You really need to be able to disengage a horse's
hindquarters if you are to ride him safely. The
hindquarters are where the power comes from, so to be
able to stop that, you can regain control if he
spooks, bolts, rears, otherwise.
I like to, as with everything, teach it from the
ground first. I know some horses that if you just got
on them & put one foot back on their side, they'd
scoot sideways or take off.
Get them used to moving from pressure on the ground,
so that they learn to yield, not escape. As long as
you start friendly, rubbing the spot, then apply
steadily growing pressure, then instantly release &
rub the spot again, he should learn to move whatever
part of his body when you push and stop when you rub.
Pretty soon, you'll be able to lightly ask him to move
in any direction and he'll respect it & won't escape
away. You can ask him to move one foot or more, be
able to position and direct him wherever you wish, in
any direction.
This will all translate to when you ride, where you
put your weight, hands & legs. When you put your foot
back on his side, he'll know to move his hindquarters
over, as he was taught on the ground, so you can
disengage that power.
I also like to ask for a bend when I need to disengage
the quarters. This gives even more control in an
unexpected situation. If you can bend them without
bracing & disengage their back end, then you can start
circling, so they can't run away with you or rear.
From the ground, I taught Champ to 'smell his tail'. I
stand beside him, holding the end of his tail, so he
knows not to turn his body, then with my other hand I
draw his head around till he's sniffing his tail. I
draw his head without force, because I want him to
learn to do this without bracing & fighting. If he
fights it, I don't keep pulling, but hold the pressure
& his head there until he softens, then INSTANTLY
release to reward him. Next time, I'll get past that
point before he gets too uncomfortable with it. I use
my hand & also the lead on the halter, to show him how
I'd ask with the rein. This exercise needs to be done
in baby steps, slowly, PATIENTLY, PATIENTLY!
On his back, I drop my focus down to my inside thigh,
reach down for one rein, bring it steadily up to my
thigh & hold it there to get him to bend his neck
around. To disengage the quarters, I focus at his
rear, that I want to push around & put that inside leg
back to disengage the quarters. I always want to start
with the focussing, because eventually one day, I want
to be good enough so that he responds to that, without
me having to use my legs or reins.
Rollback:
Roll-back is a move following the stop where the forward momentum is
conserved and directed out 180 degrees from the initial direction of travel.
The hind end stays pretty much where it is and the front end sweeps around
across.
