Sorry, way behind in responding to an earlier request, but MVP’s post reminded me that someone asked about how I set up a turn. I’m really struggling to describe exactly what I’m doing, but I can at least describe what I’m trying to do. I’ll try to be more internally observant when I head out tonight to ride, but I’ve been at a cinch making class for the last couple of nights so I haven’t ridden since the weekend.
First of all, whatever you do, you want to keep a firm goal in mind when you do it. There’s a place for experimenting to see what the result will be, but really we’re mostly accustoming our horses to whatever we want the aids to be. I only mention this because there’s often an element of “but I tried that and it didn’t work” that comes up in these discussions. Likewise, you’ll confuse the heck out of your horse if you do one thing one day and another the next, so at least have a clear plan in mind before heading off to ride.
On the rein side, I don’t turn with reins EVER if I can avoid it. I use the rein to suggest or correct bend, but that’s it. My rein aids for counterbending left are the same ones for bending right. Unless there’s a breakdown in imminent safety I also don’t use one rein completely on it’s own or use an opening rein, since most of the time I’m riding a hackamore or bridle bit. When I’m not, I try to ride the snaffle or sidepull in such a way as to not create what would be bad habits in the other gear.
If I need to get my horse to bend left I rein slightly up and to the right, or at most use a right post rein and lift the left one.
Even in a dressage lessons, I aim for no weight in the rein. In a snaffle there may be little SLACK in the rein, but a properly draped rein is NOT an empty rein. Equipment choice factors in (a heavy rein may be too tight to be “neutral” without slack in it), but you shouldn’t have so little feel in the rein as to be disconnected entirely.
I don’t resonate with outside leg back bending around your inside leg with a firm outside rein because it’s too much like drawing a bow, or going around blocking what you don’t want rather than setting up what you do. If I drop my leg back a little, it’s because I want my horse’s haunches in.
Likewise, while there’s an element of exaggeration required to teach a concept, I didn’t get along too well with the leg scissoring image because it’s a little too static. When I go to turn my own body, a gently curved line is differentiated from a straight one not from a static posture, but from the fact that my outside leg needs to travel farther than my inside one. As such, and since I endeavour to ride the hindquarters at all times, the image to keep in mind is to speed up the outside line of the body rather than to restrict it from going straight or counterbending. Sometimes that’s a matter of fluttering the outside leg to ask for more impulsion, but the bend has to be good for that to work well most times and the horse has to be thinking through the turn already. Otherwise, using an inside seatbone to ask the inside leg to step further under the body shadow will correct a horse driving out over an outside shoulder, or asking the outside hind to step up under the inside shoulder will stop an inside spiral. None of this requires a rein action, and if anything a restricting rein only gives the horse something to brace against.
While I will on occasion use an outside leg forward during a forward-moving line, I agree with Bryan Neubert when he says it tends to encourage a rearward thinking spin-type movement. It’s basically the leg equivalent of a blocking outside rein…ie punishing what you don’t want rather than asking for more of what you do. A matter of intent, I guess, but unless you’re starting a spin from the backup it doesn’t really feel like a positive aid.
If I feel my horse driving over my outside leg and I can’t correct it from my seat, then I might bump him on the outside shoulder a little (or the inside shoulder if he’s falling in). That’s what I meant by feeling like he’s trying to go straight when I’m positioned to turn…you can feel some part of the horse’s body pushing on yours.
On the subject of a restricting rein, I’m really moving away from much notion of connecting to a brace and waiting for it to soften. This is a notion that Bruce Sandifer planted, and it’s replacement is to keep repeatedly lifting and releasing the rein until the horse gives. The horse never gets anything to hang on, so the seem more inclined to soften quicker.
Likwise, he has no issue with leaning forward over the saddle horn if a horse is dumping onto the forehand, jiggling the rein, and asking the horse to come up WITH him as he “corrects” his posture. Still playing with that one, but it’s been rattling around up there for a while for me. I asked him if he thinks that’s making the horse’s job harder at first by placing his weight over the already heavy forehand, but he’s said he doesn’t see it that way. Posture fanatics would be best to avoid that one!
On the backup side, I’ve moved away from the notion of sitting up or learning back to back, and moved back to the more dressagy notion of leaning forward slightly and rolling my thighs forward a little to open up the door to backing. I’ve already spoken of tweaks Marting makes to free up the backup too.
Maybe I’m not as crazy as I thought I was…[/QUOTE]
