# Backing through an obstacle in a Trail class



## HighStylinRascal (Jun 5, 2007)

I'm not 100% sure about APHA but in AQHA you're supposed to be looking forward when you're backing. You can hesitate to look behind you and adjust if necessary, but then you should return to facing forward.

Reason for this: If you're looking down and twisted, you're making it very hard for the horse to back straight as it almost indefinitely twists their body and they are more likely to step out of the rails.

Hope that helps you some.


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## *ArabianPrincess* (Nov 8, 2006)

I thought when you where backing up you are supose to have a loose rein and the horses head has to be relaxed and down and slightly bridled up ( on the bit western syle :roll: eg - western head carrage).

When you back up Well i use my seat and slightly use my leg and i have a loose rein. I lean Slightly forward and squeeze.

But i guess everyone is different.
And i dont do western.


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## sidewinderrr (Jun 18, 2007)

Yeah looking back can throw the horse off the track.

As for his head I think lowering your hands would help out. Although it's hard for me to tell where your holding them, they look in that picture like they're a bit too high. If your hands are up that encourages him to lift his head.  I hope that helps you. Also sit back into the saddle.


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

Thanks for the help about where I should be looking, I knew I wasn't looking correctly, but I wasn't sure what I should be doing. 

As for his head position, my hands, and body position - yes we are very out of whack  He did fabulously in the warm up arena on a loose rein, calm, etc. When we got into the class, he got all worked up, kept pushing on the bit horribly, rushing through everything, and gaping his mouth agains any rein use - it was horrible - he is pretty good at all of the trail obstacles, but you wouldn't have known it. He is a 5 year old stallion with ohly about three shows experience, which is no excuse, but makes me believe it will just be time and experience that will help. 

I am working with a trainer to help supple him to the bit and my body cues, which has shown great improvements (away from the excitement of the show ring  )

As for me - every time I start focusing on him, I quit paying attention to my body position - bad me  - I am working on it.


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## desperate horsewife (Jun 21, 2007)

I'm not really sure how you're supposed to negotiate a corner without looking... :roll: Which would lose you more points? Looking or hitting the poles? 

When you back up a car, you look behind you. At the very least, you use a rear view mirror. It would be silly to expect you not to check where your horse's feet are going. The purpose of a trail class is to show how well your horse can negotiate obstacles out on the trail. No one in their right mind would back around a corner without watching that their horse's feet were on the trail, especially if that trail was on a hillside. 

So my vote here is to check to see where you're going. Train yourself to use as little movement as possible and not to be doing a whole lot of twisting in the saddle to throw off the horse. In the photo you appear to be leaning forward and turning a bit, but that could just be camera angle. 

Sit straight like you would in an equ class with shoulders square. Practice doing straight back ups first, without poles or anything. It's okay to look back over your shoulder or down toward the ground so long as you're not twisting in the saddle. Do one step at a time, stopping between each step to settle your horse and yourself. Taking your time will help improve your seat as well as the horse's head set. 

By starting out without poles, you reduce the stress that both you and the horse may be feeling. Relaxation is the key to a smooth trail class. Once you can back ten steps or so without turning in the saddle and keeping your horse relaxed, set up some poles and practice. I always like to set them wider than you'd find in a class so that the horse feels confident to begin with; it also helps you determine if you're twisting and throwing him off without him actually hitting a pole. When you can get through a wide back up, narrow it up and perfect it again.

You can work on a pivot on the forehand without poles, too. Again, the less you have around your horse's feet to begin with, the smoother the results in the end. I always try to set both horse and rider up for success rather than failure; sometimes it takes a little longer to get where you're going, but it's well worth it in the end!


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## stefie (May 24, 2007)

Hey again,
Ummm when you are backin try to look just infront of you or even at the top of your horses head the reason for this is when you look down your body weight shifts the slightest bit and that can affect the horse when backing.

Try and sit deep in the saddle and lean back a bit, have you feet move ford enough for your to feel what you are asking when backing.

You need to get you horse to understand when you are askin him of this it means back and soon enough you will have him on a loose rein and beable to do that with him understanding, so then he will look more westurn with his head set in the correct place as i explained to you last time.

But yeh just try and stay of the bit with a loose rain but apply the things above and then once he understands then start on loosning you reins.
hope this helps for you


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## desperate horsewife (Jun 21, 2007)

I think you guys are confusing backing up in a trail class with backing up while in a performance class. They require two different things. It's like saying to ride with noodle reins in an eq class; one just doesn't do it.


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## stefie (May 24, 2007)

I think you guys are confusing backing up in a trail class with backing up while in a performance class. They require two different things. It's like saying to ride with noodle reins in an eq class; one just doesn't do it.


> lol its not that confusing once you no what you are doin lol
> once you get the idea of what needs to be done then the horse will understand of what is bein asked


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

Okay, now I am confused, what is the difference between backing for a trail class and backing for a performance class?

Since I have begun my reining lessons, I can get him to back up by sitting back and just barely picking up on the reins. For this, I have no problems with not looking back because I can tell if he is going straight by looking in front of me. In trail, when backing through the very narrow "L", I can't help but look, because it is so narrow, you can't mis-step with even one foot without knocking a pole. Maybe I should get some rearview mirrors for my horse  How do I know where to move him without looking at all. Do I stop, look, face back forward, and start maneuvering again? 

Also, this may be a silly question, but why don't you ride with noodle reins in an eq. class? Are you talking about western eq.? Are you saying this because it would be too hard to perform the pattern? Or some other, more asthetic reason? Forgive my questions if they are silly, I haven't shown since 4-H, somewhere around 10 years ago (I have been barrel racing in between - and not focusing on the beauty of myself or my horse) , and even then, some rules are different between those, and "real shows".


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## stefie (May 24, 2007)

lol well there really isnt a diference when comin to backin in both performance and trail the only thing that is realy different is in trail you are goin over objects and things have to be more focused.
just start slowly on the backin lesson still use the reins how you normal use them but just change your seatin and once he is goin good with that then start to loosen your reins till they are loose.
K with the "L" when backin maybe you could rig on up at home and practice there, just by you noing the steps for the horse, you could count when backin and then turn because you will no the steps in your head.
With the noodle reins, westurn is more bout comunicating with your horse with your legs and your body weight shiftin round, belive it or not and bearly touchin the reins.
Dont think any of your questions are silly u are just wantin to re-learn again and it is good that you are askin for help.


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## desperate horsewife (Jun 21, 2007)

> Okay, now I am confused, what is the difference between backing for a trail class and backing for a performance class?


Performance classes normally ask you to back up after the entire class is lined up. Very little movement is expected of the rider to make the horse back up in a nice, smooth, straight line.

In trail, you will sometimes back between parallel poles that are laying in a straight line, or sometimes an L shape or even a zig zag. The original photo here shows an L shaped back up. Some classes will have you back around other obstacles, such as cones or poles.

Sometimes it's easy to negotiate these obstacles. For instace, a straight back up. No need to spend excessive time looking behind you. Same is true of poles, as they're tall enough to see.

However, when you've got complicated patterns where corners are involved, I've yet to meet a judge who'll mark you down for looking to see where your horse's feet are. I'm not talking twisting around in the saddle, but small looks. And, to be honest, if I were the judge I'd mark people down for _not_ looking. There's no way you can back an L or Z without checking where your horse's feet are. 

But hey, I'm a stickler for trail being just that, trail. Like I said before, you'll lose more points for knocking the poles than you will for sneeking a peek and backing clean. (And yes, I do compete in trail classes :wink: )


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