Backing Up

Standing fairly balanced and connected. The rider's body is in alignment.

Rider is asking for the backup from the legs, seat, and hands.

Horse is starting to round more and soften off the rein contact. The rider maintained her position and used her legs more to keep the mare stepping back.

Here the rider has pulled on the reins without using her legs. You can see the tension in the rider's body. The mare has tension all through her body and has hollowed her back making it harder for her to step back. Backing Up

By Lisa Wieben and Birgit Stutz

Photos by Lisa Wieben | Rider is 12-year-old Anya Sales riding Pumpkin Spice, a grade mare

Learn how to back up without pulling and have the horse move back soft, round, and light, and with an even rhythm. Teaching the backup improves transitions as the horse begins to shift its weight more onto its hind end.

Before teaching the horse to back under saddle, it is a good idea to teach the horse to back from the ground. When asking the horse to back from the ground keep the horse’s head low to level so that the horse can lift its back and step evenly back.

Backing is an essential skill for every horse, no matter its age or level. Your horse may have to back out of a trailer, wash stall, or a tricky spot on a trail.

The Western Dressage Association of America rule book states:

WD107 1. Back is a rearward diagonal movement with a two-beat rhythm but without a moment of suspension. Each diagonal pair of legs is raised and returned to the ground alternately, with the forelegs aligned on the same track as the hind legs. 2. During the entire exercise, the horse should remain “on the bit,” maintaining his desire to move forward at the slightest indication of the rider. 3. Serious faults are: Anticipation of the movement, resistance to or evasion of the contact of the bit either by raising the neck or going behind the bit, deviation of the hindquarters from the straight line, spreading or inactive hind legs and dragging forefeet. 4. Steps are counted as each foreleg moves back. After completing the required number of steps backward, the horse should show a square stop or move forward in the required gait immediately. In tests where a back of one horse’s length is required, it should be executed with three or four steps. 5. A back series is a combination of two backs with walk steps in-between. It should be executed with fluent transitions and the required number of steps.

WD108 Faults

Faults of gaits include crookedness, loss of rhythm; tight and tense back with short stiff neck; horse on forehand and/or leaning on the bit; nose consistently behind the vertical; raising of the head to avoid collection; changing tempo; and evasion of contact which can come from improper training, too harsh a bit, or bad hands. In all cases faults will be penalized.

How to ask for the backup

In a correct backup the horse moves forward into contact, then steps back rhythmically in diagonal pairs. - Start with a square halt. - Centre, grow tall, and lighten your seat to allow the horse’s back to come up. The rider’s body will not lean forward or back. - With your legs ask your horse for forward into your contact which is maintained with blocking, not pulling, hands. You may want to widen the reins slightly in order to prevent your horse from getting out of boundaries. The reins provide just enough contact to prevent the horse from moving forward into a walk. The horse leans into the contact slightly, then will step back away from the blocking pressure. - As soon as the horse takes a step back, soften the reins a touch, but maintain a soft contact, keeping the light seat.

- Some horses do better with pressure applied from both legs used together while others may prefer the alternating leg as the horse is stepping back. The legs would press alternating with the swing of the horse’s barrel. - Make sure your hips are following the movement.

To complete the backup let your weight down and apply leg to ask the horse to move forward in the required gait. Ask the horse forward after every backup to teach the horse to propel from the hind quarters.

Start out with just one step of back, then two, then three, and so on. Each diagonal movement is one step.

Common problems while backing up

Resistance is common when the horse is first learning how to back up. Often the resistance is caused by the rider pulling on the reins. This will be seen when the horse lifts its head up and perhaps gapes its mouth. There will be tension in the poll, neck, and back and the horse will step back unevenly.

Remain patient and using your legs continue to ask the horse into contact until the horse drops its head. Reins block the unwanted movement so the left rein blocks the horse from bending to the right and the right rein blocks the horse from bending to the left. Keeping the hands wider will give more block if the horse wants to turn away from the pressure. The pressure of both reins together keeps the horse from moving forward. At first the horse will try to find a way out of pressure until it finds the point where the pressure eases, when he drops his head and softens the poll. Continue to apply leg pressure to ask for the backward steps.

If the horse is backing crookedly use your legs to help guide the horse back by applying more pressure on the side the horse is veering to, while the reins keep the neck straight. Sometimes backing along a wall or fence will help maintain straightness.

Give your horse plenty of time to figure out the backup and only ask for one or two steps to start with, then immediately forward. By practicing this at the end of your training session you can finish your ride as a reward once the horse gives you a few good steps for the day.

If you are unsure of where you are heading it is always a good idea to connect with a coach that knows the sport you want to prepare for. We (Lisa and Birgit) are both available for online and in-person lessons.

Be sure to send your questions to nancyroman@saddleup.ca as we will answer another reader question next month.

Lisa Wieben’s passion is empowering women in becoming confident and healthy riders. As an Energy Medicine Practitioner and Clinical Somatics Practitioner she addresses pain, tension, hormones, stress, and the issues that appear as a result. As a Centered Riding Instructor and Irwin Insights Master Level 7 Trainer she works with riders incorporating awareness exercises both on and off the horse. Balance the rider, balance the horse! Book a clinic that incorporates all the modalities! www.somaticrider.com

As an Irwin Insights Level 6 Master Certified trainer and coach, Birgit Stutz helps riders of all levels and backgrounds advance their horsemanship skills by developing personal and situational awareness, focusing on indepth understanding of equine behaviour, body language, psychology and biomechanics. Driven by her passion for both equine welfare and performance, Birgit believes that facilitating effective communication between horse and rider is an approach that fulfills our responsibilities to the horse and elicits great results. www.fallingstarranch.ca.

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