Improve Your Horse’s Softness

When training your horse, one of the ultimate goals is softness in his responses. But this softness should be not only in his face and head, but through the horse’s whole body. In this article, trainer Ben Baldus shares his tips for understanding and incorporating softness into your horse.

The Goal of Softness

Softness starts with your horse’s mouth and chin, through his neck, rib cage, and hindquarters—his whole body. Some riders confuse softness with achieving a “headset,” where the horse holds its head in the desired position.

“It’s beyond headset—it’s more a willing behavior to do the task you’re asking for,” says Baldus. “Some horses naturally have a neck that comes out a little bit lower, [and] they’re comfortable being lower-headed due to their style or their pedigree. Other horses with a different pedigree or style might carry their head a little bit higher and have a higher-headed look. That doesn’t mean that the horse is stiffer, it just means that he has conformation that puts his head higher.”

A horse with higher-headed conformation can still be soft with his head and neck, according to Baldus. This type of horse can still be flexed at the poll, willingly guided and soft—just with his head coming out of his neck a bit higher.

If a horse is high-headed and tense, he might be anxious or protecting himself from reins that are pulled on too firmly.

“When a horse has his head way up and his neck tight, his shoulders are heavy and he’s hitting the ground hard while he moves,” says Baldus. “His whole body is stiff, rigid and tight.”

In contrast, a soft horse has a lightness of step and movement regardless of gait or maneuver.

“He’s going to have a soft and light step, and that’s going to help the horse move better,” he says. “And that’s true whether working a cow, on the trail, just riding down the road, or riding for pleasure around your ranch. A horse that is lighter and moves with more fluidity is going to be smoother and softer to ride.”

Preparation

The bit you choose to use while working on softness with your horse is important. Baldus says that when he’s first starting to train a horse—usually in the first 30 days of riding—he’ll use a loping hackamore to work on lateral softness. He will next put the horse in some variation of a snaffle bit.

“As I transition to a snaffle, some horses are very light and soft and go in a smooth O-ring,” he says. “Others need a bit more, maybe a little twist to the mouthpiece, or even a short shank bridle to help him understand how to soften to the bridle.”

No matter what bit you use, your hands are the most important piece of the puzzle.

Move Slow and Soft

Baldus says the way you ask your horse to move is key.

“Every day when I get on, every ride, I remind myself to slow my hands down and ask [for a response] as slow and soft as possible,” he says.

This starts with asking the horse to tip his nose to the right, for example. You’ll do this every time you ride after your horse has warmed up.

“I ask myself how slowly and how smoothly I can pick this rein up and ask this horse to tip his nose to the right,” says Baldus. “If I ask slowly and methodically, in a sequence of half a pound of pressure, 1 pound of pressure, 2 pounds, 3 pounds, and so on over a 10-second time period, that horse has a chance to respond to a soft, light pressure before I increase to more pressure. By building the habit of keeping your hand slow, the horse will start to respond to 1 or 2 pounds.”

Build this habit into everything you do with your hands and legs while riding—whether you have on a loping hackamore or a spade bit on a finished bridle horse. Focus on keeping your hands as slow and consistent as possible.

The Release of Pressure

You’ll also want to focus on the release of pressure.

“Your horse is going to learn the most from the release of pressure,” says Baldus. “The moment he starts to soften in the direction I want with his head, neck or shoulders, I start to release the pressure.”

Look for a place to reward your horse, even just for trying, then pick up and ask again. He will probably get softer faster, according to Baldus.

The Sequence of Achieving Softness

Working from the front to the back of the horse, Baldus asks for softness.

“I start with his nose, and I’m just bending his nose laterally, let’s say with my left hand,” he says. “I’m tipping my left hand toward my left pocket and asking the horse to give his nose to the left.”

Baldus notes that he’s not clucking or using his legs for this step—he’s asking the horse to stand still and stay relaxed, flexing his nose toward the rein cue.

“Once he stands still and gives his nose to the left, then I release that pressure,” he says. “Then I will pick up the rein and ask again in another 10 seconds.”

Your horse is not going to respond perfectly right away—you’re looking for small steps, building habits that will stay with the horse. Baldus says it may take a horse two weeks to understand if he’s never done it before.

Vertical Flexion

The drills Baldus uses most often are asking for lateral bend and flexion, asking the horse to soften to the left and right, and then adding forward motion as he asks for a slight vertical flexion. At this point, he’s using his legs as an additional cue.

“When I’ve got the horse going at a walk, I just tip his nose to the left and to the right as we’re progressing into vertical flexion,” he says. “I’m asking the nose to move toward his chest and soften at the poll; I’m using my legs to squeeze and tell him to keep going forward. That’s the difference between your reins being a ‘whoa and stop’ cue and your reins being a ‘soften and flex at the poll’ cue.”

The moment you feel flexion or softening in the horse’s poll, release your reins—Baldus says this is a “micro release” of half an inch as a reward. Your horse may push his nose back out, and that’s OK.

“You’re just going to pick him up again and say, ‘Hey, let’s not root our nose out; when I pick my hands up, flex at the poll and soften your chin toward your chest,’” Baldus explains. “When [the horse complies], I start to release my hands again. I’m teaching him to look for the release of pressure, and he’ll find it by flexing at the poll and lowering his neck a little bit.”

Baldus works on these moves at a walk, and once the horse is solid, he’ll move to a trot, and eventually a lope and gallop on a finished horse.

Body Softness

Baldus teaches the horse to shoulder-yield next while walking in a circle. Traveling to the left, he’ll close his left leg from his calf to his heel right behind the front cinch to teach the horse to move away from pressure.

“His head and neck stay the same, and his body stays on the same arc of the 10-foot-circle, but now I’m teaching him to cross his left front leg over his right front leg as he makes the shoulder move,” says Baldus. “This helps when a horse drops his shoulder to the inside. The more control you’re going to have over the circle, the more you can control your horse’s feet and softness, and the better his patterns are going to be.”

Baldus will also ask the horse to step his hindquarters to the outside of a circle, almost like a forehand pivot, where the hind end is moving around the front end.

Once the front end and back end can be moved in response to your cues, you’ll move on to the sidepass, where you ask the horse to move his front and hind end laterally at the same time.

“Think about that softness in your horse’s head, neck and shoulders, all the way through his body to his hindquarters,” Baldus explains.

These skills translate to maneuvers such as opening and closing a gate, or sidepassing to pick up a slicker off of a fence in a trail class.

“The sidepass is another way to gain body control and softness through your horse’s body with a single maneuver to focus on,” says Baldus.

Key Takeaway

Remember, if your horse is stiff and heavy on his feet, he did not get there overnight. It may take six months for a horse to become softer and lighter, and that’s OK.

“You’re always going to ask as softly as possible and release the pressure the first chance you get,” says Baldus. “Those habits are going to build, and your horse is going to learn to carry himself in a way that’s flexed at the poll and willing and soft through his body. Then you’re going to be more comfortable on a trail ride. You’re going to have more fun, whether it’s in the show pen, working a cow, or on the barrels, because your horse is a softer, more willing partner.”

Meet the Trainer Ben Baldus has been training and showing horses since he was 12 years old. He trains horses for reining, reined cow horse, and ranch versatility, and has earned championship titles at major events with the National Reining Horse Association, National Reined Cow Horse Association, Ranch Horse Association of America, and American Quarter Horse Association. He and his wife, Cameron, operate Baldus Horsemanship in Gainesville, Texas.

This article about training your horse for softness appeared in the June 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!