Turn on the forehand

How to ride it well

WHEN YOU OPEN and shut a gate out hacking, you’ll be asking your horse to do a turn on the forehand. On the ground, when you ask your horse to move over in the stable, he’ll perform a turn on the forehand. But for many, this movement is considered to be a little ‘old school’, and isn’t an exercise you’d use while schooling. However, when ridden correctly, turning on the forehand can help improve your horse’s overall way of going.

The benefits

It can be used as an introduction to lateral work — in particular, leg-yield — as it teaches your horse the concept of yielding to leg pressure. It helps if your horse has a tendency to tense up and his walk becomes two-beat (the walk should be four-beat) because it makes him think about where his feet are. Turn on the forehand also gives you more control of the rhythm of the walk and over each individual step. It improves your horse’s acceptance of the contact. You’re using both your legs and the reins and your horse learns to accept them. It encourages your horse to become rounder in his outline. The flexion and asking him to step across with his hindlegs encourages him to let go and become softer in his back, too.

What is a turn on the forehand?

When a horse turns on the forehand, his hindquarters move in an arc around his front legs, which remain virtually still. His inside hindleg moves across in front of the outside hindleg. His other hooves will step up, straighten and put down again. A true turn on the forehand will keep the rhythm and footfalls of the walk while it’s happening.

The role of the rider

Your balance and coordination of aids play a big part in riding this movement successfully. You ask for flexion with your inside hand and put a little more weight onto your inside seat bone. Watch you don’t collapse your inside shoulder, as this causes your weight to shift to the outside and is likely to unbalance your horse. Your inside leg asks your horse to move away. Then you use the outside rein to balance that movement. Your outside leg controls how quickly your horse moves round.