Today, we’re going to dive into the essential skill of teaching your horse to back up correctly and the importance of having a horse with strong muscles and excellent maneuverability. A proficient backup not only adds to your horse’s skillset, but also plays a significant role in strengthening its back and hip muscles. In this blog, we’ll take you through the steps of teaching a horse to back up, starting from the very basics to an advanced level.
Step 1: The Foundation – Teaching the Horse to Back Up
Begin by establishing the foundation for the backup. Avoid pulling the horse backward using the reins as this will lead to resistance and improper movement. Instead, focus on elevating the horse’s back and creating collection.
Take the slack out of the reins to communicate with your horse that you don’t want him to step forward.
Apply gentle pressure with your legs, starting from the top of your legs and moving down to the spurs if necessary. The leg pressure communicates to the horse to lift his back. Since you are using your hands to communicate that you don’t want him to move forwards, in looking for the release from pressure he will find backwards. You release the pressure to indicate that he found the right answer.
Remember, your hands play the role of setting a stop and saying, “Don’t go forward,” while your legs create the collection and ask the horse to back up. When the horse takes a step back, release the pressure as a reward, reinforcing the desired behavior.
Step 2: Lifting the Shoulders and Bending
To progress to a more refined backup, you’ll need to work on lifting the horse’s shoulders and getting it to bend. This additional level of control will result in more precise and controlled backing up.
Lift the horse’s shoulder by applying pressure with your leg on one side and use the rein on the same side to tip the horse’s nose slightly in that direction.
Now, ask the horse to back up off of the lift and bend. Use the opposite rein to initiate the backup movement.
Practicing this exercise on both sides will help the horse understand the connection between the leg pressure, shoulder lift, bending, rein contact, and backing up.
Step 3: Increasing the Backing Effort
To further enhance the horse’s backup, you’ll want to increase the effort and engagement during the movement.
Ask for a couple of faster steps during the backup, and when the horse complies, reward it by releasing the pressure.
Use a “smooch” sound to indicate that you want more effort during the backup. This is not about speed but rather about the horse putting in more energy and engagement.
Step 4: Incorporating the Backup into Other Maneuvers
To develop a well-rounded horse, it’s crucial to incorporate the backup into other maneuvers, such as stopping and transitioning. This will help your horse to perform upward and downward transitions correctly and more rounded in his back end.
After stopping, ask the horse to maintain the backing position and take one step back with your feet forward, reinforcing the idea that it should stay engaged and responsive.
Step 5: Correcting Common Issues
During the training process, you might encounter some common issues like dragging feet or the horse not rounding its neck properly. To address these problems, focus on engaging the horse’s shoulders and back, encouraging proper lifting and rounding.
Zigzag the horse while backing up to get the shoulders moving and improve foot lifting.
Use leg pressure to lift the horse’s back to encourage a rounded neck.
Conclusion
Mastering the art of backing up is not just about adding a trick to your horse’s repertoire; it’s a fundamental skill that contributes to building strength, collection, and agility in your horse. Remember to use gentle and consistent pressure, focus on elevating the back and shoulders, and encourage proper bending and foot lifting.
You can watch the video, Teaching a correct back up and why it is important, where I am working a horse with the exercise in this article. You also might want to watch the video, Collection Explained, where I go in depth talking about what collection is and why it is important. You also might find the blog article, How Lack of Training causes horse behavior problems. There I am talking about how lack of training exhibits itself with behavior problems.
By sharing experiences and knowledge, we can continue to improve our horsemanship skills and help these talented animals reach their full potential. I have many horse training resources that will help you and your horse in your journey to better horsemanship at Help With My Horse.com, My Youtube Channel, and My Facebook Page.