do I understand what I actually want him to do..

so picking up on the last couple of posts...

for example, you want your horse to leg yield to the right
(or side pass, turn on the quarters, turn on the forehand
- use whichever one of these movements you are familiar with for the following exercises)

so explain

• in less than 50 words,
• what that actually means you want the horse to do
• in such a way that the person listening could then demonstrate and/or explain back to you what the horse should do

assuming the listener has never seen/done leg yield before

no, I mean actually do this, for real!

makes you think doesn't it?

for instance

• which legs cross which,
• in what order,
• on which part of the stride,
• should all of the strides be sideways, or mixed with forward strides (and if so in what proportions)
• should the horse's body be bent (if so around which leg) or straight
• should the horse's neck be flexed (if so which way) or straight

and how many times has this been 'explained' to you?

this exercise will probably be a real eye-opener to most,

because it highlights that although most of us have been instructed how to do leg yield,
very few have been taught how to do it,
 i.e. genuinely understand what it is we're trying to achieve

and if we can't answer the above questions
why on earth do we get annoyed and frustrated when the horse won't do it right
he doesn't stand a chance....