My boyfriend has been learning how to ride. He is finally at a point where he is ready to begin more advance flat work. I have been told by a couple people that my language is too advanced for him. How do I best explain how to do a turn on the forehand and leg yield to somebody who hasn’t done it before?
I always “act” as the rider from the ground (hold the rein and push on the horse) and just have them feel it… so that they get the idea of a leg yield, just overbend the horse and push him sideways. Then have them act as the outside rein and keep the horse a little straighter. Then have them control the leg. And then just walk beside and “coach” them through. Walk is easiest, obviously. A basic turn on the forehand can be taught the same way pretty much…
Try never to sustain an aid, pulse them, the horse will be far less defensive.
Awesome. Thanks for the advice! I want him to start working on more advanced exercises, but I go into WAY too much detail.
you should not be teaching until you know what to teach based on your own experience with learning. :no:
This article should help you to explain leg yielding to him.
Just wishin’ I had a boyfriend that rode dressage with me!
LY and TOF
I agree, best to use your own experience learning to teach. Then again, everyone experiences learning and the learning process differently, so, leave room for your expectations and plan for their individuality. How did you learn LY and TOF? Did the way your instructor connect w/ you? If yes, or if a strong no, thinking back and building off your experience will probably make you be the most candid and dynamic teacher, able to answer his questions as they pop up. If you parrot COTH plans too, great, always good to have a variety of sources to make lesson plans from, but don’t forget to integrate your own ‘knowing’ of TOF and LY to help. (I bet you don’t only know it in the fancy language if you really reflect on it — could you describe a movement to dad or mom watching an olympic test?, start there perhaps…
BUT, as a riding instructor that teachers in a large scale program w/ a huge variety of riders, and never consistenly the same ones for more than a while(yes, not ideal for learning riding, but make the most of what you have!)… a few things I’ve had luck across a BROAD variety of experience levels:
—LY head to wall down the long side out of the corner seems easier to teach than centerline/quarterline to wall.
—being SURE your rider can differentiate between inside and outside leg (his/hers, and the horses, + the difference in using timing is great if they are comfortable there)
----as someone else suggested, you be the rider and push the horse over. So the rider isn’t a total passenger, make them close eyes and tell you when inside hind is moving
----- I’ve had luck with this TOF image, its a little odd but: Pretend I’ve dipped your horses feet in bright red paint. Your trying to make two concentric circles. Mini circle with the front feet and big circle with the back feet. SO, you need to have the horse swing its hind end around a front end that is practically marching in place (or so it feels, because the inner circle is so small). Use one leg to push them around, fingers to remind hte horse to keep the inner circle small.
----Always do quarter TOF w/ new riders so they don’t focus on spinning the poor horse in dizzying circles. Or even a “goal” of changing direction. Just get the movement, and let them enjoy that.
I do think its important to push people in their flatwork and dressage, even just before they are ready, at one stage. Of course, never to the detriment of the horse, but we have a great deficit of riding interest here, and feeling things like lateral movements can often be hooks for keeping new riders interested. I do like to give riders a ‘taste’ and then tell them what they need to go back on in order to ask the horse to do such things in a ‘nicer’ or ‘quieter’ language. Good motivation tool too.
Good luck! And good job sharing riding w/ the bf!
When I teach LY, I break it down into three things… straightness (hence rider pointing belly button straight forward, soft contact for beginners. If you tell them outside rein, they tend to do too much), suggesting to the horse “not forward” to prepare the horse to move side ways (hence rider need to use half halt), then lastly yield (hence rider aid horse to yield at rib cage). As the student progresses, add things like outside rein, flexion to the inside, more leg crossing… as needed.
Each thing can be broken down and practiced on its own… then put back together one by one, like building blocks.
Same thing as turn on the forehand. Teach halt. Then move quarter over, quarter turn… walk forward. Personally I don’t teach turn on the forehand. Leg yield is a much better building block, in my opinion.
[QUOTE=slc2;3420751]
you should not be teaching until you know what to teach based on your own experience with learning. :no:[/QUOTE]
I didn’t ask for your opinion on that. 
I am having a hard time teaching him because I use too many technical terms and it confuses him. It’s been years since I was “taught” how to do a turn on the forehand and leg yielding. So I can’t remember how it was explained to me in an easy simple way.
Next time someone asks a question, try answering it.
[QUOTE=luckyducky1983;3421031]
I agree, best to use your own experience learning to teach. Then again, everyone experiences learning and the learning process differently, so, leave room for your expectations and plan for their individuality. How did you learn LY and TOF? Did the way your instructor connect w/ you? If yes, or if a strong no, thinking back and building off your experience will probably make you be the most candid and dynamic teacher, able to answer his questions as they pop up. If you parrot COTH plans too, great, always good to have a variety of sources to make lesson plans from, but don’t forget to integrate your own ‘knowing’ of TOF and LY to help. (I bet you don’t only know it in the fancy language if you really reflect on it — could you describe a movement to dad or mom watching an olympic test?, start there perhaps…
BUT, as a riding instructor that teachers in a large scale program w/ a huge variety of riders, and never consistenly the same ones for more than a while(yes, not ideal for learning riding, but make the most of what you have!)… a few things I’ve had luck across a BROAD variety of experience levels:
—LY head to wall down the long side out of the corner seems easier to teach than centerline/quarterline to wall.
—being SURE your rider can differentiate between inside and outside leg (his/hers, and the horses, + the difference in using timing is great if they are comfortable there)
----as someone else suggested, you be the rider and push the horse over. So the rider isn’t a total passenger, make them close eyes and tell you when inside hind is moving
----- I’ve had luck with this TOF image, its a little odd but: Pretend I’ve dipped your horses feet in bright red paint. Your trying to make two concentric circles. Mini circle with the front feet and big circle with the back feet. SO, you need to have the horse swing its hind end around a front end that is practically marching in place (or so it feels, because the inner circle is so small). Use one leg to push them around, fingers to remind hte horse to keep the inner circle small.
----Always do quarter TOF w/ new riders so they don’t focus on spinning the poor horse in dizzying circles. Or even a “goal” of changing direction. Just get the movement, and let them enjoy that.
I do think its important to push people in their flatwork and dressage, even just before they are ready, at one stage. Of course, never to the detriment of the horse, but we have a great deficit of riding interest here, and feeling things like lateral movements can often be hooks for keeping new riders interested. I do like to give riders a ‘taste’ and then tell them what they need to go back on in order to ask the horse to do such things in a ‘nicer’ or ‘quieter’ language. Good motivation tool too.
Good luck! And good job sharing riding w/ the bf![/QUOTE]
Thanks! The problem is, it’s been YEARS since I was taught how and I can’t remember how my trainer explained it to me, I have had a couple trainers since the original one explained it to me. I ride jumpers so it’s not something that I even do/did in my lessons, but I believe flatwork is crucial and I want my boyfriend to be able to know how to do these things. He is getting doing it alright, but I realized that I make things WAY more complicated then they need to be.
[QUOTE=Eclectic Horseman;3420984]
This article should help you to explain leg yielding to him.
http://www.artofriding.com/articles/leg-yield.html[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the link. Great website, and she keeps it simple.
here this will help you to-- has diagrams of all the basic movements for you
http://www.eques.com.au/training/june/forward.htm
[QUOTE=goeslikestink;3422460]
here this will help you to-- has diagrams of all the basic movements for you
http://www.eques.com.au/training/june/forward.htm[/QUOTE]
Thank you! This website has excellent information.
your welcome
Moonpie, if you really understood it, you wouldn’t need any complicated words. That’s the answer to your question, if you need to ask others what to say to simplify, you don’t understand it well enough to teach it. Sorry, and I know you just want a fast easy answer and that saying you can only teach in complicated words sounds really great (almost outright bragging), but the truth of it is, if you really understand it, you can teach it very simply - and that’s the real answer to your question. If you need someone to tell you how to say it, you’re not ready to teach. You can take the words people give you here and repeat them, but there’s more to teaching something than that.
That IS a great site. Thanks GLS!
[QUOTE=slc2;3427608]
Moonpie, if you really understood it, you wouldn’t need any complicated words. That’s the answer to your question, if you need to ask others what to say to simplify, you don’t understand it well enough to teach it. Sorry, and I know you just want a fast easy answer and that saying you can only teach in complicated words sounds really great (almost outright bragging), but the truth of it is, if you really understand it, you can teach it very simply - and that’s the real answer to your question. If you need someone to tell you how to say it, you’re not ready to teach. You can take the words people give you here and repeat them, but there’s more to teaching something than that.[/QUOTE]
Again, answer the thread’s question, if you cannot do that then don’t reply to it. I get where you are coming from, you don’t need to explain. Way too many people on this forum offer up their opinion when it is not asked for nor appreciated. If I want to know something, I will ask it.
I asked a question and the only replies I expect or want are an answer to my question, anything else then just please don’t reply.
[QUOTE=slc2;3427608]
Moonpie, if you really understood it, you wouldn’t need any complicated words. That’s the answer to your question, if you need to ask others what to say to simplify, you don’t understand it well enough to teach it. Sorry, and I know you just want a fast easy answer and that saying you can only teach in complicated words sounds really great (almost outright bragging), but the truth of it is, if you really understand it, you can teach it very simply - and that’s the real answer to your question. If you need someone to tell you how to say it, you’re not ready to teach. You can take the words people give you here and repeat them, but there’s more to teaching something than that.[/QUOTE]
Again, please answer the thread’s question.
