| Have you ever been in a situation when riding your | | | | smaller, it becomes more difficult for the horse to go |
| horse where his misbehaviour had you feeling | | | | fast & he will slow himself down. Done correctly, |
| vulnerable and out of control? Most riders will | | | | both you & your horse remain balanced and in |
| experience this situation more than once in their riding | | | | alignment which helps to decrease the stress both you |
| careers. How do you regain control without having the | | | | are feeling. |
| horse buck, rear or run backwards? There is a simple | | | | Stopping Backing Up |
| solution ... The bend is your friend. A horse in a true | | | | If your horse is backing up, you can also use bend to |
| bend cannot buck or rear and can be quickly and | | | | your advantage to deal with this evasion. Again, keep |
| easily stopped from backing up. | | | | an open inside rein, inside leg asking for the bend, |
| Creating True Bend | | | | outside shoulder back to maintain contact on the |
| To create a true bend, apply pressure from your inside | | | | outside rein and outside upper leg blocking the outside |
| leg just behind the girth and ask the horse to yield his | | | | shoulder. Rotate your core into the turn. Bring your |
| ribs. At the same time, open your inside rein to "open | | | | inside leg back towards the hind quarter and push the |
| the door" into the turn. Keep his nose lined up with the | | | | hind end out of the bend. This action disengages the |
| centre of his chest so that you don't create over | | | | hind quarters. As soon as your horse stops backing up, |
| flexion in his neck by pulling his head in towards your | | | | ask him to walk forward into the bend. Maintain |
| leg. You want to create a nice bend through his spine | | | | contact on the reins without pulling back. He must feel |
| from nose to tail with no kinks in his spine. Pulling his | | | | no block to going forward or he may start backing up |
| head to the inside will cause his outside shoulder to pull | | | | again. |
| out of the bend making it more difficult for you to | | | | Remember that simple does not mean easy. To be in |
| control the outside of his body. | | | | control when riding, your horse needs to have respect |
| Create a block to his outside shoulder by keeping your | | | | for your boundaries, blocks & pushes. You need |
| own outside shoulder back and maintaining contact on | | | | to be supple and balanced in your seat and clear in |
| the outside rein. If your outside shoulder or arm slide | | | | your aids. To develop your own skills, practice on a |
| forwards, you will be giving away the outside rein | | | | well schooled, well behaved horse under the guidance |
| which will allow the horse to over flex himself and push | | | | of a professional trainer. As your skills progress, you |
| through his outside shoulder. You may also need to | | | | will be able to apply them to a younger, less schooled |
| use your outside upper leg as a block to your horse's | | | | or more challenging horse. Practice the exercises |
| outside shoulder. | | | | described above regularly so that they become |
| As you get your horse bending & turning, ask him | | | | second nature and you will have the ability to apply |
| to go forward into the circle and gradually spiral in to a | | | | them effectively and proactively when your horse is |
| smaller & smaller circle. (Maintain contact on both | | | | getting out of control. Practice does not make perfect |
| the outside & inside reins without over flexing the | | | | - Perfect Practice Makes Perfect. |
| neck & pulling the head in.) As the circle gets | | | | |