| The systematic way to train a dressage horse to do a | | | | hindquarters from swinging out. |
| walk pirouette is to start with turn on the haunches. | | | | Left rein: |
| A turn on the haunches is a 180-degree turn done at | | | | Turn your wrist to ask for +1 flexion. |
| the walk. Your horse bends in the direction of the turn. | | | | Right rein: |
| His forehand moves around his haunches until he's | | | | Use your right rein as a siderein to limit the amount of |
| facing the opposite direction. His outside hind foot and | | | | bend you get in the neck. |
| his forefeet move around his inside hind foot, which | | | | Both hands: |
| forms a pivot.o Your horse must maintain the regular | | | | Move both hands in the direction of the turn to move |
| rhythm of his walk. His pivot leg gets picked up and put | | | | the forehand around the hindquarters. Keep your |
| down each time, slightly ahead of where it was | | | | hands side-by-side and equidistant from your body. |
| before.o Turn on the haunches engages the | | | | Think of your left rein as an opening rein and bring your |
| hindquarters and encourages bending of the joints of | | | | right rein closer to your horse's neck. Imagine that your |
| the hind legs. The end result is that your horse's body | | | | hands are like the second hand on a clock sweeping |
| feels more packaged.o Turn on the haunches is an | | | | around the face of the clock. |
| introductory movement for the walk pirouette. It differs | | | | The sequence of aids are: |
| from a pirouette because it's done from a shortened | | | | 1. Prepare for the turn by using a "stilled seat" to |
| medium walk while a pirouette is done from a | | | | shorten your dressage horse's medium walk. |
| collected walk. Also in the turn on the haunches, your | | | | 2. Bend your horse to the inside. |
| horse's hind feet make a small circle, (about the size of | | | | 3. Set him up for the turn by riding in a slight |
| a dinner plate). In a walk pirouette, your horse's inside | | | | shoulder-fore position. |
| hind leg should be picked up and put down almost on | | | | 4. Bring both hands in the direction you want his body |
| the same spot. | | | | to turn to guide his forehand around his hindquarters. |
| The aids to train your dressage horse to do a turn on | | | | Since the two most important ingredients to train a |
| the haunches to the left are: | | | | dressage horse to do a correct turn on the haunches |
| Seat: | | | | are rhythm and bend, preserve these qualities by |
| Put your weight on your left (inside) seat bone. | | | | introducing it on a circle.o Do haunches-in on a |
| Left leg (inside leg): | | | | 10-meter circle.o As long as your horse keeps his |
| Place your left leg on the girth to promote bending and | | | | rhythm, bend, and desire to go forward, decrease the |
| engagement of your horse's inside hind leg. | | | | size of the circle while you're still in haunches-in |
| Right leg (outside leg): | | | | gradually.o Make the circle only as small as you can |
| Place your right leg behind the girth to help bend your | | | | while keeping the rhythm, bend, and forward desire. |
| horse around your inside leg and to prevent his | | | | |