The sidepass is a maneuver that shows up in most trail courses and some horsemanship patterns. Knowing how to move your western horse laterally in a sidepass (sideways) can help you with lead changes, opening gates and most of all, better communication between you and your horse.

Bruce Walquist is an American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Professional Horseman and judge located in Cleburne, Texas. He specializes in training, sales and lessons for AQHA all-around horses.

He says in a sidepass, the horse should move sideways with his head and body straight—not moving forward or backward—and with the horse’s legs crossing over each other.

“Going to the left, you’d like the left legs to move sideways, then the right legs to cross over,” he says. “When the horse is finished and really broke, you want both sets of legs to be crossing over at the same time.”

Before You and Your Western Horse Begin Sidepass

Before you start asking your horse to sidepass, make sure he knows how to move away from pressure. This can be on the ground, asking him to move away from your touch on his shoulder or hip. If you have trouble sidepassing, get back on the ground and work on this concept.

Bruce recommends visualizing your horse broken up into three sections: the front end, the middle, and the hind end. Moving each of these parts requires a different cue.

“Using your leg by the cinch will move the shoulders, pressing with your leg at the middle of the ribcage moves the horse laterally, and closer to the flank moves the hip,” says Bruce. “You want to be able to move each part to make adjustments while you are asking for a sidepass.”

To practice moving your horse’s front end, you’ll practice a pivot. Your horse’s hind end stays stationary while you cue your horse to move his front end around it. To go right, cue with your left leg at the girth, while placing your left rein against your horse’s neck. Pick up your reins if he walks forward, but then release.

To practice moving his hind end around, you’ll do a turn on the forehand. Keep your horse’s front end stationary while his back end rotates around. To move his hind end to the right, hold your rein hand steady to keep your horse from walking forward then slide your left leg back to press close to your horse’s flank until he moves his hind end. Here are a couple of ways to practice your sidepassing skills.

Western Horse Sidepass by a Fence

This is the great way to start when you’re learning to sidepass. Stand your horse in front of a fence, so he can’t walk forward. Cue for a sidepass. If you’re going to the right, open up your right leg away from your horse, then press with your left at the horse’s rib cage. you can also lay your left rein against your horse’s neck, but not enough to cause your horse to bend to the right. If you need to move his front or back end to keep him straight, move your leg up to the cinch area or back toward his flank.

“The fence is a barrier that helps you have more control, which can make it easier to sidepass when you’re learning,” says Bruce.

Once you can sidepass your horse in front of a fence, try the same maneuver in the middle of the arena. To go right, press with your left leg at the ribs and open up your right leg. You’ll need to check your horse with the reins if he starts walking forward, then release, or he’ll back up.

Sidepass Over a Pole

Walk your horse beside a pole on the ground until his front feet are in front of the pole and back feet are behind it (the pole should be lined up with your heel). If you’re sidepassing right, open your right leg and press with your left leg.

Don’t rush your horse—if you need to adjust by moving his front or hind end, do it one step at a time until he’s straight again, then press at his ribs to move his whole body laterally.

These next two are more advanced. Don’t be intimidated—take it slow, and have fun learning to work with your horse!

Sidepass Between Two Poles

Walk your horse up beside two poles set just over one horse length apart, then stop. Ask him to move sideways by cueing at his ribcage. If he walks forward, stop him with your reins. If he moves backward, bring your reins forward and gently squeeze with your legs.

The goal is both front and back legs moving sideways at the same time, but you can always move one end or the other to straighten up.

Sidepass Over an “L”

Bruce says this is a fun challenge for horses and riders. Walk your horse up beside the pole, then ask him to move sideways. When you get to the corner, ask his front end to move around by cueing near the cinch. Take care to give him room to step around. Once he’s turned the corner, ask him to move laterally with your leg at his ribcage.

Special thanks to Trinity Bell aboard A Certain Faith for demonstrating these exercises!

This article about how to teach your western horse to sidepass originally appeared in the November/December 2019 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Western Lesson: Slide Your Horse into Sidepass appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Good horsemanship means having control over your horse’s body and knowing that your horse will listen to your cues. To perform any high-level show maneuver, your horse needs to listen and respond as you move his shoulders and hips.

Whether you plan to ride a reining pattern or just want to improve your everyday rides, you’ll help your horse tune in to you when you ask him to listen and obey.

Here, trainer and coach Sharee Schwartzenberger shares the exercises she teaches all riders to do during daily warmups. The skills will help you feel confident, knowing that your horse is listening and willing to follow any directional cue. Learning how to move your horse’s body in any direction gives you the ultimate control. Plus, you’ll have a go-to list of exercises to gain your horse’s attention and focus.

Body Control

Make these exercises part of your warm-up routine. Get your horse outfitted in his usual tack and head to the arena. You may ride with one hand or two. However, you should be working up to one-handed riding.

Begin at a walk and then trot. Your goal is to have your horse move forward and sideways at the same time. In dressage, this move is called a leg-yield. The same movement is important for reining and western horses because it helps the horse move his shoulders and hips. Plus, your horse will have to listen to your aids as you warm up.

The Leg-Yield: First, get your horse moving. He’ll begin to warm up while listening to your cues to move to the left or right. This skill will help your horse move away from pressure and move his hips in the direction you want. When you work up to flying lead changes, you’ll need this control over your horse. You’ll also need this sideways movement for many ranch riding requirements.

Start at the far end of the arena so that you have plenty of room in front of you. Ask your horse to walk straight ahead, and then ask him to move to the left while he maintains his forward motion. Move your left leg away from your horse’s body and apply leg pressure with your right leg. Pick up your reining hand slightly to help your horse know that you want him to move to the side and not faster.

Make sure that your horse is crossing his front and back legs as he moves. He should maintain a straight body position and not bend or turn. When your horse is listening well, calmly moving to the side while staying straight in his body,
practice again at the trot.

If your horse leans in to you or refuses to move forward and sideways, try adding intermittent leg pressure. Kick your leg gently to reinforce the cue to move to the side without giving your horse constant pressure to push against. Once your horse takes even a small step to the side, remove the pressure and praise him for the smallest effort. He’ll learn when you release the pressure and offer praise.

The Sidepass: If you’re still having trouble or simply need another exercise to practice, add a barrier. Work at a walk while asking your horse to face a fence or wall. With the barrier in front of you, you can focus on the sideways movement and help your horse understand that you don’t want him to move forward.

Begin by moving from right to left. Move your left leg away from your horse’s side and apply pressure with your right leg. Keep light pressure on the bridle by picking up your reining hand. This will help block his forward motion and keep the horse engaged. Make sure not to pull back.

You may need to move your right leg forward toward the horse’s shoulder then back behind the cinch to move the hips. Find the “sweet spot” where you can apply pressure while keeping his whole body moving to the side without turning. If he takes a step, release your cues and praise him.

Once your horse understands, only apply pressure in the spot where your leg naturally hangs—in the middle of his belly. This cue should help him know to move his shoulders and hips to the side. When your horse easily moves to the left, practice again while moving to the right.

Circling and Redirecting

You should be able to keep your hand in the center of the saddle horn without having to constantly steer. Here, you’ll test your horse’s willingness to keep listening to your cue—even once your hand is back in the middle and he could choose to take his own path.

You’ll teach your horse to respond to your cues and then move forward on a loose rein. You’ll teach him to stay in the middle of the reins and build up to consistent neck reining.

Redirecting Exercise: To start, trot a large circle in the middle of the arena. Plan where your circle will go and place your reining hand in front of the saddle horn. If you feel your horse pulling to one side (or bending his neck away from your relaxed hand), pick up your reins and move your reining hand up and to the side to correct him. Ride a few strides with your hand in this position.

Ask your horse to move over by applying leg pressure; then put your hand back in the middle. If he is pulling to the right, steer him to the left, applying right leg pressure. If he pulls to the gate, redirect him away and make him stay in the circle.

Help him learn that if he steps out of the circle at all, there will be a correction.

You want to stay on the path of your circle without him pulling in
any direction.

Cut the Circle: Next, mix up straight lines and circling. Trot a quarter of your circle, then turn right, moving straight across the circle’s diameter. To turn, pick up your hand in the direction you want to go and apply pressure with the opposite leg. To turn right, move your hand up and to the right and apply left leg pressure. After you’ve moved straight ahead, turn to the right again to get back on your circle. Ride another quarter circle before turning and going straight again.

Remember to keep your hand down in front of the saddle horn after you have told your horse what to do. You are still testing him to make sure that he’s listening and continuing your directions after you give them as you try to achieve control over your horse.

If at any time your horse moves off the path you choose, correct him for a few strides, then replace your hand. If you consistently correct and redirect your horse, he’ll know that he must listen, and he’ll happily stay on the path you choose. Practice daily and make sure to release pressure as soon as your horse does what he’s asked to do. Soon you’ll have control over your horse and a horse that listens well to any cue.

Thanks to Sharee Schwartzenberger and Game Day Surprise, an 11-year-old AQHA gelding, for demonstrating these exercises.

Meet the Trainer

Trainer and coach Sharee Schwartzenberger turned pro in 2017 after a lifetime of showing at top NRHA and AQHA events. Her freestyle reining performances have earned her top titles, and she’s won over $160,000 as an NRHA non-pro. She coaches youth riders and trains reining horses in Longmont, Colo.

This article about listening for better control over your horse originally appeared in the September 2019 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Listening for Better Control Over Your Horse appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

A: The fix for your horse’s sidepass is improved body control and clearer communication. Teach him to move his front end and back end separately before he moves as a whole. Make sure your cues are accurate so your horse can perform the maneuver correctly.

Start by riding two-handed using a gentle snaffle or curb bit with short and freely rotating shanks.

Your first task is to move your horse’s shoulders to the right. With your horse standing still, take the right rein 4 to 6 inches away from his neck. Next, take the slack out of the left rein and make it taut enough that your horse flexes his head so you can see his eye. Hold your reins softly but firmly to discourage forward motion. Now slide your left leg forward to the cinch and apply pressure. When your horse takes a step with his shoulders to the right, release the pressure and reward him. Reverse these cues to move his shoulders to the left.

Move your horse’s hind end by keeping both reins close to his neck, while again flexing his head slightly away from the direction of travel. Your leg cue to tell him to shift his hips will be farther back on his body, 2 to 3 inches behind your normal riding position. Once he masters moving his shoulders and hips independently, he’s ready to sidepass.

For the sidepass, you want your horse’s head and neck straight. Your reins should be equal in length and pressure to help his body stay in alignment and softly discourage him from stepping forward (being careful not to pull him backward). Sit tall with your weight even on both seatbones and apply leg pressure in the center of your horse’s ribcage. If he steps backward, soften the reins and more actively encourage him to step to the side with your leg.

Liked this article? Here’s more on the sidepass:
Teaching the Sidepass
Teach Your Horse to Sidepass Toward You

This article originally appeared in the June 2014 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Sidepass Solution appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.