Refining Your Reinback | Halts, stops, backs and turns
Refining Your Reinback | Halts, stops, backs and turns
Guest Post | Ross Cooper
I would say a good western riding horse needs an understanding of these ‘cues to actions’ to be able to exact a certain manoeuvre. Yet, for all great riding horses, confidence in their body with a rider on board is an important element, needing a combined understanding of how to execute a cue and how the body works to reap the best benefits.
Backing up as a manoeuvre is a functional and fundamental part of any horse foundations. Working to develop you and your horses ability to back up will aid with increased proprioception, collection, engagement and confidence. Understanding the biomechanics and readying the horse's body for movement is an often overlooked aspect of training the horse. Constant new insight on how the body works can aid us in adapting our training to ensure we are not only working with the horse body for ridden longevity and correct development, but also how to enhance and organise our own selves to compliment that.
Horses are excellent at developing movement patterns, and therefore, it is important to help them develop the right ones! Whether on the ground or under saddle, I commonly see horses backing-up in a way that will cause issues down the line; usually these will be inverted or over-flexed. A horse that is over-flexed will be held behind the vertical, and therefore, incapable of using the correct muscles needed, in contrast, a horse that is inverted often resembles a ‘U’ shape, accompanied by a high head-set and short steps.
When a horse reinback is hollow, they primarily engage what is known as the extensor chain. The extensors are a muscle chain composed of important ligaments, but primarily of muscles that include the trapezius, rhomboids, longissimus dorsi, gluteals and hamstrings, to name a few. These sit above the spine creating the horse's top-line. When these muscles contract, they shorten the distance between the joints, bringing the spine closer together whilst causing the opposing muscle chain, known as the flexor chain, to elongate and offering little support of the underside of the horse, including the thoracic and abdominal cavities.
So, what are we actually looking for? A balance of the two! This will look in stark contrast to what we spoke about above.
When developing the correct rein back, the primary target muscles will be engaged (hip flexors, the superficial gluteals and carpus extensors). As a result, the hind quarters which will take more weight, allowing the back to raise as muscles known as synergists, come into play, such as the abdominals that shorten and aid in stabilising the movement along with the muscles of the spine. This then promotes the forelimbs to step under, raising the thoracic sling and developing muscles that are usually targeted in forward-movement. A lowering of the neck will accompany this along, with a little flexion of the poll.
When the correct muscular conditioning has been considered in training, the horse will be able to use their body in a beneficial way, where the extensor and flexor chain work together in a way where muscles regularly swap and change their primary role within the body to contribute towards good whole horse movement.
I find that forward movement is just as important when working on the reinback as the manoeuvre itself. Promoting a horse to move freely forward allows the blood to begin flowing through the muscles, warming up and promoting elasticity as the fluid is stimulated in the joint capsules, all ready for a little more engagement. (I’m sure we can relate this to attempting to touch our toes first thing in the morning!)
When introducing the reinback to your horse, or looking to add a little refinement, I always find it beneficial to begin or revisit certain exercises on the ground, especially for those horses that may need to engage areas that are specific to them. After all, warm-up exercises to recruit muscle groups will always be easier done with us off of their backs!
It is always worth remembering that you can’t blanket prescribe exercises for all horses, some of which will present movement patterns and muscle development in different ways, therefore, being contradictive of what you wish to achieve. When training a horse for any discipline, be this ranch or reining, we have a responsibility to the horse to learn a little more about how their bodies work to ensure we can aid their development for many years to come.
From The Ground
When introducing backing from the ground, I like to begin with tactile exercises for practicality. I begin by placing a little contact on the halter under the chin, as light as you wish it to be, and wait for a subtle shift of weight before letting go and rewarding. When your horse is understanding of this, I would look to ask a little more by using the same contact cues and vocalisations, if you wish to use one, and asking the horse for just a step, building on this for a few more steps over time. Working within the learning capacity of your horse, short spells of this help to avoid mental and physical fatigue.
Progressing this over time would see you be able to add a little contact on the halter and your horse take controlled and confident steps backward, alternating between single steps of isolation, and asking for the corresponding diagonal movement you would see in the jog.
When looking for postural changes, be as clear to the horse as you can be and take their individual learning into account; some horses learn better introducing the movement before the postural change, others may offer the two together, whilst some finding it easier to promote posture before movement.
From The Saddle
Working on the reinback in the saddle, I consider practicality, the ability of the horse, and biomechanics of us both; ultimately, we don’t want to get in their way! When asking a horse to back under saddle, I will do a little warm-up riding forward as I explained above, incorporating a few halts. This is a valuable opportunity to check in and re-organise your own body and check in on your horse's attentiveness to cues. Reining back from the halt, I will rotate my pelvis underneath me, at the same time as offering a slight squeeze through the legs and offering a vocal of my choosing.
Note: Ensure you don’t tip yourself back. Instead of you both mirroring pelvic movement, you will be placing your weight further back, blocking your horses ability to engage.
If this is an adaptation of your usual way to communicate, or the first time, don’t be afraid to repeat the cues whilst you allow your horse to figure it; never bully them! Remember the rein can be added for a little refined understanding to prevent forward, but should not be used inappropriately to pull them back.
Just as I would start on the ground, the same principles would apply for every try your horse gives you, always allowing them time to process; don’t rush into the next movement and don’t overdo it - trial a few repetitions, then revisit later on.
As you both get more tuned in to each other's cues, just as with the exercises on the ground, but using the combination of your seat and leg aids to ask for a few more steps, or a little speed. Later down the line you will be able to incorporate backing in to other manoeuvres, such as backing a circle, executing a rollback or a sliding stop.
About the Author:
Ross Cooper, the driving force behind Rosca Horsemanship, embodies ‘Connection Through Communication’. While his journey into the world of horses began in his teenage years, Ross views this late start as an advantage. It allowed him to break free from traditional methods and carve his own path.
To Ross, horsemanship is about harmony and adaptability, not rigid techniques. A specialist in behaviour and covering a wide range of training and coaching areas, his approach prioritises the horse's fundamental needs - functional movement, emotional balance and progressive learning - key principles in developmental horsemanship. Ross has had invaluable opportunities to develop his skill as a horseman, with qualifications including Equine Behaviour Consultant, Equine Sports Massage Therapy (cet. ESMT), UKCC Western Riding (Level 2), and more.
Based in the UK, Ross offers private lessons, sessions, and conducts public clinics and workshops, travelling and collaborating across the UK and beyond. Ross also provides Human Sports Massage Therapy, Reiki and is an International Horse Agility Accredited Trainer (HAAT).