In response to C-Fox's question: Is it just me or is the horse behind the vertical all the time, even though the reins are slack? Yes, you will hear us talk about that often, with horses that have been over flexed in the neck, when we first begin the healing process of stretching, they will often look behind the bit as their necks already have a bend in the third or fourth vertebrae.
Will. Thank you for such awesome videos. I'm a firm believer in that you are always learning. I've been doing horses for 30 years and was never taught the correct way to teach collection. I have a gelding that I will admit that I screwed up by trying to achieve collection. With your videos I have been able to correct this problem. We are still in the process of developing the muscles, but we're getting there. You are the only trainer on You Tube that teaches the stretch down of the head and neck and back. I have now started to teach this as well. Thank you. Keep the videos coming, I can never get enough of them
The circle is created by leg yielding into the outside rein and toward the outside of the circle, once you are on the size of the circle that you want you simple do nothing but maintain your position in the saddle. Your hands come a little to the inside as opposed to trying to push the horse over with the inside rein.
Thank you ... I think your videos are excellent and the horses always end up with soft swinging backs 😃. The other thing I appreciate is that you don't edit the little mistakes out as I think you sometime learn more from the mistakes than if everything goes correct.....AND I don't believe a perfect horse or human has been born yet.
Hello there. I have been working with horses for about 30 years. You are the only ones that teach how and why to stretch the horse down through his back to help develop the back for proper collection. I have learned a whole new way of teaching. my daughters little mare was 4 when we got her. I used your videos to help this mare get a proper frame up of the back. When she first got it we were thrilled. She had spring in her back legs. To me it looks as if the horse is dancing up. I can never get enough of your videos. Thank you for teaching the classical look and not the fake look or what I call it cheating. looking forward to more.
Thank you for doing this, it's so relaxed and easy which almost nobody teaches but I realized is the best way for the horses early on. You're videos have really helped me since a live in a remote area where there aren't very many people who teach this way. I just want a disciplined horse, not looking to do anything fancy, but you're videos have helped me a lot.
Oh dear! Some months ago I asked a local trainer to show me how to leg yield, and she told me that the hindquarters must lead. I have been doing it this way for about three months, once a week, I hope I haven't confused my horse too much... I wondered why she wanted to lead with her shoulders! Ah, serves me right.
Thank you so much for this great video. I do have one question. In the past, I learned that my legs should be the opposite diagonal as what you've explained here. I had to move my inside leg backwards (horse moves away from that leg). Your way does make more sense as it helps the horse to bend. How would you go about changing the aids? We tried it the other way and both me and the horse got really confused for a bit :)
Drawing the leg back on the inside, the leg your are moving from, pushes the hind quarters over too much without bending the horse and often leads to the horse stepping on itself. Keep trying correctly and you will get it.
At 0.20 did you imply that a circle is a lateral movement? And crossing the inside rein over the neck would not be neck reining because in neck reining the horse is not counter bent (which he would be in your example).
I just tried this at it worked beautifully. I like the distinction between outside leg back vs. opening through the hip slightly. That kept my horse straight. Yay
Will. Thank you for such awesome videos. I'm a firm believer in that you are always learning. I've been doing horses for 30 years and was never taught the correct way to teach collection. I have a gelding that I will admit that I screwed up by trying to achieve collection. With your videos I have been able to correct this problem. We are still in the process of developing the muscles, but we're getting there. You are the only trainer on You Tube that teaches the stretch down of the head and neck and back. I have now started to teach this as well. Thank you. Keep the videos coming, I can never get enough of them
Will. Thank you for such awesome videos. I'm a firm believer in that you are always learning. I've been doing horses for 30 years and was never taught the correct way to teach collection. I have a gelding that I will admit that I screwed up by trying to achieve collection. With your videos I have been able to correct this problem. We are still in the process of developing the muscles, but we're getting there. You are the only trainer on You Tube that teaches the stretch down of the head and neck and back. I have now started to teach this as well. Thank you. Keep the videos coming, I can never get enough of them
Will. Thank you for such awesome videos. I'm a firm believer in that you are always learning. I've been doing horses for 30 years and was never taught the correct way to teach collection. I have a gelding that I will admit that I screwed up by trying to achieve collection. With your videos I have been able to correct this problem. We are still in the process of developing the muscles, but we're getting there. You are the only trainer on You Tube that teaches the stretch down of the head and neck and back. I have now started to teach this as well. Thank you. Keep the videos coming, I can never get enough of them
Will. Thank you for such awesome videos. I'm a firm believer in that you are always learning. I've been doing horses for 30 years and was never taught the correct way to teach collection. I have a gelding that I will admit that I screwed up by trying to achieve collection. With your videos I have been able to correct this problem. We are still in the process of developing the muscles, but we're getting there. You are the only trainer on You Tube that teaches the stretch down of the head and neck and back. I have now started to teach this as well. Thank you. Keep the videos coming, I can never get enough of them
I have been having problems learning leg yield. I am told it is the1st and easiest lateral movement, but not for me. My trainer has me do everything you show above except she has me shift my hands into the direction I am going. It makes more sense to me to push the horse into the outside rein, so I am confused. I can get my horse to move a bit sideways, but I lose forward and the cross over is not good. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I should also mention that I do small half halts with the rein that I am moving into.
You are having difficulty because you are right your trainer is wrong. You would move your hands a little toward your outside hip if you are doing a half-pass, in which the horse moves into the direction of the bend, which would require a high degree of bend, therefore a much high level of training to perform. So once again in the leg yield, you move the horse away from your inside leg into your outside rein. So the reins must go toward to the inside of the bend. If you are leg yielding to the right the horse moves away from your left leg and your hands are carried a little to the left. once you stop confusing the horse by trying to do it backwards, your problems should be solved in time. Remember you should always be moving forward as much as you are moving to the side.
your videos are the best I have found. I have a 7 year old KWPN who suffers from the 'broken at the third vertebra' issue. It is improving slowly. I have practiced your suggestions of leg yield and shoulder in and stretch. Are there any other exercises you would recommend? Several of my dressage tests say he needs to take more weight onto the back end - and that he tilts his head particularly to the right. Thank you!
+Rachael Grant Remember that no horse ever gets off it's forehand by pulling on the reins or pulling it’s head and neck up in the air and hollowing the back. If the horse is still twisting it’s head to one side, it means that the horse is not completely working over it’s back. So keep doing what you are doing and in time you will see those problems disappear. Don’t even think about bring the head and neck up from the stretch until that twist in the neck goes away. It always takes at least a year and most of them two years to correctly over flexion in the neck. So be patient and in time it will improve. I suggest that you send in a video so that I can give you a more specific answer to your particular problems.
How would you would on a horse that gets fussy and tense with this exercise . I have been working with my horse mainly on the lunge line (just bridle and lead, no other equipment) to develop strength and he has been holding the stretch very well and with a very forward trot that is almost spring like. Under saddle, walking around the ring he holds the stretch and comes under very well but when I start to work on the leg yield he raises his pole and starts to trot instead holding the stretch. I always bring him back to a walk and start over developing the stretch first then try again with the leg yield, but he doesn't have the same feel in the bridle. He evades the contact and runs through my hands. So I guess I have two questions with this... 1)How would you would on a horse that gets fussy and tense with the leg yield? 2) how do you slow a horse down and get them soft without being harsh or heavy handed?
Allie Hyatt 1. You should work the horse in hand, see our videos on the subject. 2. Use your weight by stretching up and back with you shoulders before you take with your hands. The biggest mistake I see in teaching today is that trainers are teaching students to pose on their horses rather then ride them. This leads to riding with the hands, especially if the trainers also teach the students to keep pressure on the mouth of the horse at all time. Remember the correct contact with the horse when it is going correctly is the weight of the rein. If you have constant backwards pressure on the horses mouth you are punishing it all the time. No wonder horses want to run away!
How would you go about training a horse to yield to any pressure, either hand or leg? I had started a 10 yr old Percheron under saddle about 3 months ago. Now I think it has to do with with her history of being driven but she started out by not responding to any pressure, even on the ground. If you put any pressure on her side she just leans into you, how do you get her off of your leg and to stop falling in? She has come quite a long way since I started, I was told she has been ridden but evidently not. She didn't halt, turn, flex her head or didn't bend (getting better but still not as responsive and loose as I'd like her to be). I'm really gad we have "whoa" down pat as she apparently took off dragging two logs and her owner through a field during the winter.
Answered by Art2Ride Associate Trainers: Carol Kurtz Darlington If the horse is not too dangerous, I would start with work in hand. Rewarding even the slightest response to the whip as if it were my leg. Allison Emily Brunelli I have a horse who had the same issue. I've been applying the principles of Art2ride for nine months. The only way to get results is to combine the WIH and lunging and under saddle time rather than just under saddle time. Take a lot of time just at the walk in all three areas. It will take patience on your part. Watch the Art2Ride videos to learn the WIH and lunging and walk under saddle techniques. A horse who has been incorrectly trained needs you to slow everything down. Walking versus trotting or cantering does this. I'm not suggesting you shouldn't see what you can do in trot and canter but don't stay in those gaits very long is you can't achieve some indication of improvement in lateral steps away from your aides. Praise ALWAYS when your horse gets it right. This is his only way of knowing he's done it right! Praise and or release. Then be careful not to drill. Good luck! Katherine Potter I would start on the cross ties - asking him to move his hind end over in both directions with treats as a reward. Then transfer to WIH, and then to lunging/riding. The harness training would definitely teach her to be straight - the most important part of training for the work. Yvon Hoogervorst I think that Allison's suggestion is a good approach. Be sure that you learn your horse that the whip isn't a punishment and that it doesn't harm him. The whip is an aid similar to your leg. You should give your aid with the whip at the same place as your leg would do. So refine your feeling using the whip by practicing on a wall or something (not on your horse)! And reward your horse by the slightest attempt of him to yield from the whip. Chelsea MacPhail I also agree with what Katherine and Allison have suggested. I would start with asking her to move away from where your leg would be using your hand or whip and reward as soon as you get the right response. Horses can usually learn to move away from pressure fairly easily. Once she understands that use the work in hand to continue the same process. Tytti Vanhala I would start from the ground as well. If she really doesn’t yield into pressure from the hand when you use it sharply and only short pushes at a time (don’t lean into her with it or just keep pushing, indeed then she will push back), then I would use the whip in similar fashion. But I would indeed be patient and just use the hand first f.ex. on her chest to indicate that I want her to step backwards or on her side to ask her to step sideways. I think Katherine’s suggestion of doing this first in cross ties (if she’s ok there) is a good one indeed. Just keep at it until she responds and then remove the annoying short & sharp pushes of your hand and praise and give treats (be patient, there will be a reaction at some point). You indeed need to start from the beginning and from the ground. Work in-hand is the next thing to do to educate her about yielding once she understands it from the cross ties (or just from the ground work). Once she understands yielding to pressure from the ground, yielding to your leg from the saddle will be a lot easier. Not bending or yielding to sideways pressure sounds perfectly normal for a driving/working horse. We had similar issues with Usko (an ex-harness racer) in the beginning. He knew though how to go forward, stop, back up and jump. But sideways was a mystery as was bending… However, we did manage even from the saddle relatively soon, it was just a matter of giving him time and repeating the aid until he did what I wanted. He did yield to my pressure from the ground though by then. So, I think the ground manners and yielding is the first thing to tackle. A Percheron taking off with two logs and the poor owner doesn’t sound nice… very glad you taught her how to stop! Anne Saari When teaching a horse to yield it is important to not use constant pressure. A horse does by nature respond to pressure by pressing back (that is why she is leaning on you). She can not lean if you do not give her anything to lean on. You must teach the horse to yield from a short signal. Either tapping with a whip or with your hand. I would use a whip. From the beginning you can start the work in the stable. I would use a halter at first to not pull the horse in the mouth if it reacts by stepping forward. Take the horse by the halter and just touch/tickle the horse with the end of the whip where your leg would be (or slightly further back). Since a horse can feel a fly I think you will get a reaction. Less usually is more in this case. Keep touching the horse until it steps away/yields from your "annoying" touch. Then reward her generously. Shift side and repeat the procedure. First day you might be satisfied with the slightest yield and only once from each side. Then increase the work as the horse understands and get softer and capable of stepping under. Do not ask for too much. When the horse understands you can start adding the signal to yield while walking forward so that the movement becomes a leg yield. Then it will help your horse lift its back and start stretching. The work from the ground will help the horse understand your leg aid when mounted. You should keep the whip from the beginning so that you can give the exact same signal when mounted and then you ad your leg at the same moment so that she connects the leg aid to the aid she already knows. When she does you can loose the whip if you want to. Good luck!
I'm working with a 4 year old Morgan that leg yields and does a shoulder in absolutely beautifully at the walk off my left leg. He's gotten to the point where it's less asking him for it and more allowing it. The only problem is he never wants to move off my right leg at all, he wants to keep bending the other way and just crank his head around. Any suggestions?
+Chris Clarke If the horse can’t bend it means that it is not lifting it’s back yet enough to allow that to happen. Remember, a horse must lift the back in order to free its vertebra to bend laterally. So lunge work and work in hand are the best way to get that happening. See our videos on those subjects.
My horse doesn't move very well off the leg,if I try to make him look a little to the inside his whole body will just move as well and he'll move away from the fence..any tips??
+Anya Alchemy It sounds as if the horse is still hollow, in which case, you can’t expect much bend but you can expect the horse to do a leg yield, that is, move away from the leg. I suggest that you have a look at our videos on work in hand, which is where we begin to teach a horse to move away from the leg. Once you get it right from the ground, you will be able to move the horse off your leg mounted.
