I am still new to reining but it seems to be my best event. But I want to improve.
What is the best way to teach roll backs and how to teach a horse to spin QUICKLY in a circle?
Thank you in advanced!
Get a trainer.
Spin quickly in a circle? As in, perform a turn around?
Ditto. Get a trainer.
What we do (and we’re not trainers or experts) is start both movements on the ground (horse in hand). When the pivot is a solid movement in hand (front feet crossing over, inside hind foot stationary, we move into the saddle and cue the same movement. Of course it’s only a step at first (remember it is actually a forward movement). Once one step is done correctly, two are asked for. And one builds until the movement is smooth and correct, then increase speed.
But our horses do not do the really fast spins like one sees at the professional level. We’re happy with slow and correct.
Foxglove
[QUOTE=horsehorse1140;8736702]
I am still new to reining but it seems to be my best event. But I want to improve.
What is the best way to teach roll backs and how to teach a horse to spin QUICKLY in a circle?
Thank you in advanced![/QUOTE]
Get a trainer with a correctly trained horse to learn the feel of all that, before you try to teach something you don’t understand?
With a trained horse, you make spins faster by clicking more so he speeds up.
You don’t spin “faster” until you have a very well trained horse and a horse that is talented and can do fast spins.
If you ask any other horse to spin and then spin faster, you end up with coke bottle spins, the horse swapping ends on you, not planting itself over it’s back end and stepping around and around rhythmically with it’s front end.
Reining is wonderful fun with a horse that likes it.
Keep on learning, it is worth it.
As you are doing, ask questions and learn correctly.
Reining is very technical, not about what you do as much as doing it correctly.
For that, you need instruction, educate your eye also and a trained horse to start with.
A rollback and a spin are two completely different movements. The rollback is a “stopped” maneuver whereas the spin is forward motion.
For a rollback, you will have stopped your horse either from a nice stop or a sliding stop (depending on your skill level) and then turn the horse 180 in a “swoop” type movement. The horse should keep their butt planted, while sweeping around with the front feet. Weight is back. You don’t have to cue for the lope after you’ve done a rollback IF you’ve done it right. The horse will automatically pick up the correct lead. (Left rollback should get left lead)
Now a spin, you truly are going to need a trainer to help you. There’s a lot of body control that goes into it. The horse needs to continue forward motion. You never back a horse into a spin. The legs need to cross in front of each other. It definitely takes time to teach a horse to spin. Sure is fun once they get it, but it takes a long time to get there.
For any reining move, slow and correct will always win over fast and sloppy. Technique is very import.
Both rollbacks and spinning require precise shoulder control. Practice a bunch of shoulder exercises, such as shoulders in or out. Dressage type training will come in handy there. Also, with both rollbacks and spins, you want a lot of forward momentum. Even though with rollbacks you are stopping and turning a 180 and spinning you are just turning around in circle, my trainers always told me to think of them as forward maneuvers.
A good exercise for rollbacks is to actually do them a little unconventionally - instead of riding parallel with the fence, stopping, doing a 180 towards the fence, and loping off, try doing them at 45 degree angles facing the fence. So you’ll be loping along, steer your horse’s head straight to a wall or fence at a 45 angle to it, and stop right before the horse’s head gets to the wall. Then turn a 180 and lope off. Do it again on another spot. And again. And again. Believe me - if you do it correctly - it works wonders!
With spinning, cadence are form are far more important than speed. Make sure your horse can perform a beautiful, perfectly formed spin at slower speeds (consistently!) before ever asking for it to be faster. If your horse is only mediocre at spinning, and you start asking for speed, it’s going to look sloppy and your horse could even go back in training. If your horse is really and truly ready for more speed, then start the spin like you normally would and at the speed your horse usually does. Then kiss, and if your horse doesn’t go faster, then use your leg up by the shoulder and press, and if still doesn’t go faster, use your spur. Basically just keep asking and upping the ante until your horse gives you speed. As SOON as it does, release the pressure so he knows he did the right thing.
Some “reining bred” horses pick up turn-arounds (spins) very quickly. I had a 2 y/o that just needed to be walked in a circle and she just started crossing over and pivoting on her inside hind like it was the most natural thing for her. But she’s the only one i’ve ever had to do this. Most take a lot more time and work just to do it slow.
