Here you will find a collection of short videos with a description on some tips when beginning to work with your horse in hand. This is a skill which for some people (like myself) can take some time to master, so be patient and kind with yourself, don’t be afraid to make mistakes and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE (even if it’s for only for 5 minutes!)

Working on a circle

When starting out with inhand, walking backwards on a circle can be tricky. I have been doing this for a long time and believe me at the start it was a challenge! It just takes practice. I suggest you set yourself some cones as a guide to work on about a 10-15m circle.

Maintain your position on the circle and match strides (refer to walking position video).

Imagine the horse is on train tracks and each limb remains on the two tracks

You don’t want the inside hind to step across (this is too much bend and not what we are asking).

Keep the nose between the chest with a slight bend

Don’t let the nose come past the point of the shoulder – this is too much bend.

As you progress with this exercise you will notice where your horse may struggle to stay on the train tracks. Send your intention to the limb you want to straighten, almost feel like you are bringing it with you. You may need to use the whip to guide the horse.

If you head to my ‘What is bend” blog post there are some diagrams to explain this further