Moving Your Horse’s Hips, Part 1
- April 19, 2016
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- Jenn Zeller
Posted in: Featured, Horse Training, Video
We’ve talked briefly before about moving your horse’s hips, and I’m here today to begin a series about the four ways you can move your horse’s hips, and then I’ll show you what it will enable you to do with your horse.
I’ll break down the ways here:
1. Rein and Leg (this is how you build your one-rein stop).
2. Soft Feel with Leg.
3. Leg with no rein.
4. Rein with no leg.
Ideally, when I say “step through” with his hips, I mean that the outside foot should step over and under the inside hip. For example, if you’re bending your horse right, he should step through to the left – so that his right hind, steps through, and over the left foot. You don’t want to let them get in the habit of simply shuffling, the right next to the left. That does take some time to learn to “feel” what is correct and what isn’t, but if you’re not really getting them to step under and through, especially on a colt, you run the risk of not being able to get them stopped or out of a bind if you have to. It’s relaxing to a horse to let go, bend and give his feet to you, if done thoughtfully and properly. We start moving our horse’s hips as soon as we get them in to halter break them so doing it from their back is simply a continuation of what they’ve already learned.
Coming next: Part 2, 3, 4 and 5 – so stay tuned!
Happy Trails!
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Posted in: Featured, Horse Training, Video
About Jenn Zeller
Jenn Zeller is the creative mind and boss lady behind The South Dakota Cowgirl. She is an aspiring horsewoman, photographer, brilliant social media strategist and lover of all things western. After a brief career in the investment world to support her horse habit (and satisfy her...