Hind end engagement is one of the most important elements, or ingredients, for creating fabulous movement in your horse. Impulsion is often sought after, but your can’t get proper impulsion without engagement.
Think of engagement as a compressed spring. When it compresses, that is engagement. When you release the energy and it springs up, that is the impulsion. So you see, you first need to coil the spring in order to get impulsion. (You can then go on to recycle that energy, which is collection)
Think of the horse’s legs the same way. Instead of springs that coil, the horse has joints that flex.
How to Coil the Spring to Create Hind End Engagement
Engaging the hind end is a lot like activating the “rear wheel drive” in your horse. Just like a car in rear wheel drive, the horse needs to use the hind end to push, rather than using his front end to pull himself along. When a horse is pushing from the hind end, the front end becomes lighter because more weight has been rocked back. When the front end of the horse is more light and free, you will start to see many of your common problems and issues disappear.
There are many different exercises to get your horse to engage his hind end. Most methods involve creative ways to get the horse to get his hind legs more underneath his body so that the weight he is carrying will rock back. When the horse is rocked back, the rider can then ask for the push.
Below I will share one of my favorite exercises for hind end engagement. I love this exercise for several reasons. It will “wake up” a lazy horse, make a dull horse more responsive, and just about anybody at any level can do this.
The Trot-Halt-Rein Back-Trot
First get your horse warmed up and establish a nice rhythmic trot. When ready, ask for a prompt halt. Make sure you are not pulling back on the reins to halt. Use your body and squeeze your wrists closed as you exhale. When your horse is still, and without losing the contact with the bit, ask for a rein back, about 3-4 steps. Then promptly go forward into a trot from the rein back. And repeat again and again until you get your desired engagement.
The first cycle of the “trot-halt-rein back-trot” will not be all that great. Don’t worry, because the key to this exercise is the repetition. Once you get into your 3rd or 4th cycle of this, your horse will start to figure out what he is supposed to do next. So after your 4th rein back, he will propel himself into the trot. And that means that you’ve created the engagement and your horse used it.
Tips For This Exercise to Achieve Even Better Hind End Engagement
- This exercise works best for horses who have already mastered the trot-to-halt and the halt-to-trot. But if you and your horse are still trying to master that, the exercise will surely help you get there faster. Your horse probably won’t get as much engagement from the exercise, but again, it will help you get there. Just don’t expect prompt halts and trots overnight. The horse needs to gradually build up strength to be able to do that.
- To really reap the benefits of this exercise, you need to get a quality trot, followed by a quality halt, and finally, a quality rein back. You can’t slop your way through this and expect magical results. The repetition of cycles within this exercise allows the horse to naturally improve each time, due to his anticipation about what comes next. So to an extent, the horse will get better even if you do nothing. But don’t leave all the work to the horse. If you also put your mind into it and focus on quality throughout, you will be helping the horse tremendously and you will reap greater results.
- Get a good halt by using your body and not by pulling on the reins. Think about transitioning “up” into the halt, and add some leg as you squeeze your hands closed to halt.
- Don’t pull back with your hands to rein back. Keep your hands closed and slide your legs slightly back and lean slightly forward.
- Expect a prompt trot by the lightest pressure from you legs. If the horse doesn’t trot off immediately, you need to make him more responsive. The sharper your horse is, the better this exercise will work for you. If your horse doesn’t respond to a light leg aid, increase the pressure until you get a prompt transition. And the next time, you should get a sharper response. If you don’t, you need to give an aid that will get your point across.
- Expect quickness
- Don’t do this exercise when you have a show in the near future or your horse might start backing up when you halt at X and salute.
Why Riders Love This Exercise
The trot-halt-rein back-trot is a fabulous exercise to create a quick burst of engagement in your horse’s movement. It also gives the rider a chance to practice getting sharp responses in their horse. The horse then starts to think more quickly and “wake up” a bit.
While there are many fabulous tools for improving hind end engagement, I love this exercise for it’s simplicity and because it carries with it a whole host of other benefits that will improve your ride.
Keep Riding, Keep Refining
The Refined Rider
