All about horses

Watch the horses with their riders or when free in the pasture.

If you watch closely you will see that he does not move his legs in diagonal pairs in the walk but he moves his two left legs forward and then moves his two right legs forward .

The gaits always start with the hind legs .

It is really more like a pace.

This is why he needs to be able to bob his head and neck.

You will notice that he will bob his head and neck more freely in the walk than any other gait .

When riding your horse you must not interfere with this forward and back movement of the head and neck .

Following hands means that you allow the horse to stretch his neck forward and down and when his neck comes back up you must bring your hands back so that you don’t drop the bit .

Be careful not to pull on the bit when you bring your hands back but keep a light, elastic tension on the reins .

This is done in the snaffle bit which is not a severe bit and only puts pressure on the corners of the lips .

Curb bits with chains and western type shank bits are ridden with no contact or very little .

Turning on a bending line should be accomplished by little squeezes on the inside rein.

You will have a very slight bend but the horses neck should stay in the middle of his chest .

Therefore you correct the horse with squeezing your fingers to keep his neck in the center of his chest.

You will have to be persistent and repetitive to achieve an attentive horse that does not look from side to side but will move freely forward because of your following hands.