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The Whip Analogy

The principle of “riding back to front” can be difficult to explain. When a horse is running through the rider’s hand, the solution is to add more leg – the problem is, for most students, this seems like stepping on the gas pedal when they’re already speeding down the freeway. The whip analogy can help explain how getting the horse in front of the rider’s leg will allow it to soften at the bit.

When the horse’s body is flat, like this whip, the horse’s hind end trails behind the rider’s leg, allowing the horse to barrel along like a freight train, put all that energy straight forward, and run through the bit.

When the rider adds leg, he or she should ask the horse to step further underneath itself with its hind legs. The rider should then begin to feel what it means to have the horse in front of their leg (asking a coach or qualified groundperson to point out when this is happening can help riders develop their ‘feel’). Just like the whip, when pressure is added from behind, the horse rounds and softens in front, yielding to the bit – energy begins to move upwards instead of forwards.

While most horses who ride behind the leg are simply uneducated or a little lazy, and can be encouraged to increase their impulsion to come up to the bit, some horses learn to drop behind the leg as an evasion and must be reinforced more strongly.

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