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Training THE SPIN


A comprehensive look at the spin manoeuvre. How to ride, train, correct and improve it


T


he rule book defines a spin as a 360 degree turn around a stationary (pivotal) inside hind leg. The drive is


provided by the outside hind leg (to the turn) and a lateral movement of the front feet. One or other of the front legs is on the ground at any given time. The horse reaches with the inside front leg and the outside front leg crosses over in front of the inside front leg. All the clues to a good turnaround are there for you to see in the definition as to correctness and cadence.


GETTING THE FEEL The legendary Al Dunning always preferred


to call the spin a turnaround as he felt that his pupils would grasp the vision of the manoeuvre better. The horse ‘turns around’ the pivotal inside hind leg rather than ‘spinning,’ which could be construed as pivoting around the centre of the horse. If that helps you envisage this manoeuvre then it will go a long way in getting you to the correct position for you and your horse. Let's look at some fundamental points and analogies. In order for the rider to be correct, it is important for them to understand that they are going to sit half way up the radius arm of the pivot. Envisage yourself sitting on top of a gate, half way


between the hinge and the latch. The hinge end is the pivotal leg. If someone opens the gate, your core weight needs to get as close to the hinge end as much as possible in order to stay on the gate because that is the end that is moving the shortest distance while the latch end is moving the furthest. You will find that your core weight needs to move in the direction of the turn. It is important not to twist your upper weight into the turn as that would


tend to throw your core weight to the outside and you will fall off the gate. Should you be sitting on a horse and twisting your upper bodyweight, the back end of the horse will move as much in the opposite direction to the shoulders, or even worse, the back end will move faster than the shoulders resulting in an ugly bottle spin or worse, a fast turn on the forehand. So the outcome should be that your shoulders stay at right angles to the gate line and your core weight move to the inside of the turn. You want your horse to feel that he needs to catch you up. Notice, I say core weight. Just like skiing, riding a bike, skating, tennis, golf etc, it is a core weight movement, not a lean with the top half of your body! If you need to feel this, draw a small circle in the sand. Stand on the circle line facing outwards, now walk to the left, stepping with your left leg first and crossing with your right, all the way round, still facing outwards, keeping your feet on the line you drew in the sand. The centre of your circle is your horse’s pivot leg and the line represents you and the saddle (i.e. the horse’s ribcage). Now you will see where your core weight is going. If you leave your core weight over your right leg, you will either not move at all, or you will find that you are twisting around and not being able to keep square or at right angles to the circle line. That sensation would equate to a horse


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