Tips for 'untraining' a horse to turn with inside rein

[Aabri]

I have started to school an unschooled 12 year old horse and whenever I use my inside rein for flexion he immediately turns. Does anybody have any tips to untrain this aid of turning with the inside rein and reinforce that inside rein means ONLY flexion and outside rein and leg aid is to execute a turn?

 

[eggs]

How much flexion are you asking for? Are you inadvertently releasing the outside rein.

I find it helps to think of turning the outside shoulder around the turn rather than steering the head.

 

[milliepops]

as a rider you need to establish the horse's understanding and connection to the outside rein better.

I don't think you can "untrain" as such, what you can do is train in something new over the top of what the horse knew previously, so that's the approach I would take.

leave flexion to the inside for now, as a concept to be returned to later on when the horse has got a bit more of an education. and I would work on really getting the horse secure in both reins, but particularly understanding the outside rein. I find they cotton on to this fairly well if you can introduce some leg yield steps or a bit of shoulder-fore (I'd ride both with little to no flexion) to really get the horse connected from your inside leg to your outside hand. when you can use the outside rein fairly securely then you can come back to the idea of flexion.

 

[holeymoley]

You need to ride him from the leg and up. Yes flex with the rein but essentially if you’re using the outside rein correctly to balance him, by keeping the leg on they should be moving forward. He may be ‘blocked’, a lot of stretching to teach him that his neck and shoulders are different parts(!) may help.