Horse moves back when i squeeze to go forward?

Question

i went on a trail ride the other day and it was my first time riding Western. The horse wouldn't go forward and when i squeezed his barrel really tight she just moved backwards and this happened a lot of times, i wuz just wondering what i did to make her go back instead of forward? and also, in English, the reins are always pretty short, is it different in western? because the person told me to loosen the reins a lot

Answer 1

Remember that the bits can be very different in western than english. Western may have a levered and ported bit and the effect on the horses mouth is different. With these bits the slightest movement of the rein is felt by the horse. In western often just the weight of the rein is an adequate aid. It sounds like the horse was being very responsive to you, but you two were not speaking the same language.

Answer 2

In Western the reins are a lot more free then English so your horse may think that you are wanting him/her to walk backwards because your reins are too tight. I mostly ride Western and usually my reins are completely loose and to have my horse turn I just lay them across the neck.

Sometimes well trained western horses are trained by the kick, my old horse was trained that if I kicked closer to the front legs then she was to go backwards.

Answer 3

Western is ridden in a loose relaxed rein and the horses are taught to move based on very slight neck reining, leg pressure, body positioning etc. They are taught to to respond to subtle cures on that loose rein before contact is made with the mouth. So to make a western horse ride forward, the reins need to be loose and you simply lean body position a bit forward, apply leg pressure and go from there. At rest (horse standing) you can rest your hand on the pommel or horn of the saddle but to go often times lifting the reins up an inch or two is enough to tell a well broke horse to wake up and you are going to ask something. To back a western horse just enough pressure is placed on the mouth to make contact, leg pressure is applied. Leg pressure tells the horse you want them to move and the mouth contact tells in which direction. So yes, if you were accustomed to riding with a short rein, you were telling the horse to back.



I am not overly familiar with the English style of riding and honestly do not understand it. A western horse will collect with hardly any pressure on the bit. They are taught from day 1 of training to respond to other cues before the mouth pressure is applied. Hope I helped :)

Answer 4

It sounds like he was getting confused. If he's normally ridden western, he'll be used to loose reins. Keeping them tighter like in English to a western horse will confuse them and make them think your pulling back to stop or slow down. Its like kicking on a horse but telling them to stop at the same time. Next time, just loosen your reins and give him his head and the problem should sort itself out! Good Luck!

Answer 5

Horses ridden western are not "on the bit" and they are neck reined while english horses are steered through the bit. For english you have to have contact with the bit and in western you don't usually need the bit unless you are stopping although well trained horses should stop when you say "whoa" and sit deep in the saddle. For your forward motion problem, try squeezing further behind the cinch and if the horse goes back kick lightly and increase pressure everytime he goes back instead of forward. If he goes forward release pressure and pet him. Make sure you aren't pulling on his mouth and you aren't sitting too deeply, you may be confusing him. Good luck!

Answer 6

if you were pulling even slightly on the reins while squeezing that tells the horse to move backwards :) and yes, everything is a lot more free and loose when you ride western, even how you feel when you ride :) so the horse was moving back because he thought you where pulling on the reins cos hes used to short reins :) i love horsies...

Answer 7

some horses are trained to stop when you squeeze so you dont have to pull on the reins. my friend shows her horse in western and you have to have real loose reins and she dosnt want to pick them up to back so she just squeezes to stop and back so the judge sees almost no rein movement.

Answer 8

oh gosh this is just like my old 4 yo loan horse i used to have.

I had advice from magzine and other advanced riders at my barn and one thing can be to slowly loosen the reins and kick, if that doesnt work you can use a dressage whip or crop (even if you do western) and tap right on the tail or behing the butt to give forward motivation.

Answer 9

the reins depend on whether you are neck reining or not(holding the reins in one hand) because if you are, they will have alot of slack in them, but if u arent, they will be a bit tighter, but still have SOME slack in them.



when you squeeze her and she started moving backwards, it could be a different type of training. next time move your feet way back and squeeze when she starts moving back.

Answer 10

i ride english. i have ridden western some times. yes the reins r longer,i think that most western horses(because i rode 1 that would go slower if i squeesed around a jumo corse) r trained to go slower and do a spir stop. kick to go forward kiss to go foward. some horses r trained that cluck is for trot and kiss is for canter. or inside leg trot and outside leg cantetr

Answer 11

Also keep in mind that a relaxed western style horse will keep his head allot lower than your English mount. If you ask him to raise his head you are also asking him to stop