The goal is to yield the hindquarters first, then to move the front legs through. Eventually, legs will be enough to move the front end around, pivoting on the hind.
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Moving the front end of your horse is the last exercise I strongly advise to practise in order to ride a safe and reliable horse. As mentioned earlier in the groundwork phase, controlling independently the hind quarters from the front quarters helps the horse to feel comfortable in the manoeuvres we will require from it.
Position
As usual, since you ask your horse to move, you should stay in position 2. There are two steps in this exercise, and the position of your hands will change depending on these steps:
- In the “Hind & Front” exercise, your elbow is stuck against your hip, and your hand at the front of your saddle when you ask your horse to untrack the hind legs, then this arm will open wide to the outside, and backwards as if you were opening a door to your horse.
- In the “Soft Feel” exercise, both hands remain at the front of the saddle, well spread one from the other. The direct rein is leading the horse, and the supporting rein is laying on his neck. (Your hand never crosses the neck line.)
You may remember that you started to teach the leg to your horse in the previous exercise: the Serpentines. From now on, every time you want to turn right for instance, your left foot comes by the horse’s left shoulder in order to push it away, and vice-versa when you want to go left of course.
In both exercises, the key is to make sure your horse’s weight has shifted on the hind quarters, this will free the front end that can cross and move through.
Process | Hind & Front
Once your horse is familiar with the cue to untrack his hindquarters, the “Hind & Front” exercise is quite easy. Move your horse on a good walk, pick the lateral flexion, and untrack his hind legs by applying your foot on his flank. That is the “Hind” part…
In the same move, after your horse crossed his hindquarters a couple of times, you should open your hand holding the lateral flexion wide to the outside and backward, your weight shifting to the back. This will bring your horse on his hocks and help him to cross his front legs through. That is the “Front” part!
Tip:
Sequence.
1 ) You pick the lateral flexion and untrack the hindquarters over a few steps
2 ) You open your hand and put your weight backwards, pulling gently on his head
3 ) You wait for the horse to cross his front legs, just one step
4 ) You release and make sure your horse does not move forward
Process | Soft Feel
As for the Untracking the Hind exercise, the second progression to move the front legs is much more subtle. The Soft Feel is an important part of the process as it will help the horse to shape his back and shift his weight onto his hindquarters. This posture frees the front end, so the horse can move more easily, and cross the front quarters.
Once you can take and carry the Soft Feel, shift your hands sideways. The hand holding the direct rein takes the slack out of it. The hand holding the neck rein comes close to the neck line but never passes over. Then, your outside foot comes by the horse’s shoulder and activates it, pushing it away. Pretty soon, your horse will feel your leg and move away from it…
Tip:
Soft Feel. Backing up your horse a couple of steps after he crossed his front legs will help him to hold his weight on the hindquarters all the way through.
Q&A
What if my horse does not cross the front end but keeps walking?
Typically, when you start to work the “Hind & Front” exercise, that is the response you may obtain when you do not have a proper lateral flexion. Some horses will tend to pull on the rein in order to keep their neck as straight as possible, and will keep walking. Make sure you shorten your rein correctly and bend your horse’s head enough (90°), pulling backward in order to stop the forward movement. Remember that timing is the most important thing to educate horses: Release the rein as soon as you get one step across!
