Control of Forward Movement (The ABCs of Horsemanship, Part 2) - RES003 - a podcast by Van Hargis

In the early episodes of Ride Every Stride we’re working on laying a foundation for what comes later. As I’ve said many times over the years, when it comes to horsemanship (and maybe life?), there’s nothing beyond the basics. For horsemanship, those basics are what I call the Absolute Basic Criteria. Picking up where we left off last time, in this episode of Ride Every Stride we’re talking about the second of those ABCs.

The Absolute Basic Criteria of Horsemanship, part 2 — Control of Forward Movement

As we said last week, even the most complex, sophisticated maneuvers on horseback are refinements of the basics. Understanding those basics–the ABCs of horsemanship–will equip us to work with our horses to accomplish whatever our horsemanship goals might be.

What Are the ABCs of Horsemanship?

1. forward movement (we discussed this in episode 2)


2. control of forward movement


3. stopping of forward movement (we’ll discuss this next time)

 

Once we’ve achieved the first of the ABCs–forward movement–we want to be able to control that forward movement, both its direction and its speed. In this episode we talk about what cues we use, when, and why.

Directional Control

One component of controlling forward movement is controlling its direction. We want to be able to turn our horses and get them to go where we want them to go. In learning the techniques for doing this, remember:

• our hands control what happens from our horse’s shoulders (withers) forward, and


• our legs control what happens from the withers back.

 

There’s no magic spot where your hands should be–you need to pay attention to your horse and make small adjustments as needed to get the response you want.

Both by instinct and, hopefully, by good training, the horse will be inclined to move away from pressure, so think: what do I need to do to create an opening for my horse to go where I want him to go?

We use the image of a river flowing from the horse’s hindquarters (where all the power comes from), through your legs (“big rocks on the banks of the river”) forward to the bit. You can control the horse’s movement–the flow of the river–by moving the rock out of the way on the side you want the horse to go. In other words, if you want the horse to go right, it’s not that you push from the left, but that you take the pressure away from the right, opening a pathway for the horse to go where you want it to go.

Speed Control

Although beginning riders are concerned about a horse running off with them, I’m more concerned about a horse that won’t move, in part because of safety issues (like the story I tell about a confrontation between a well behaved, but a bit lazy, horse I was riding and a cow). I want my horses to be calm and well behaved, but when I signal that it’s time to go, they need to respond immediately. To train that habit, I use the approach I call “squeeze, bump, kick, and kill.”

For your safety’s sake, you need to understand the concepts of speed (and directional) control we talk about in this episode.

• Use the horse’s instinctive desire to conserve energy to help her learn to follow your cues (make it harder for her to go at the pace she wants to go if it’s faster than you want her to go)


• Learn how to make sure you are the one establishing the rhythm, which helps set the pace

 

What do you think?

We want to hear your questions, comments, and suggestions. Share them in the comments section below, reach out to us on the Van Hargis Horsemanship Facebook page, or email me! We want your suggestions for topics we can address in future episodes, so if there’s a particular area where you’re struggling, let us know!

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Next Time on Ride Every Stride

We’ll talk about the next component of the Absolute Basic Criteria of Horsemanship: stopping of forward movement. If you don’t want to miss it, be sure to subscribe in iTunes or on Stitcher.

Thank you for listening. Until next time . . . remember to Ride Every Stride!

Van

Van Hargis Horsemanship

 

 

 

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