Turn on the Haunches

From Mugwump
http://mugwumpchronicles.blogspot.com/2008/06/spin-til-you-barf.html

A spin is different from a roll back.In a rollback I'll be moving Hilda in a straight line, maintaining a lot of forward. I'll ask for my Whoa. (I'm a Whoa'er not a Ho'er)When Hilda stops I will rock her back over her hocks, open my inside leg, turn my upper body in the direction I want Hilda to go, apply outside leg pressure, and off we go through the turn, into the opposite direction.Basically I'm doing a half turn, just like in horsemanship.Hilda will depart out of this half turn over her hocks at the same speed we went into it. If she was loping when I first asked for the Whoa, then she will depart out of the turn at a lope. If she was trotting, we will trot out etc.I do a lot of gait variation in practice, it creates a slight wait in my horse, and helps them stay calm through their run downs.A correct roll back has two parts.1. Run down and stop.2.Roll back and depart in the opposite direction.A good stop should leave Hilda rocked back over her hocks, so all I have to do is turn and go.A spin or turn around is a forward motion. Remember this. It is vital.This should take days, weeks or months to teach, depending on where you and your horse are at. Give lots of rests, releases, and quit for the day sooner, not later.As always I use two hands to teach any maneuver.Before I start to teach this maneuver Hilda will walk, trot, lope on the correct lead, all on a loose rein.She can turn on the forehand without anxiety.I can guide her with my inside rein, and contain her shoulder slightly with my outside rein.Hilda knows to move into my open leg.She tries to stay balanced between my reins and legs.I can move her hips to the left and right with leg pressure.Hilda is balanced enough to trot a twelve to fifteen foot circle, upright, with even cadence.I am balanced enough to sit upright, my shoulders level, not looking down. My inside leg is at the cinch for support, my outside is pushing lightly at the back cinch. I have my weight evenly balanced on my seat bones. Hilda appreciates this.Try this exerxcise at the walk if you have trouble feeling where the forefeet are going. At the walk only you can look down at her shoulders. The point of her inside shoulder will move into the turn first.When you're both comfortable at the walk, you can move on. Quit looking!I start her spinning from the trot.I trot a straight line, roughly 10 feet or so. My seat bones are evenly balanced.I will drop my weight to my inside seat bone.My inside leg will come off Hilda.My outside leg will push Hilda, from the calf, back by my back cinch.My inside hand will ask for the turn.My outside hand will restrain Hilda's outside shoulder enough that I only see the corner of her inside eye.When I start my turn, my hands are not low by my hips, they are at the middle of her neck, the reins about 4 or 5 inches off her neck on either side.When Hilda begins the turn I'll put my outside rein on her neck, and the inside rein will be guiding her, with up to a foot of space between her and the inside rein.Since Hilda knows to try to keep herself centered underneath me, she'll seek a way out of the knot I've put her in.I won't jerk, pull, or increase pressure. I'll wait.My outside leg and hand have created a rock solid, immovable wall. My inside hand, inside seat bone, and open inside leg are her invite to turn.Hilda will set her inside hind leg, and begin to turn, her outside front crossing her inside front.That will place her evenly between my hands again.When I feel even the first step, I'll release, and we trot off.There's your first stepping stone.If Hilda rocks back on her hind end, I'll kick her forward and try again. If she's too far back on her hocks she'll cross with her outside behind the inside front. It's important for her to stay forward and get the sequence right. If you can't feel it, get a friend to watch for it.Never get mad when your teaching a new maneuver. Never, ever, ever.I want Hilda to be interested in what I'm doing.I want her to figure her way out of each knot I create. She can't do that if she's worried about getting thumped on.Now that Hilda can trot off straight, understand my shift in weight, turn those first few steps, and then trot on, without getting worried, I'll start setting up squares.I'll trot forward about 10 feet on a loose rein, set up my turn, get enough of a turn for a right angle, release, trot forward on a loose rein, set up again, etc.I'll keep at it until Hilda and I are creating pretty, even cadenced squares, all over the place, in both directions.Release, and forward, are the key words here.Hilda likes to move, and she just loves that release. The only time she feels restraint is when I gather her up for the turn.She is learning to seek that turn when I gather her up. She realizes the faster she correctlymakes that corner, the quicker she's moving forward on a loose rein.If Hilda is getting stressed about this, I'll just make my squares larger, say 15 feet or so. I will still hold my hands solid and steady until she finds the turn. I'll come back down in size when she's ready.I will begin to make my squares smaller, as Hilda can handle it, until we're going maybe 5 feet before I ask for that turn.That's stepping stone number two.Now we're ready to get down to business.Hilda and I will trot 12 to 15 foot circles to the left, with plenty of energy.She is even between my reins, and my seat bones are evenly balanced.I will pick a point in my circle, that I am going to use every time.At my chosen point, I will drop my weight to my inside (left) seat bone, open my inside (left) leg, and guide Hilda into a spin to the left, pushing with my outside calf at the back cinch, my hands the same as for the square turn.She may only get a step or two, she may go all the way around, she may just freeze and yell "Uncle!"Don't worry, send her forward, and go again.The goal is to get one solid turn around, her front feet keeping the cadence of her trot, and thentrotting forward back into her circle. That would be both ways.You need to do lots of these. Lots.Not all in the same day buckaroos and buckarettes.As soon as I get that first good try, Hilda and I are going for a lope, no muss, no fuss, so she can shake off all that containment.We might work on it again, might start another day. Depends on Hilda, her mind set, her athletisism, or her anxiety. Depends on me, my mind set, my athletesism, or my anxiety.Some of you might shy away from using the same spot in your circle to start your turn around. I'm a big fan of anticipation. I use it when I'm first teaching Hilda a maneuver, whenever it shows up.Anticipation is a good thing. I want Hilda to know that we are always going to turn in the same place so she starts thinking about it.A horse only anticipates because they're trying to do what you want.If they're trying to do the wrong thing, that's your fault.Be kind in your correction, and just show them again what you want.That's the next stepping stone.When Hilda can really motor around, I'll begin asking for two turns, then three, etc.I'll ask her to spin in different places in the circle.I read once that a horse doing a spin expends the same energy as one lap in a collected lope around the arena.I try to keep that in mind.Now I want Hilda to try to spin from a stand still.I'll take a warmed up Hilda, stand her in the middle of the arena, and set up my spin cue.Drop my inside seat bone, take off my inside leg, and push with my outside leg. My reins will come up, inside rein tipping her nose in just enough to see the corner of her eye, outside rein supporting her, and I wait.I'll let Hilda find her spin. It doesn't have to be fast at first. Just correct. When she takes a correct step or two, I relax, move her forward, stop, and do it again.I'll alternate these two exercises until she starts clocking around pretty good.Hilda will learn to increase the speed of her spin in correlation with the cadence of her trot in the circle.That's the last stepping stone for beginning the spin.When you can do all this stuff with your own little Hilda, let me know, we'll polish it up.