Horse's Foundation

Text Box: Need to build a strong foundation.
To build a strong foundation your horse has to be willing, supple, balanced, and strong.
There are 9 athletic maneuvers your horse will learn which will form the basis for everything he does with his feet and body. Without these components there is no way your horse can have a solid foundation.

Text Box: These are: Forward movement
Lateral Flexion
Disengagement of the Hindquarters
Vertical Flexion
Back Up
Leg Yield
Counter Turn
Half-Pass
Stop

Forward Movement-
Nothing can be done unless the horse moves forward willingly. The horse should accept your invitation to move forward softly because he recognizes you as a good leader. He should not flee from because he feels stress or danger.

Lateral Flexion
Lateral flexion simply means bending to one side.
Flexion should be light and soft. The horse should produce lateral flexion willingly, because he “followed the feel” on the rein.
When a horse bends he becomes more supple.
Lateral flexion is an outward expression of your horse’s level of trust in you.
Disengagement of the Hindquarters
When you disengage the hindquarters, the horse cannot move forward, buck or rare. When the horse’s body is straight, he can engage his hindquarters, which are his engine.
When you control the hind end, you are in control.
Vertical Flexion
Vertical flexion is really a posture your horse generates deep within his body. When your horse becomes vertical, he is prepared to accept your direction.
Pulling on both reins at once causes the horse to brace his neck muscles. You can soften the horse by feeling one rein at a time.
Back up
Backing up enhances the horse’s ability to move forward using hid hindquarters. Backing up draws your horse’s attention to you. It causes him to think about his feet and straightens him. In ground school work backing up reminds your horse not to enter your body bubble.
Leg Yield
A leg yield is the most basic lateral movement. It is fairly easy to learn. When the horse moves softly away from your leg, he will start to become supple and straight.
Counter Turn
The counter turn is achieved by moving the horse’s shoulder separately from the hind end.
Half-Pass
The half pass is a lateral movement. Unlike the leg yield, it is an into-the-bend move. Stop
You need to stop your horse without the reins. Use your body language.

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Text Box: Learning To Learn
Allow to horse to learn. It’s a time consuming process. For example, don’t try to get your horse spinning very quickly until he learns how to give to pressure, follow his nose, and place and move his feet. Anything that’s worthwhile usually takes time. Give your horse the opportunity to learn. He didn’t come into the world knowing what you want.

Mechanics of the horse.

The mechanics of the horse revolve around how the horse is built and how his body works, just as the nature of the horse pertains to the horse’s psyche and how the horse’s mind works.
Equine mechanics deal with the way in which the horse moves across the earth. A horse drives from behind, turns on his center and pulls with his front. The better you understand how a horse moves, the better you will be able to understand how to control his feet.

Foundation

3L Horsemanship
4841 Hwy 78 W
Moro, Arkansas 72368

501-607-2755