KBR Horse Training Information Exercising Body AND Mind Filly's First Saddle Part Three   MORE SADDLE MANEUVERS

It was time to put the ground school maneuvers to the test from the saddle. We already demonstrated that Marcy could bend. Now we wanted to see if she would turn over the haunches. I pulled the leadrope tight alongside her neck, minimizing the lateral influence. By staying balanced in the saddle I could keep her from bending and finesse her into the turn. She had to raise her head a little bit to find her balance with this unfamiliar weight on her back, but if you notice her front feet, she is crossing over nicely!

You see you can get a horse to shift its weight to the hindquarters, even with a halter and single leadrope... at least if you design your ground work to support and transition into your saddle work.

In this picture I am working on a disengagement. Notice the hind feet moving this time. I tipped her head out a little more than for the turn over the haunches and dropped my weight on my left side and made a little leg contact. I set this maneuver up close to the wall to discourage Marcy from stepping forward since she'd never done this before.

We feel that it is very important to get lateral control of both the front and hind ends before doing any speed work. You don't just "take control." You get it through a systematic learning process where the horse learns to yield to pressure, first on the ground, then similarly in the saddle. It doesn't take long to achieve this and this kind of "lateral control" could save a runaway some day. At the very least, it softens up the ride. After the lateral work Marcy was learning to get her balance and could make the moves without raising her head. At this point we worked more on simple bends and stretching. I wanted her to be able to stretch her neck and topline and relax while someone was in the saddle. Once she was comfortable doing this, it was a good sign that she was able to continue on. Continue to: "More Saddle Maneuvers" Important Note: If you take on the project of developing an untrained horse, everybody will want to give you advice. Don't act on any advice, including the ideas offered in this site, unless it makes sense to you and fits your individual situation. Your abilities and the sensitivities of your horse(s) may differ from the examples given. Be alert and rational with your actions so neither you nor your horse will get hurt. This information is offered as illustrations of what we do and the reader must apply common sense since he or she is solely responsible for his or her actions. Happy trails! Press "Back" to return to the page that brought you here Go to Case Study Section Return to Training Section Return to Wild Horse Mentors Return to KBR World of Wild Horses and Burros Go To KBR Horse Net KBR Horse Training Information, © 1997 Lamm's Kickin' Back Ranch and Willis & Sharon Lamm. All rights reserved. Duplication of any of this material for commercial use is prohibited without express written permission. This prohibition is not intended to extend to personal non-commercial use, including sharing with others for safety and learning purposes, provided this copyright notice is attached. Email us to submit comments or request reproduction permission.