Page 20 midwest horse digest February 09
The Back-Up
by Craig Cameron
“breaks” at the poll, it That’s all part of learning to read
elevates his shoulders and out-think your horse.
and back and places Another exercise to further this
more weight on his maneuver is to be able to back a circle.
hindquarters, which When you can back a circle you’ll
makes it easier for the have complete control over your horse’s head,
horse to back. neck, shoulders and rib cage and hindquarters
If you pull or down to the feet.
tug your horse back, his
head will come up, his shoulders will go down Weaving Backward Through the Cones
Backing is and that puts more weight on the front end. Weaving backward through the
not a natural Now it’s tougher for the horse to back. cones is a good exercise to sharpen your
gait to the When you teach your horse to back, horse’s back-up. With control over your
horse. It’s exaggerate your cues at first. Hold the reins horse’s hindquarters, you can actually guide
not some- low with slight pressure, say “back” and if the your horse with your legs, and position his
thing he’d horse is picking up the right front foot, pick head, neck and shoulders to weave through
normally do up your right rein. The next foot to move is the the cones backward.
out on the left front. Pick up your left rein as the left front Start on the outside of a circle with
range or in leaves the ground. This is all part of your tim- cones to your left. Actually turn around and
a pasture. ing. You can get in rhythm with his feet— with look where you’re going.
It’s a maneuver you have to a right, left, right, left pressure release rhythm. First, engage your horse backward.
teach your horse. Again, work one rein at the time and Pick up the reins and establish control. If you
Having a good “back-up” shows you use your legs, as well. Use your feet with your want to move your horse’s hindquarters to turn
have a lot of control over your horse. In back- hands. For example, when the horse’s right to the left between the cones, pick up your
ing, correctly, a horse learns to use his front foot comes off the ground, lift your right reins and move your horse’s head, neck, and
hindquarters, and that’s where great perform- rein and bump your right foot on his right shoulders to the right, and the same time using
ance horses work from. So it’s a maneuver shoulder. With practice, the timing of your your right leg to push the hindquarters to the
worth developing well. cues will be in rhythm with your horse’s feet. left, through the cones.
Use a left and right rein action in
A two-beat gait Guiding Backward rhythm with your horse’s feet to keep your
The back-up is a two-beat diagonal You can guide your horse straight horse stepping back.
gait, like the trot, of the quarter horse, only back or to the right or left. The easiest way to Now, your horse needs to turn his
backward. Beat One: As your horse backs, he straighten the horse while backing is to posi- hindquarters right between the next cones.
picks up the right front foot, and the left rear at tion your horse’s shoulders in the same direc- Pick up your reins and move his head, neck,
the same time. Beat Two: Then he picks up tion. In other words, if you want to back and shoulder to the left, which automatically
the left front foot and the right rear at the same straight and your horse’s hindquarters drift to shifts his hindquarters to the right. Release
time. This makes the diagonal two-beat back- the left, move his shoulders to the left and that your right leg and use your left leg to help push
up gate. Any other pattern of this footfall isn’t a will straighten him out. If he veers his his hindquarters over to the right.
true or correct back. When you see a horse hindquarters to the right, move his shoulders This is all a give-and-take motion,
dragging his feet back in any other sequence, to the right and he will line out. where you find a rhythm. If, at any time, you
he’s resisting the back-up and not performing The flexibility exercises help you to feel your horse getting the least bit sticky,
properly. achieve straightness. Remember, straight- release and drive him forward. Then, start
ness is crucial to good horsemanship. And, again.
Developing a good back-up amazingly, the way you get straightness is In the beginning, you might not get
Develop the back-up one step at a through flexibility. You’ll find that every one of all the way around the cones, but just begin
time. The mistake most people make is that these basics feeds right into another one. One somewhere. Before you know it, you’ll have a
they want to pull a horse backward. Don’t is an extension of the other. You won’t get one really fluid back.
pull…guide, signal or cue with a pressure without the other. What’s a stop? On a fin- Sometimes backing requires a little
release system! ished horse, it is an extension of the run. What bit of a waiting game, especially in the begin-
What is the horse looking for in almost every- is a back-up? It’s an extension of the stop. ning. Allow your horse to follow a feel. When
thing we do with him? It is the release from Good basic fundamentals, as always, are the you get one step back, make sure you release.
pressure. It’s the release, relief, relaxation and key. Build off that one step. Notice when your
reward he gets from following cues correctly. One mistake to avoid: Don’t back horse tries and reward that try. It’s not the pull,
That’s the horse’s incentive to perform or do your horse until he quits. If you feel your horse but the release the horse looks for. Pretty
the things we ask of him. So each time the getting nervous, tight, or tense and maybe a lit- soon, it’s two steps, three steps and then
horse steps backward from your cues, offer tle sticky with his legs, or his head comes up, more. A horse that backs well can back almost
him a quick release. quit before the horse quits. If you back your as fast as he can trot, because it’s the same
The correct position for the horse to horse till he quits, what did you teach the gait, but backward.
back is to break at the poll, lift his shoulders horse? You’ve taught him to quit. So stop ask-
and round his spine. In other words, to collect. ing for the back when you feel the horse bog- Better backing makes for a better horse!
Almost every mammal has seven vertebrae in ging down. To get your horse ready to back Good Luck & Ride Smart
his neck. The first two, the atlas and axis is the again, drive him forward. Loosen him up. Craig Cameron
poll area and this is where you want your horse Maybe even ride a circle. Then stop and ask
to give or “break” at the poll. When he him to back again.
Get Graig’s book and DVD’s at
www.CraigCameron.com
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44