A horse with a good sidepass is a beautiful sight to see. To me, it’s amazing how horses coordinate all four legs to move laterally and fluidly underneath them. The horse is a born athlete. But sometimes it takes some training and skill to get our horse to understand what we are asking of them.
Have you struggled with having a clean sidepass? If so, I have some tips for you. Lateral movement can be tricky for a horse to understand a first, so I recommend breaking it down in steps that are easy for your horse to understand.
I can’t wait to jump into this with you and help you and your horse create a beautiful sidepass.
Why Teach the sidepass?
The sidepass is a very useful tool to be able to use with your horse. You can use it at the mounting block, opening gates, and more.
To Begin
To begin, I like to work on a rail or against the fence. Because when you first begin asking your horse to move laterally, they will most likely want to walk forward. Having them face a fence will help your horse by taking that one option away.
But first and foremost, having control of the front and back feet is really important. Before teaching a sidepass, you need to first make sure you can move the forequarters and hindquarters independently. So before moving on work on moving those individual body parts.
Teaching the Side pass – Starting on the Ground
I like to teach everything on the ground first. It seems to translate undersaddle really well after that.
Remember, in the beginning, only look for one step over, then relax and reward your horse.
To ask for the sidepass, lead your horse to the fence. With your horse facing the fence, gently tap on your horse’s ribs (about where your foot would fall naturally if you were riding). As your horse looks for the right answer, don’t increase the pressure, but continue the same amount of tapping pressure until you get one clean step to the side away from you. Praise your horse generously.
Try this a few times until your horse begins to understand what you are asking. Next time, look for two steps and so on. Always work on both sides of your horse. If your horse is having trouble with straightness such as leading with the shoulder, move back to the hip and tap, asking it to catch up.
That is the basics of teaching the sidepass. Master this on the ground before moving on to the ridden work.
Undersaddle in Front of the Fence
Begin in the same spot you did with the groundwork, in front of the fence. Begin by bumping or tapping with your foot in that middle position (where your foot naturally falls) and utilize your reins, opening up the door on the right for them to move over. Once you get one step over, give big praises. You can also lift the other leg off to signal to the horse to move away from the leg that is on.
If you feel your horse getting frustrated at all, then walk them away for a few minutes before working on it again. You never want to get your horse worried about asking them to do maneuvers. We want confident and clear communication, so work with your horse, not against them. If you feel they need a break, then come back to it.
Undersaddle in the Open
Once you feel like your horse isn’t trying to walk forward, you can try to ask in the open and away from the fence. Work the same way you did when the fence was there and utilize your reins as well. If they try to walk forward, pull back on the reins to correct, but don’t stop asking for the sidepass.
Tips for Success
Work in short sessions
Reward generously with rest, affection, and praise
Don’t let them anticipate you. If you feel them anticipating you too much with asking for a sidepass move into something else.
Make sure your horse fully understands what you are asking before moving onto the next step or phase of the training.
If your horse is agitated with the exercise, it’s ok to stop and move onto something else and try again a different day.
Record your session so you can view it later and watch your timing and horse’s body.
It’s ok if it takes a while to master this. It depends on your ability, timing, and patience. Your horse is ready and willing. They are just looking to you for guidance.
Hope you enjoyed this post and you and your horse are soon sidepassing beautifully.
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