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From our Quarter Horse Training Series:
"Back Easily With Hip Shoulder Shoulder," Issue 9, part 3 of our FREE monthly newsletter
When you first begin backing, back your horse at an angle (or "crooked"). Don't ask him to back up straight because you'd be pulling evenly on both of the horse's shoulders; he'll be resisting and you'll lose "lightness." He'll push into your reins like a plow horse into his harness. Instead, back up crooked. It makes the horse raise his knees higher and stay lighter on his front end than he would otherwise. (Because his left front foot will step towards his right front foot or vice versa, as opposed to directly backwards. That causes him to bend his knees more. The more the knee bends, the more elevation he keeps in his front end which means more energy in your backup.) Do this by simply toying with the angle at which you hold the rein. Remember, you're only supposed to be using one.
The really cool part of this exercise is that once you've nailed it your horse will stop his shoulder (read: stop moving forward) and immediately assume a more collected posture the instant you pick up a rein: He'll stop on a dime and his back feet will come forward while his shoulders, back and abdomen raise. Congratulations! You've taken a big step toward collection (or "natural carriage") and you'll need that to perfect the back up, the spin, simple turns, rollbacks, etc.…
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