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Talk To Me About the Rein Back

I am working to bring a low-level pony back into work after a large chunk of time off. When asking for the rein-back she moves in four beats (not two) and works hard to swing her hindquarters in off the rail. She also struggles to halt straight (even when square she comes into the halt crooked.) I was hoping that implementing rein-back occasionally could help her use her hind end and get her off the forehand.

Tell me about how you use backing with your horses, what it can tell you about holes in training, it’s benefits/drawbacks, and your advice to improve this movement. Thanks!

AFAIK reinback is introduced in Dessage in Elementary. This means that the pony should be able to walk, trot and canter 10m circles, being doing lateral work of shoulder-in, travers, renvers and be able to start to collect and also be able to halt straight.

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I’d start with it from the ground so she really understands what you are asking for. But I’d make sure she’s really confirmed at halt/walk and halt/trot forward transitions before I started with it, particularly under saddle.

It can be a useful strengthening exercise, but you have to be quite careful that a little light bulb doesn’t go on and they start using backing up as an evasion. Its a bit of a pain if you have to train it out of them and teach a correct rein back…

Which is one reason why I particularly hate backing up being used as a punishment or correction.

And don’t use going backwards to square up a halt, always step forward into it. You’ll lose all kinds of points in the show ring if that becomes a habit.

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I would teach it from the ground until the horse can move straight and lateralized easily. It’s very common to be four beat and crooked at the start.

I also like to teach it on voice command. Get the horse to the stage he will back up correctly in hand for multiple steps from a voice and hand cue. Not being pushed with halter or bit. That translates to lighter work under saddle. You don’t want to be hauling on the fade for backing up.

It’s very much a strength thing and it could signal hock or stifle trouble if he is very resistant.

I would also be doing lateral work in hand starting with turn on forehand and shoulder in on circle at this stage.

These are foundational physical development moves even if they don’t enter the competition test pattern until later.

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Transitions, endless transitions between and within the gait, to engage the hind end and get her off the forehand.

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I work rein back daily. Once it is taught (start on the ground), it is super beneficial for re-balancing, calming down a freight train of enthusiasm, and laying muscle on the hind quarters.

To make it straight requires some work. Make sure PonyPants is working equally in both reins and understands turn on the forehand. Another thing that can help with straightness overall is installing a verbal emergency brake. Start in hand and be prepared to back up a quiet “whoa” with whatever it takes to get a whoa NOW. Then take it to the longe, and finally to ridden work. The horse is “forced” to halt in a balanced fashion because the rider gives them no chance to dally and the rider has no chance to screw it up by dithering and thinking too hard.

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Doing a correct reinback requires strength in the hindquarters.
The fact that she is doing it incorrectly means she does not have the proper strength.

Use OTHER exercises (walking up hills, walking and trotting over cavaletti, transitions) to develop the needed strength.
DON’T Try to use reinback to develop the strength, you will just reinforce bad habits.

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my mare has been training for a year now. Her reverse gear is installed. I use it to remind her that her main engine is at her rear. So, before i take her up into a trot, i’ll put her into a few steps back just to get her mentally squared away.

I think of it as doing squats. Too much too early would probably have made her not very happy performing the exercise. But introduced gradually was i think the thing that has helped keep her happy doing it. Even now i don’t worry so much about her being perfectly straight, i am more concerned about her enthusiasm and her foot pickup being …well, also enthusiastic. She gets good praise for good effort :slight_smile:

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This makes total sense. Another habit we’re working with is her “surging” or rushing to canter. She’d rather canter than trot. She’d rather trot than walk. I always wondered if her rushiness (that’s a word now) was due to her past life or she was trying to get into the gait that was easiest for her. If you allow her to just “go” she will canter endlessly and not come down unless you insist. This is true on the lunge or under saddle.

Strength makes sense. During times where we were doing more hills and lateral work she was better overall.

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Update: the snow has melted and we are back to work! I paid attention to our ground work today and she does move correctly when backing in-hand. I usually back and have her match my steps so I could not see her feet move. Today I looked over my shoulder and she does move correctly when backing during ground work.

This leads me to think she doesn’t understand the contact/cue under saddle perhaps? Maybe start the command in the bridle on the ground? This is how I first taught her to give to pressure when she didn’t understand under saddle.

My mare struggled to understand the cue under saddle for a couple weeks before she got it thoroughly - this involved teaching her to trot/ halt without immediately anticipating the RB as well.

For scores in testing, they also want to see it done without tension/ going too quickly. It can be a tricky move to score well!

The under saddle issue also could relate to not lifting her back. If she hollows even a little bit, it makes it more difficult to move her feet in balance. Another strength issue perhaps, or could be her response to aids that needs refinement.

Sounds like you’re thinking through how to help her. Good for you (and her!).

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I’ve been riding with the new RideiQ app and they just listed all the new lessons for this week and one of them is about introducing the rain back correctly! Here’s the website: ride-iq.com
You register for the free trial on the website and then when you download the app, you can ride with the coach speaking to you on your phone, because the coaches are all riding the same lesson on their own horse while they record it. It feels like support in real time, which is awesome. You can also download the lessons onto your phone so you’re not using Wi-Fi to listen to them while you ride, since so many barns are in spotty coverage areas.

Oh, and by the way, I just saw that horse is coming back after a period without work so you might want to check this new lesson on the RideiQ app too. I believe there are more for horses out of shape as well.

Teach yourself to do in hand work in the proper position which is facing backwards (the opposite direction to the way your horse is pointing) and you won’t miss anything! Bonus, teaching things like turn on the forehand, leg yielding, and full pass will make more sense to both you and your horse.

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