My Lil Tack Shop

Backing Up

Hey, you know why your horse won't back up? Know

why you can pull on those reins all day long and

the horse just throws his head up and plants his

back feet? The more you pull, the more "planted"

you become?

A very big reason is this: Backing isn't natural

to a horse. Duh. When was the last time your horse

turned to his buddies and said, "Check you guys

out later..." and backed away? Or backed into his

shelter? Ever notice how infrequently you see them

back? When they do, they kinda waddle, like ducks.

Even when the big honcho mare is in their face,

they'll usually pivot on their back legs and turn

away. (Or push right past her FAST.) I've seen

boss mares back forty feet to deliver a good kick

– but Darwin would tell you she's the boss in part

because she's figured out tricks like... how to

back forty feet.

When you sit on your horse and think "back" and

pull and pull and pull... you know what your horse

is thinking? The old ones think: "How ruuuuuude"

and plant their legs. The young ones just get

scared and go up (as in "rear").

The horse that balks rather than moving backward

isn't giving to (rein) pressure; you're pulling

and so is he. And, because he has no experience

backing (smoothly, at least), when you pull he

doesn't know to "assume the backing position."

(It's like giving the gas to a car that's in

park.) Here's the most important thing you can

learn when it comes to going backward: Go forward.

From now on, if you even for an instant feel your

horse resist as you ask him to back, get him going

forward – and do so right away. Don't let him

learn that balking is an option – correct that

thought immediately by goosing him forward. Two

fundamental John Lyons Training concepts are at

play here: 1) "The horse can't decide to 'not

move.'" and 2) "Get the feet to move, get them to

move consistently, then get them to move

consistently in the correct direction."

So he balks, you move forward and keep rein

pressure till he gives to the bit and his whole

body softens. Then think "back" and ask to back

again. It's a lot like parallel parking on the

streets of Chicago: You back in, then pull forward

till you hit the guy in front of you, then

backward till you hit the car behind you. Like a

chicken settling onto its nest. Do that a few

times and you're parked. Do the same thing with a

horse that freezes when you ask him to back: First

walk forward, then ask him to back. If he resists,

move forward right away, keeping the pressure on

the bit, till you'll feel him soften through his

neck. His head should drop, his shoulders should

raise; you'll feel his belly move up and away from

your legs. Then give back a little rein pressure

(as a reward), change your thinking to "back" and

ask your horse to do just that. Be patient. Resist

the urge to take up the reins and pull him

backwards. What a joke that is to the horse after

all: He's 1200 pounds moving forward and you with

your little human body are trying to out pull him.

Remember, as Xenophon said thousands of years ago,

"Nothing forced or misunderstood can be

beautiful." Couple that with Newton's law about

"objects in motion tend to stay in motion" and

you've got a mess.

Walking backwards is not hard for your horse. It's

you deciding out of the blue to start yanking on

the reins with no pre-cues, together with his

natural resistance that makes this difficult.

Horses who have learned to back correctly – and

are then given the proper cues – will do so

willingly – and at a faster clip than one might

think. Wanna know the key to getting this point

across to your horse? It's this: You must at all

times keep in mind that a horse walks backwards in

basically the same posture that he walks forward.

Your game plan, then, is to do what it takes to

get your horse in a soft, "moving forward"

position BEFORE YOU EVEN ASK HIM TO BACK AND

THROUGHOUT HIS TRANSITION FROM FORWARD TO

BACKWARD. Keep the parking analogy I described in

your head and never "keep asking" your horse to

back up if he loses his "forward-going posture" as

he backs. Keep moving, regardless of the

direction.

Pay particular attention as the horse stops moving

forward and begins moving backward. During that

transition did he tense his neck muscles, raise

his head and drop his shoulders and belly? If yes,

FORGET BACKING UP and get him moving forward

IMMEDIATELY. If, instead, he stays soft through

the transition, back a step and move forward

immediately. Always release when the horse is

increasing his backward speed, never when he is

slowing. You want him to associate the release of

the reins with moving backwards lightly. Also,

always walk forward after backing then release

your reins totally, signaling the end of the

maneuver. Otherwise your horse will start leaning

backwards and become more sluggish. His front goes

up – but his back end digs into the ground,

mirroring the shape of a "greater than sign" (>)

and he'll begin staying that way – which is the

very opposite of the "forward posture" we're

trying to maintain.

How are we going to cause our horse to "soften up"

at all, even moving forward? Simple, and the

answer has the huge bonus effect of teaching the

horse to "give to pressure." Giving to pressure is

kinda important here, after all. If that bit was

on fire, he'd move away from it rather than lean

against it, right? (Note: setting the bit on fire

is not recommended.) Take a page from John Lyons

circa 1812: Move forward (best at a trot, thanks);

pick up the left rein and ask the horse to turn

smoothly in an arc to the left. Note that, at this

point, you'll more likely than not need to break

the habit of relying too much on the on the other

hand (the right, in this case). To aid you there,

I suggest that you lay your right hand on your

thigh, holding the seam on the outside of your

pants. Keep practicing this exercise with one hand

"doing all the work" and the other grasping your

seam until you "can be trusted" to have both hands

on the reins without applying confusing pressure

with both. Hold your single-rein pressure till the

horse drops his head or soften his neck or both.

Release, go forward two strides, then repeat to

the right using only your right hand (with your

left hand now lying on your left thigh).

Does this mean I never use two reins to soften the

horse? Heck no, but let's keep things simple in

terms of our overall objective: Getting the horse

to back smoothly.

In a nutshell then, the exercise is this: Start

from a standstill with loose reins – and that

means NO PRESSURE on the horse's mouth; it means

you need to see a pronounced droop in the reins as

you begin to move forward. Start with loose reins

and trot forward, then pick up the left rein and

apply pressure as you ask for a circle to the

left, release pressure when the horse drops his

head or softens his neck. Go forward two strides

(not one, not three) and ask for the same to the

right. Practice this one billion times or until

your horse has become soft from withers to nose

tip, whichever happens first.

Next lesson: More often than not, successful

training has to do with simply changing the

thoughts in your head. John Lyons has been

teaching that thought forever – and it does seem

an oversimplification – until you put theory into

practice. Do so, and suddenly John looks like a

genius. Teaching a horse to back is a prime

example of the success you can achieve by first

learning to "think differently."

Earlier, I mentioned cues and pre-cues. You car

has a gas gauge. In horse parlance, the gas gauge

needle dropping to "E" is a pre-cue, engine knock

is definitely a cue and the embarrassment of

walking to the gas station is a motivator. You

learned long ago to get gas when the needle tells

you to – or face a long walk for gas. You don't

wait for the engine knock, right? No, you did not.

That little needle has control over you and never

once did it resort to violence. Same with your

horse, your cues, and the teaching process.

Luke, you must become the needle. Go up and

re-read the paragraph that begins "In a nutshell

the exercise is this..." Note that it says begin

with droopy reins. Know why? Because when you want

to do something (backing up, in this case) the

very act of picking up the reins acts as a

pre-cue, saying "Hey, get ready to do something."

Start with pressure on the reins – and it's like

crying wolf. After awhile the horse just tunes you

out. Like the needle, you gotta tell the horse

something's coming.

After taking up the reins, next you will/should

think "back." Thinking "back" will naturally put

your body into a position that signals to your

horse (through repetition) that you expect him to

back up. I've noticed in my case, for instance,

that "thinking back" changes the placement of my

legs, the tilt of my pelvis and even the curve of

my back. If instead of "thinking back" I thought

"put my legs at x-degrees, my back like so and my

rear over here..." well, it's too complicated. I'd

get frustrated and no doubt confuse the horse. As

I've said before, being somebody's dinner for eons

has made your horse really great at picking up

small signals.

So, you've picked up the reins and you've thought

"back." The horse (if he's just learning this)

will have continued moving forward. Drat! He's

missed your pre-cue (picking up the reins) and the

cue (your "backward thoughts" which changed your

body position). What to do? Answer: Apply the

motivator. Pick up one rein (let's say your left)

and stare at the shoulder on the same side of the

horse. Apply the pressure and angle it takes to

get that shoulder to stop and get the hindquarters

to take a step to the right. (Tip: Take your left

hand way out to the left, back and smoothly arc

around to your right shoulder.) If you must, you

have my permission to use two hands (both on the

same side of the horse's neck) to pull that

shoulder to a stop and the hip around as

described. Be careful to not apply so much

pressure that your horse tips over. Uh, that'd be

too much pressure. Back off and ease into it.)

When the shoulder stops and the hips disengage

(read: move to the right) release a bit of the

pressure and then bring your reins to the area

directly above the point of the horse's shoulder –

and keep that pressure till the horse takes a step

backwards – or even leans back. Release your

pressure entirely and walk forward. Pet the horse

maniacally. Keep repeating this exercise, building

on small changes, until you can pick up a single

rein and the horse will stop dead and begin to

back. (Then practice the same on the other side.)

When your horse understands the concept of backing

up, do this: At a walk, with both reins in your

hands, experiment with "tilting" your pelvis or

sinking your butt deeper into the seat or moving

your legs just a hair forward or bringing the

reins just a hair back or all of those things...

whatever... to see what tiny, tiny, tiny bit of

communication it takes to get your horse to stop

and back up. You must use a great deal of

patience. If your horse has been taught to back up

(via the material earlier in this article) and

you've been good about using your hands to

establish pre-cues, your horse will stop on a

whisper rather than a shout. A whisper is a

movement from you that is so slight that a friend

on the ground can't see it. By contrast, if I can

see you ask your horse to back, you're shouting.

For a moment or two, don't force the horse to

stop, just have fun with it. Pretend the horse is

a tool with no instruction manual and find what

little movement from you will convey "back." If

your horse just kinda drifts off and quits paying

attention, you may need to kiss or goose him a bit

with your legs to wake him up and get him to

participate – but otherwise, just work quietly to

find where the buttons are hidden.

Keep in mind that nothing has changed in this

respect: When you release your horse out of the

back up NEVER just sit there – ALWAYS move forward

before fully releasing the horse from the

exercise. Also key: Relax then for a moment before

asking to repeat the maneuver. Putting yourself

back into neutral for a moment keeps your commands

coming in short, decipherable bursts, rather than

one long stream of noise (as far as the horse is

concerned).

See the same reins John Lyons uses himself each

and every day.

If thirty seconds or more go by and the horse is

just blowing you off, then disengage his hips (as

outlined above) and ask for the back up again.

Disengaging takes lots of energy on their part and

they quickly learn that it's far easier to simply

back up. And that's exactly the lesson we're

trying to convey to the horse at this stage of his

training: He's learning that the motivator always

follows the cue and that the cue always follows

the pre-cue – and it's a whole lot easier to

simply do as I ask when I ask the first time.

Think of Al Pacino in "The Godfather." When he

quietly asked for something people jumped, right?

If your horse turns into a great giant slug, trot

around for awhile, put some energy back into the

moment, then go back to backing. Or try backing at

an angle. Backing at an angle forces the horse to

put feet in the same spot occupied by other feet –

so they learn to raise their knees higher – which

translates to a quicker, lighter back up.

Keep applying the tiniest of pressure when you

first ask. Be patient and teach your horse to

listen for your whispered cues – and keep "working

on less." If you apply pressure to the reins it

must be so slight that someone on the ground can't

tell you applied any. Same for changes in your

seat or legs – friends on the ground shouldn't be

able to tell what changed. You were walking

forward – then suddenly the horse stopped and

began backing. Follow what we've covered here and

you'll be surprised how quickly your horse will

begin backing lightly at the slightest cue from

you.

Disclaimer: Equine training can be a hazardous

activity which may subject the participants to

possible serious injury. My Lil Tack Shop &, our

associates, and other trainers listed on this site

will not assume any liability for your activities.

Our newsletter, books and videos provide general

information, instruction and techniques that may

not be suitable for everyone. No warranty is given

regarding the suitability of this information, the

instructions, and techniques to you or other

individuals acting under your instructions.