How To Train A Horse To Turn On The Forehand

Do you want to train your horse to do a forehand turn?

Is your horse cowey? Do you want to use your animal for cutting cows or more advanced saddle work? Teaching the horse to move on the front end is critical to you success.

The forehand turn is one of the lateral movements in equestrian instructions. It is a very fundamental movement for the horse and often mastered before more intricate types of movement. Riders must know very well how to signal the horse and before moving forward, the animal should know how to accurately execute it.

By definition, the forehand turn is a type of movement where the animal’s inside foreleg (either left or right) is marking time on the spot. The outside foreleg, which is the other leg not marking time, is moving slightly forward. Simultaneously, the horse’s hind legs move in a semi-circle around the inside foreleg. It is similar to the direction and movement of a drafting compass, where the inside foreleg is the sharp point and the center of the circle. A rhythm and sequence of leg movement is desired and should be maintained until the completion of the movement.

Ideally, the forehand of the horse should not move forward, backwards, or to the sides. Simple as it may seem, it could be a challenging aspect regarding training your horse.

The beginning stages of training will not immediately produce faultless movement, but should recognizable enough to be considered as a forehand turn. Most horses will bend away from the direction of movement when still not used to the forehand turn. So when the horse’s hindquarters are moving to the right, the horse bends to the left. There is a slight flex opposite the direction of movement.

Here’s how to train your horse to execute a forehand turn:

1. Warm-up your horse and do simple commands. Make him walk, trot, and canter. This is to be sure that the horse is paying attention and listening to your aids and instructions.

2. Make your horse halt facing the fence if you want to do a quarter forehand turn. If you want to do a half turn on the forehand, position your horse parallel to the fence.

3. Slightly bend your horse toward the fence. Make sure that when you do it, you can just see his eye on that side. If you are doing a quarter turn, just pick a side.

4. The rein will help you prevent the horse from moving forward as you lean forward and toward the fence a bit. You will be shifting your weight toward the fence. This will aid the horse to execute the movement properly. As you do this, raise the rein away from the fence slightly.

5. Turn your shoulders the same way you want your horse to turn (shoulder toward fence moves back, shoulder away from fence moves forward). Also move your gaze where you want your horse to move.

6. Put your leg (fence-side) behind the girth. You should put a bit of pressure on the horse’s side. Always keep contact with your fence-side rein.

7. You can ask assistance from another person by reinforcing your leg. Make your assistant gently push the horse’s hindquarters to get the horse’s hind leg to step underneath his body.

8. Every correct step of the horse should be rewarded by removing pressure off him. You can advance the training by increasing the steps before the reward. It should be instant.