Monty Roberts Equus Online University | Monty's Horse Training Post: Moving off the leg

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About This Week’s Lesson

Moving off the leg

By:

Jules 970

Date:

2010-Jan-09 at 09:30PM

I have a well broke (western trained) 10 year old. My problem is that while he well understands how to move off the leg his response is erratic. For example if we are out riding and need to open a gate I can ride alongside the gate, touch his side and he will readily move sideways to help me open or close the gate.

However when I try the same thing in the school or arena he often just ignores me - it's passive resistance - he just stands there with his feet planted. I'm reluctant to use spurs, any suggestions on how I can add pressure to start to get a response and lighten him up ? He is very well rope trained, so you can whirl ropes around and he just ignores them...... so not sure what to try next.

Miriam (Holland&Germany) 2010-Jan-12 at 04:21PM

Hi Jules 970!
Why don't you go back to groundwork with your horse?
Touch him at the side and ask him to yield from your finger or whatever you use to give a signal with. Next step could be the 90 degrees fence Monty uses. I've gone back to groundwork with a horse that wouldn't stand still while mounting and had a greatfull horse afterwards, because she understood what was asked of her. The reaction you describe when in the open, gives me the impression your horse doesn't know what you ask of him.
Good luck!

vainas 2010-Nov-02 at 11:17AM

I am loving these lessons, but i was a bit frustrated with "moving off the leg"... you didn't really show how to get the movement started with a green horse. It's like you skipped a step. In all the other videos I have seen, you show the baby steps. But in this one, from the first example of the horse in the corner, he was moving off the leg. It would have been more helpful, I think, to see a horse that really did not understand what you were asking for and then have to work through that. In the written material in the sidebar you talk about this process, but you don't show it. I think that seeing how that "aha" moment in the horse's learning comes about is really supportive to my learning.
(Is this even the right place for this comment?)

Fran

Miriam (Holland&Germany) 2010-Nov-02 at 07:49PM

Hi Fran,
Of course this is the right place, I think you missed the moment of "aha", because it is there!
When the young horse moves off the leg at the 90 degrees fences, it finds its way into the right direction. Moving into pressure would make him move towards the fence, there's only space to move "off" the pressure. Watch the lesson again and try to see where the horse stands when it gets the signal to move. Moving into the panel is not an option, so it moves away from the pressure, which gives an immediate reward, pressure off. Being in the corner and this stopping forward-movement helps a lot.
Hope you'll see it, otherwise try it with your horse, I used the corner of the ridingarena and it worked!