The Problem:

My four year old mare has had professional training and is a joy to ride. She will go anywhere, stop on a dime and even turn on her hindquarter. But she is difficult to back up.

When I pull on the reins, she may take a step back but as I continue to ask for more steps back she stiffens and raises her head with her chin pushed forward. Then she refuses to back any further.

I don't want to get into a battle with this horse especially since this is the only problem that I'm having. Am I doing something wrong? Backwards in Kansas

The Answer:

Most horsemen agree that backing is not a particularly natural maneuver for the horse. Of course, horses do back up. Wedged in or blocked, they back just far enough to turn around and leave in a faster forward gait.

Generally a horse backs up slowly. Even when trained to back up quickly a horse cannot back up any faster then he can trot. This limitation is due in part to the fact that the hoof sequence during backing is similar to the trot. Diagonal legs move backward - although not always simultaneously. And, for a horse to back up quickly and gracefully, he must be as supple and rounded as when he is performing a collected trot.

We teach the back by using the principle of successive approximations - a stair-step approach to learning. The first step is to get the horse to grasp the idea of moving backwards. This may mean as little as leaning backwards or actually moving one foot in reverse. Initially any meager attempt to comply is rewarded by removing the pressure to back.

Once the horse understands what is being asked, he is asked to perform more. Soon it will take two steps before the pressure is removed. So it will go until the horse begins to make an extended effort to back up. On the average it takes a week or two to teach a horse to back up five to ten steps.

This sounds rather simple and it usually is for the naive horse properly brought along. However, problems can arise from improper timing or asking for too big a next step. Knowing how much effort to demand before the reward and how often to repeat the request before moving to the next level are some of the keys to a resistant-free progression. Mistakes in judgment can result in a horse that becomes tense or defiant to the cue - like the Kansas filly.

Another key is to cue for the back without pulling or using a lot of rein pressure. The function of the reins during the back is to prevent the horse from going forward - not for pulling him backwards. To execute the back the horse is first stopped and asked to flex at the poll and give his chin. Backward movement is then achieved by squeezing or bumping on his sides with either the leg or foot. (The correct cue depends on the sensitivity of each individual horse.)

Should the horse misinterpret the impulsion cue and move forward, he is checked by rein pressure. Then the cue begins again from the beginning. As the horse backs up the rein pressure is not increased nor is it continuous. A flexed head position during backing causes the reins to become slack and backing is driven by the leg and body cues.

The position of the rider's body is important in helping the horse perform the back. Staying in an upright position (instead of leaning back) allows the horse to flex his back and loin without the burden of his rider's weight.

We have found this technique keeps a horse soft by preventing decreased sensitivity to bit pressure. But there are horses that seem to have some sort of mental block to backing - horses that need a more demonstrative cue. There are several other techniques which help to focus these horses on backing. Perhaps one of them will help the Kansas horseman with his problem.

Ride the horse into a V made by a fence and a gate. Once in, the only way out is to back out. Cue for the back but don't pull on the horse's head. Never get into a tug of war - your hands against the horse's head. Reward every backwards step or two that the horse executes.

Other methods which may cause the light bulb to come on in the horse's mind are accomplished from the ground. Driving the horse is a very effective way of teaching the correct response to rein pressures especially during the back. Once the horse understands what is being asked, mount and use the same rein pressure to produce the desired backing response.

Another technique used from the ground is accomplished with a dressage whip. Stand in front of the horse. Pull gently on the reins and tap the horse's chest with the whip. Once he will back away from the whip on the ground, remount. Ask for the back with the reins, seat and legs. Tap the horse on the chest with a long riding crop in the same place. Hopefully, a back will materialize.

Over the years we have used all these techniques and more with horses that were resistant to a backwards way of doing things. The key is to find what method in your bag of tricks will remove the mental block instead of driving in more resistance.

If only Jim could have found a chemistry professor that felt the same way about teaching quantitative analysis forty some years ago - who knows - he says he might have been a chemistry professor instead of a horse trainer. I don't think so!

Copyright © 1996. Dr. Jim and Lynda McCall