How do I teach to stand up square?

[haras]

I'm doing my first show with my yearling next week. I've been trying to teach her to stand up nicely. She will now stand still and stretch her neck out (breed thing) but I can't get her to stand square. Does anyone have any ideas how to teach this?

Shes an arab if that helps.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Ever so gently tap with a stick. Get her used to it first so she's not frightened of it and run it up and down her leg. I emphasise the super gently bit, the last thing you want is for her to be scared. Praise hugely, treat when she's square. Use your hand instead if it's safe to do so and the you can use pressure to persuade her.

To be honest, I'd be surprised if a judge was expecting a perfectly square stance in a yearling.

 

[Miss L Toe]

Pull her forwards and allow her to balance herself, you can use a light whip to tap leg, but just pulling forward , or back and light praise should work.
Every time she halts she should be asked to stand square.

 

[EstherYoung]

Don't worry too much about stretching her neck out. Unless she's stood right she will just hollow and it will look pants.

You'll need to do a bit of work teaching her to move one foot at a time. It's a bit like leading a dance, think about which leg you want her to move, ask her to put her weight on the one you want to stand still, and then ask her to step up or step back with the one you want her to move. I tend to ask them to move forwards to move a front leg and backwards to move a back leg, particularly when they're babies, as they seem to understand it better. You'll get big steps to start with, but if she just moves the one leg even if it's a big step, reward the try and you can work on asking for half a step later. Short lessons, too, as they get stale quickly.

But really, if you've only got a week, don't fuss her too much. Just concentrate on standing straight, still, and keep a treat in your hand to keep a nice arch in her neck. If you straighten her up in the walk leading to the stand the stand is likely to be better.

 

[pip6]

Please don't do the hyper extended pose. As an arab owner personally I hate seeing them stood like this, it does nothing for the breed. It's as bad as them carrying long whips to encourage this (yes they do hit them around the head, I have seen this, or us it to 'encourage' hyper elevated paces). Do you really want to get into a showing world that relies on whips to present their horses? Try watching the Crabbet classes where long whips are banned & they are shown in a natural stance.

 

[Archangel]

Really for in hand showing you don't want her to stand truly square. You need to aim to have the legs on the judge's side in an open stance. Here is a link to the famous Holly Blue showing how to do it perfectly (I am sure Michael won't mind )

Holly Blue

When the judge walks round the other side walk the horse up one step to open the stance on that side (as per EstherYoung's instructions )

As you ask the horse to halt encourage them to hold their neck proudly (from the base of the neck rather than stretching from throat).

Don't forget the trot up - a break into canter spoils the moment.. It is your chance to exhibit to the judge so take your time.

Good luck!