]

My horse struggled with rein back with a rider. We always make the horses step back from the stable door but pushing them in the centre of their chest so I knew that he was physically capable of stepping backwards and understood it.

To begin with I always did rein back with someone on the ground to push him on the chest whilst I also have him the vocal command to 'back'. We then progressed to have the person on the ground push him on the chest whilst I gave him the ridden aids and then progressed to giving him the aids whilst the person on the ground stood in front of him and then progressed to being able to ride him in reinback with no-one on the the ground. It took a few weeks of constant repetition and a bit of leaping about but now he is very good in reinback (usually scoring 7 or 8 in aff dressage tests).

I was always taught to teach rein back against the side of the school to help keep the horse straight. Make sure you have a good square halt with your horse on the bit before asking for rein back. Any crookedness in the rider will show in the horse not reining back straight.