Hi Gen like most work with horses it starts on the ground.saddle your horse up the take the slack out of your near side rein facing the side of you horse, put the hand holding the reins up to the horn this should pull your horses head round then Push just in front of his back leg and he should start to spin it will be very slow and it takes loads of work when riding you use the near side foot to do what your hand was doing hope this help and good look

Hi Gen,
For years I rode a cattle horse every round-up and one of the things we had to learn was spinning on a dime.
If your horse is not trained for lateral flextion you have to start on the ground.
He has to perfect this first before you can expect him to understand the signals from the saddle.
Now if he has perfected flextion and understands stir-up signals you can proceed to the next level.
1:Make sure you have your balance point perfectly, because he is going to move FAST.
2:Look straight over his ears, to help you not get dizzy.
3:At first your reins will be snug, not tight.
4:Now flex the horse's head to the left for a left turn. 5:Apply a soft stir-up to the left side just behind the girth.
6:Keeping pressure with your left leg and sitting low in the saddle, he will start to move into the circle.
7:Hold onto the pummel with your hands with the reins in one.
8:Keep your feet out of the way, so the horse has feedom of movement. Feet pushed forward and outward is best, this keeps you low in the saddle and balanced.
9:When you want him to stop, say whoa and stop all pressure, sitting really low in the saddle and feet in a relaxed way.
10:When you are finished step him back a couple of steps, rest, and do the other side.
The less pressure you put on his mouth will help him to become accustomed to your body language.
When you are accustomed to this you will not need to hold onto the the pummel, you will hold the reins only and be able to keep your balance by keeping the reins CLOSE to your chest, not tightly. Give him his space and good footing is an absolute.
A few months ago, when I was at a stable, I knew the horse I was riding was a cutting horse, just by his body language and the way he reacted to the reins.
So I wanted to have some fun, his name is Cowboy, I applied the above and he spun on a dime in both directions, I loved it and it brought back great memories, best ride I've had since my accident.
PS:If he starts to spin too quickly for you and you feel unbalanced follow the above instructions to stop him and wait for your head to stop spinning. This is not for the inexperienced rider or a weak stomach.
Also, a horse that is lower to the ground has an easier time at this, for their balance.
For some reason horses love to do this.
Give this a try and hold on for the ride.
Ronda

Hello Andy and Ronda
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Thank you very much for this information :-) I will give it a go :-)
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Kind regards,
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Gen

does this all apply to pivoting on the hind quaters or the front feet because i am really keen to learn how to teach my horse to pivot on its hinquaters.
razzle

Hi guys,
I tried to explain this the best I could but if you want to see it done and watch if over and over again there is a series here on the UNI. Watch closely each time.
It's western reining with Richard Winters. This particular procedure is done in the video: part 2:Four-Part.
You'll find watching this very informative and exciting.
Razzle, I've never seen spinning done on the front feet. I don't think the horse could get his balance properly. Remember the horse puts over 60% of his weight on the front feet and a lot of manuvers done by them is by proper use of their front feet, cross-over, turns, etc...
One procedure that will help the horse to pre-learn pivots is to teach the procedure on the ground first.
With MY STAR her training I began two years ago to yeild her front quarthers to me, first by follow-up, walking in front of her, from left to right.
Then by standing at her shoulder and driving her front end sideways.
Then by using the reins, teaching her flextion towards my elbow, then shoulder. Using very little presure, only one finger to draw her to the place I want her.
Eventually they will do this from the saddle, their head to your boot, flextion, backing-up and yeilding to pressure from your leg are all needed to execute this procedure.
Watch the videos guys, you will enjoy this, so much.
Ronda

Majestic
Great description of how to teach a horse to spin in place. Peruvian Paso does spin on it's from feet unlike most other horses. The Enfrenadura is the equivalent to dressage and part of the class is to spin your horse while he places his head at your stirrup. If you want to see the differance go to http://www.youtube.com/user/peruvianstallion1#p/u/8/jsc3o3VfZbE and start the video at 4:25 minute in. There horse is my horses brother and while Merengue is also trained in Enfrenadura I don't do too much of it since it puts a lot of pressure on the front shoulders, so you always have to be careful when doing the spin. They pivot on their front legs and drive with there rear.

Cheers

Hi Dennis
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Thanks for the link. The Peruvian Paso horses are beautiful - I love the way they move! I watched a couple of the other videos on your channel too and really enjoyed them. I see why you love this breed so much.
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Hi Ronda
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I also saw your videos with you and MY STAR. Well done, you both look great together :-)
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I have to video myself working with my horses to send to my Intro Course Instructor for feedback. I am struggling with getting time at the moment and am also a bit nervous about it too. You are very brave for putting your work up there for the world to see. Good on you :-) When you did the video, was there anything in particular you were wanting feedback on? If so, did you get it and did it help?
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Kind regards,
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Gen

Gen
don't be afraid. It really helps seeing other peoples work. Trust me none of us will look perfect in our work, but that is the beauty of it. Your video ends up being one of the best learning tools
Cheers

Hi Gen,

I got a lot of feed-back and it was great.
All positive and constructive.
It was great to do, for me I wanted us on video as a tool for comparing.
Comparing to Monty and comparing improvements, over time.
I took some advice and tried that, it didn't work.
For a couple of reasons, my limitations and Star's personality.
I watched Monty's video over and over and mine as well and felt by doing it Monty's way worked best for me.
I will keep improving as time goes on and remember Star knows what she's doing, it's me that has work to do.
She's beautiful and smart and will continue in spite of me.
I had a member comment on my youtube account and that was very encourageing.
You do it Gen, both of you will benefit and you'll have a few laughs.
Just relax and do what you always do, don't change anything until you view it and then it will be natural and a learning tool for you.
Thank you for your encouragement.
Ronda
PS: Star will never be able to do spins, she's too tall and it's not what I have in mind for her.
When I'm at the stable I'll ask the owner if I can video myself spinning on cowboy and add that as well.
Next time I go I'm going to try a sliding stop with him to see how he does.
If he's as good as I expect I'm thinking of asking her if I can buy him, he's a sweet little gelding. Not much to look at, needs some conditioning but that won't take long.

Hi Dennis,
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Thanks for the encouragement. You are right, in everything you say. Thanks again.
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Hi Ronda
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I'm glad you got some good feedback. Its a really good idea to do what you did. We tried to do a join-up video a week or so ago, and I got nervous because of the camera, and things just didn't go right. I have been feeling a bit reluctant ever since. What went wrong there is obvious though; adrenaline up learning down.
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We will have another go over the next week or so because I am home for a while now.
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Cowboy sounds like a great little horse :-) From what could be seen in your video, you have beautiful grass at your place, it won't take long for his condition to improve once he can eat some of that!
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Thank you very much for your encouragement.
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See you both later,
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Kind regards,
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Gen

Thank you Gen,
But right now that beautiful grass is being covered with snow.
It hasn't been a good year for the hay fiels, we had too much rain and all that seemed to grow was weeds.
Our fields need turned over but we can't do it this year so Star's pasture is shrinking.
We bought hay from a farmer down the road and he had to dehydrate it, it's very compacked and has to have water srapayed on it to make it more suitable for Star.
It is very nutrious, she has gained some weight so I have to keep a watch on her.
It's fall here and I have already started to get her ready for the long winters we have.
For my book I have been doing a lot of research and I found some articles on winterizing our horses, great information.
You have a great day,
Ronda

What is the sense of spin. I can understand the need of a horse to learn to turn fast, but only once. If I understand it right, spinning is when the horse turn around many times very quickly. Can somebody explane the use of this exercise ?

Hi Cristina
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That's a really good question! It is a Reining manoeuvre, and that's why I want to learn it. Other than that, I don't know why its done.
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The one thing I do know is that since I have started learning and using the training techniques the Reining riders use, my horses are much more supple and light, and heaps better in Barrel Racing and Roping now.
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Would be interesting to know where the move came from and why.
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Good luck with your winter Ronda, I take my hat off to anyone who owns horses where it snows. It sounds like very hard work.
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See you later,
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Gen

When a horse learns to spin, and do it correctly, both rider and horse, you have a true athlete.
All signals are being used by all parts of the body and it is not as hard on them as dressage, which is the best for building muscles.
Once you have experienced it, there is no felling like it, it's just plain fun for both of you!!!!
Fun is what learning is all about.
Teaching a horse to cut, Monty uses guinea hens, they are easier to keep and cheaper than a calf.
This teaches the horse to focus on a small object and have no fear as well.
Western riding is all about fun.
English riding is all about training.
Not to say that one cannot have fun riding English, I do, but Weatern is the Cadilac of horse riding, especially if you have a great saddle.
Monty and other trainers have said every horse needs to learn dressage, it's so good for the horse and western sporting builds confidence in yourself and the horse.
There doesn't always have to be a major reason for doing things with your horse.
For example, why take a horse for a walk, when you could take them for a ride, why walk at liberty, when you could keep them on a lead rope.
There are so many things we can do with our horse, the most important is: keep it fun and interesting, they won't get bored.
Try it it's great fun!!!
Ronda

@ Majestic

I have never done western riding and there are many things I criticize in English style, especially regarding competitive riding. But in both disciplines the exercises had a special function for the work that had to be done. The origin of English exercises was the ability of the horse in war, and I suppose that the use of the western style is determined by the use of the horse for the work with cattle and to be able to ride long distances.
Regarding liberty or work from the ground and walking with the horse instead of riding :

“For example, why take a horse for a walk, when you could take them for a ride, why walk at liberty, when you could keep them on a lead rope? “
Excuse me, but you have a very funny way to turn things around. Doesn't it make more sense the other way around ?
“ Why take a horse for a ride, when you could take them for a walk, why keep them on a lead rope, when you could walk at liberty? “

But anyhow I try to answer you question.
In the work from the ground or at liberty doesn't exist western or English, there is only you and the horse.
I think it should be the base of all kinds of horse riding. To begin from the ground is important to build a relationship. If one doesn't have a lot of land to allow the horse to roam around, the only possibility to let him move freely, without a weight on his back is to walk with him, even better if he is used to stay with you without a lead rope. In my special case the fact that I have this kind of relationship with me horse, helped me a lot, because I had a spine injury and can't ride for a while.

Best wishes

I agree with you 100% cristina,
I'm sorry if you took this the wrong way. I was just using analogy in comparisions.
It's great to walk with our horses and I admire those who do. It's about the horse and us.
I guess what I was trying to say is there is more than one way to do things and that it should always be fun and trust me Western riding is a ball.
Spinning is one of the things I enjoy the most, it makes me feel alive and the horse is so proud, you can just tell.
And when they come to a sliding stop, the feeling of power under you is amazing.
I enjoy your stlye and have watched your videos so much and have enjoyed watching them, you are great.
I am trying to encourage others to try something new, interesting for themselves and their horses, that's all my dear, OK.
Can't wait until you can ride again.
The very best to you,
Ronda