Puting it all together with Travère position, Stop and backup, Rollback, Foundation to the slidestop, Speed control at the walk, Lead change, Turnaround, Side pass, Trail, The English horse
Travère position with canter departure
From the two-track the training continues towards achieving travère which is more difficult for the horse. In a travère the horses shoulder and head are moving straight and Bob Mayhew is asking the horse to just give his hip. When pushing the hip to the inside and underneith the horse it makes it easy for the horse to take the correct lead.
Stop and backup
In the stop programme Bob Mayhew practise stopping the horse with and without the reins. In the backup Bob Mayhew increase his stop position in the saddle and he is using the reins only to balance the horse's face.
Rollback
Rollback is a part ot the stop programme in Bob Mayhew's educational DVD. Bob starts to practise the rollback from the trot. When the horse is comfortable doing the rollback at the trot Bob ask the horse to try to do it at the lope. In this part Bob show clearly how important the circle work is when the rider work the horse in a rollback exercise.
Foundation to the slidestop
When Bob Mayhew introduce a higher degree of difficultie to the horse, he always ask for a try in a slower pace. In order to teach this four year old quarter horse a slidestop Bob starts doing it from the trot and on a loose rein. When the horse makes a stop Bob gives the horse time to let the exercise sink in and the short rest is the reward for the horse. When Bob feel that the horse is happy doing the stop from a trot he ask the horse to do it at the lope.
Speed control in the canter
In a speed control programme the focus is on the riders position in the saddle. It is how the rider put his or hers weight in the saddle that tells the horse to speed up or slow down.
Lead change
In the snake trail exercises Bob Mahew practised hip displacing and that was preparation work for travère and canter departure and in the circle work Bob worked on the push off or the leg yield. These things must come automatically to you before you can do a proper lead change. In building a lead change Bob show cleary the different steps by doing it at the walk.
Turnaround
A turnaround is a 360 degree spin. In a turnaround it is important that the horse starts by stepping his inside frontleg out and slightly back so his outside frontleg has plenty of room to cross over. It is important to keep the horse soft and suppled.
Side pass
In a side pass exercise Bob Mayhew leg yield the horse sideways. It teach the horse to move away from the riders leg. The side pass is important when the rider take the horse out for a trail ride.
Trail
Bob Mayhew explains in his western dvd The Basic Principles of Western Riding Why and How, that he never take a horse out on the roads and tracks unless he feel that he have comple control of the horse, a horse that is capable of doing a trail class. If you ride near busy roads or you are riding the youngsters it is good practise to use the hard hat. It may reduce head injures in an accident, but safety is all about riding a well trained horse. In this part Bob shows how to ride through the trail obstacles.
The English horse
Whether you ride English or Western it should be the same basics. It is really important to see the slightest try and to reward it. That is how horses learn. Bob does not ask much of this horse at this stage because he is gently correcting mistakes. He have to get back to square zero before he can build a foundation. Then this horse will become a nice riding horse. The basic principles of western riding helps your horse to perform better no matter what breed or riding discipline.