In horse riding, the process of backing up can be an important means of correction, and it can get a rider around obstacles on a trail. Get a horse to push forward in order to move it backwards with helpful advice from a reining horse trainer in this video on backing up a horse.
We've covered right, left and forward, now I want to cover back up. The back up is very important, it can be a means of correction. But it can get you around certain things, obstacles on a trail, or through a pattern if that is what you choose to do. Now the back up is basically taking those feet, and just causing the horse to go from where he is to back behind me somewhere. Now in reality ,in order to back up a horse actually, the way they are made, they push forward to go backward. They have to push their back feet that way in order to send his body that way. And once you understand that backing up becomes pretty simple. It is basically a back end move, the front end follows, but the back end pushes, and that is what sends him back that way. So what I am going to do is try to simulate that a little bit with my own body position. When I want the horse to back up I take my energy and send it backward. So you notice that I am going to rock back in the saddle a little bit, push my weight backwards. That sends my energy or my expectation in that direction. Then I am going to connect my hands. Now whenever I connect with both hands to his mouth, that actually connects to his feet and he starts moving them in that direction. So I'm going to sit myself backwards, light contact with my hands, there he goes backwards. Now I loosen up with my hands and ride forward. And here is a fun thing you can do with your horse, it's like riding a bicycle. And the analogy of the bicycle is pretty simple, well on your bicycle you have got your pedals, your legs run the pedals and the wheels, and your hands run the brakes. And so that is what I'm doing with my hands, then my hands are on the brakes, they are on the handlebars, connected to the reins. Now and my feet are running the pedals. If I connect with his face and I want to go forward, basically what I am doing is riding forward with or riding my bicycle forward with the brake on a little bit. So I have got to pedal pretty hard. So I've got to take my legs and drive. Now when I quit driving with my legs, I just let go with my legs, now I still have the hand brake on. Now I am not pedaling forward any more, but I still have the hand brake on. So now it is supposed to actually go backward. Not just stop, but go backwards. So I am pedaling with my legs on, I take my legs off, and the horse goes backwards. So the horse understands how to make that all work. Now here I can come forward on a lose rein, obviously I don't have to pedal so much, because I don't have the hand brake on. But all I have got to do is quit pedaling, and he is going to go backwards. Now I have also got my energy going backwards, I ride forward, I ride backward. He is supposed to learn to follow me, and learn how to do that. You don't always want to direct your horse with your hands, now your hands are the primary means of communication. Make sure that line of communication is open and working perfectly. It is going to save you. But then start learning how to add things so that you don't have to use your hands.
