Teaching Backing

Welcome to your next issue of "Horse Class," your how-to source for equine tips, tricks and solid foundational training brought to you by horsemanship101.com and John Lyons Certified Trainer Keith Hosman. Wanna teach your horse to back easily and resistance free? That's our focus in this issue with an article cleverly entitled "Backing Up." You'll learn: - How to get any horse to back up lightly - How to get a back up with virtually no contact - Steps to impress your friends (and enemies?) You'll find the article sampled below. To read it in its entirety, simply follow the link provided or visit Horsemanship101.com/Articles. And remember, prior issues can be found 24/7 at Horsemanship101.com/Articles. Most can be printed out and saved for easy access later. - - - Jump directly to the article: Backing Up

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Backing Up

Hey, you know why your horse won't back up? Know why you can pull on those reins all day long and the horse just throws his head up and plants his back feet? The more you pull, the more "planted" you become? A very big reason is this: Backing isn't natural to a horse. Duh. When was the last time your horse turned to his buddies and said, "Check you guys out later..." and backed away? Or backed into his shelter? Ever notice how infrequently you see them back? When they do, they kinda waddle, like ducks. Even when the big honcho mare is in their face, they'll usually pivot on their back legs and turn away. (Or push right past her FAST.) I've seen boss mares back forty feet to deliver a good kick - but Darwin would tell you she's the boss in part because she's figured out tricks like... how to back forty feet. When you sit on your horse and think "back" and pull and pull and pull... you know what your horse is thinking? The old ones think: "How ruuuuuude" and plant their legs. The young ones just get scared and go up (as in "rear"). The horse that balks rather than moving backward isn't giving to (rein) pressure; you're pulling and so is he. And, because he has no experience backing (smoothly, at least), when you pull he doesn't know to "assume the backing position." (It's like giving the gas to a car that's in park.) Here's the most important thing you can learn when it comes to going backward: Go forward. From now on, if you even for an instant feel your horse resist as you ask him to back, get him going forward - and do so right away. Don't let him learn that balking is an option - correct that thought immediately by goosing him forward. Two fundamental John Lyons Training concepts are at play here: 1) "The horse can't decide to 'not move.'" and 2) "Get the feet to move, get them to move consistently, then get them to move consistently in the correct direction." So he balks, you move forward and keep rein pressure till he gives to the bit and his whole body softens. Then think "back" and ask to back again. It's a lot like parallel parking on the streets of Chicago: You back in, then pull forward till you hit the guy in front of you, then backward till you hit the car behind you. Like a chicken settling onto its nest. Do that a few times and you're parked. Do the same thing with a horse that freezes when you ask him to back: First walk forward, then ask him to back. If he resists, move forward right away, keeping the pressure on the bit, till you'll feel him soften through his neck. His head should drop, his shoulders should raise; you'll feel his belly move up and away from your legs. Then give back a little rein pressure (as a reward), change your thinking to "back" and ask your horse to... keep reading this article