Ep 92: Positioning Your Body Properly for a Turn
When I am training a horse, I have two simple objectives:
Control speed.
Control direction.
Controlling a horse’s speed and direction is dependent upon being able to control where the horse places its feet. Ideally, the goal is to have the horse’s front feet follow the same path as its nose.
To gain control of the horse’s feet, your body must be positioned in a way that provides the correct signals to your horse.
One of the most common body position errors I see is uneven weight distribution. This shows up frequently when a horse is entering a turn. Poor body position will often cause a horse to drop its shoulder to the inside or, alternatively, the shoulder will fall to the outside. In either case, the horse is not in an optimal position to maintain balance and power leaving that turn.
When entering a turn, your body should be positioned slightly to the outside. If you are making a left-handed turn, you should aim to have slightly more pressure in your right stirrup. And, when I say ‘slightly’ more pressure, I mean 51% of your weight should be in your right stirrup and 49% should be in your left stirrup.
Having slightly more weight distributed in your outside stirrup signals the horse to put the majority of its weight on the outside leg, freeing up the inside leg. When a horse keeps the inside front leg free, it is much easier for that animal to maintain fluid forward motion and momentum.
If your body is positioned in a way that causes your horse to provide the wrong answer, then you are working against yourself. You must develop an awareness of your body position and be able to recognize when things are not where they are supposed to be.
To watch demonstrations of the training methods discussed in this episode, join our Foundation to Finish online training community.
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