billyboobar
Active Member
Hi my youngster is very well behaved - but when Im on him and ask him to back up using both my leg and the reins he will rear up - any suggestions ??
Youngster Rearing when asking to back up.
- Thread starter billyboobar
- Start date
JFTDWS
+++ Out of Cheese Error +++
I'd rear too if you used your legs and reins at the same time.
Rein back comes from the seat and the leg, not the hand.
Rein back comes from the seat and the leg, not the hand.
*hic*
village idiot :D
When you ask him from the ground what happens?
JillA
Well-Known Member
Yes, don't use your leg until he has learned what you want. Just apply a slight tension on the reins and sit and wait. The INSTANT he even thinks about backwards, release the tension. Again and again until he offers a backward step - build on that until you have a few steps, it will come quickly and easily once you get the one step if your timing is spot on. It is the release which teaches, and if you do it right you can obtain a lovely soft flowing back up.
stencilface
High upon a hillside
More groundwork is needed I think.
I ask for rein back by lightening my seat, a feel on the reins and lifting my heels, I prob haven't explained that well, but you need to lift your seat to give your horse space to move into.
I ask for rein back by lightening my seat, a feel on the reins and lifting my heels, I prob haven't explained that well, but you need to lift your seat to give your horse space to move into.
_GG_
Well-Known Member
In rein back, the riders hands should only serve to stop any forward motion from the horse, they should never be used to ask for the backwards movement.
The aids should be to sit ever so very slightly forward to lighten the weight through the seatbones. The seatbones should not come away from the saddle, nor should the rider tip or lean forward, but simply, relax at the waist in a forward way in order that the load through the seatbones is lightened. Then, the legs should both come behind the girth and be applied lightly at the same time.
Applying the legs one at a time can cause the quarters to swing. Using the hand to ask for the movement can make the horse tense and hollow and raise the head. This can also make them tense in the legs, doing a four beat rein back which is incorrect.
As you are on a youngster, I would leave this for a bit to allow the horse to forget it, in order that you can come back to it fresh in a few months. When you do, make sure you do the groundwork first so that the horse understands the voice command and to move away from pressure in a backwards direction...applying pressure to the point of shoulder. When you introduce it in ridden work, a helper can give the aids from the ground while you introduce the aids from the saddle and the horse will be able to easily learn what you are asking of it.
Your horse is rearing because it is confused. It is young and is being asked to stop and go at the same time. It doesn't know how to respond, so is reacting the only way it knows how.
Good luck and do take your time with it and try to remember not to use your hands. They really should be the most inactive aid of all.
The aids should be to sit ever so very slightly forward to lighten the weight through the seatbones. The seatbones should not come away from the saddle, nor should the rider tip or lean forward, but simply, relax at the waist in a forward way in order that the load through the seatbones is lightened. Then, the legs should both come behind the girth and be applied lightly at the same time.
Applying the legs one at a time can cause the quarters to swing. Using the hand to ask for the movement can make the horse tense and hollow and raise the head. This can also make them tense in the legs, doing a four beat rein back which is incorrect.
As you are on a youngster, I would leave this for a bit to allow the horse to forget it, in order that you can come back to it fresh in a few months. When you do, make sure you do the groundwork first so that the horse understands the voice command and to move away from pressure in a backwards direction...applying pressure to the point of shoulder. When you introduce it in ridden work, a helper can give the aids from the ground while you introduce the aids from the saddle and the horse will be able to easily learn what you are asking of it.
Your horse is rearing because it is confused. It is young and is being asked to stop and go at the same time. It doesn't know how to respond, so is reacting the only way it knows how.
Good luck and do take your time with it and try to remember not to use your hands. They really should be the most inactive aid of all.
billyboobar
Active Member
Hi no I wasnt Dee - he is fine when you ask him to back up from the ground and even if you use the reins when you are on the ground and ask him to back up he is fine
Littlelegs
Well-Known Member
Ditto jftd. I'm not massively keen on teaching youngsters rein back until their schooling is at a level they can do a correct straight reinback, or you run the risk of them just learning to go backwards, or running back etc. Until then if it was needed at a gate etc I'd use the same 'go back' command I use on the ground, so the aids for a proper rein back movement & just moving back any old how didn't become confused.
billyboobar
Active Member
Just a query then when people ride western do they do it differently as I was watching Carl Cox on the Horse Channel Sky 280 - and he held his reins very tight and lent forward then back - when watching he was riding in english tack though ??
billyboobar
Active Member
Ok thank you I will just use my voice commandments for now - what age would be best to start learning rein back - and should I start this when long reining ??
Littlelegs
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't say there's an age, depends more on the horses schooling. A true reinback really gets the horses weight on its quarters, same as when working correctly, so it has to be working well first. Do you have an instructor who could help you with knowing when to introduce new exercises?
And just a thought, but this youngster isn't the mini is it?
And just a thought, but this youngster isn't the mini is it?
billyboobar
Active Member
No he's not the shetland - I will wait a little whilst first as dont like asking youngsters too much to young - we just have quite a lot gates we have to go through when we ride out so just wanted to help him understand to go backwards when at the gate - but will use my commands for now as dont want him to pick up a bad habit of rearing.
lhotse
Well-Known Member
Carl Cox rides? I though he was a rave DJ, you learn something new everyday!!
_GG_
Well-Known Member
Pretty much everything is done differently is western riding, regardless of the tack they use.
The aids I wrote out are the classical dressage aids, aimed at making the rider allow for the correct movement of the horse by giving it the freedom through the back to take quality backward steps.
The reason the hand is just a blocking aid is that, when used actively, it gives a horse a reason to react to it. That might be by becoming hollow, raising the head or rearing or it might be by dropping behind the vertical, opening the mouth, shuffling back, instead of a two beat step.
Hope that makes sense.
