One

Here I’m finishing up the last part of my large, fast circle. Ideally when it’s time to cue my horse, I want her to shut down from the fast lope and go directly into a walk, but with a young horse I’m more concerned about having her respond to the cue and slow down. If she breaks down to the trot before gradually walking, it’s OK. I don’t want to scare her and think that slowing down is a punishment. If my horse isn’t being respon

and hum, I go to my hand to engage her legs and shut her down. I make sure to leave my left leg off and continue humming to be consistent in how I shut her down. feet, and think about rocking back onto her hind end. I keep my inside leg off as I back her to reestablish the slow-down cue. Once I’m done, I let her sit for a few minutes to process what we just did. Then

I’ll go back to my fast lope and try the shut-down cue once again. voice cue before going to my hands, but when I do have to go to my hands I make sure that they’re soft and I’m using them in a manner that helps correct my horse and not scare her in the process; I want her to crave that slow down. My horse has her nose tilted just slightly to the inside, but each horse is different and some might prefer to be a straighter. However, your horse should never be looking to the outside of the circle during this drill.