How to teach a horse to sidepass?

[Dakota Sunrise]

A few weeks ago--maybe more like a month--when Beauty and I had an incident out on the trail (we were by ourselves; if we had been with another horse this never would have happened- know that now, lol:rolleyes:), it got me wanting to teach her how to sidepass on command. To make a long story short, she was trying extremely hard to bolt and I was trying extremely hard to get her to slow down so instead of bolting forward or slowing down, she cantered sideways.:rolleyes: Even though the whole situation was very frustrating, I have to say her cantering sideways was the coolest thing ever! (lol, I'm weird- I know:innocent:). It felt so neat and just, wow. I didn't know she could do that! She never fails to surprise me.

So now I have it in my evil little mind to teach her to do that undersaddle on command.:innocent: She doesn't have to canter sideways (at least not at first!;) :p), a simple walking sidepass will do.:cool: I am not sure how to teach her to do this though. Is it an advanced move or could she learn it without too much difficulty?

[WashingtonBay]

To do what you're talking about you would start with a shoulder-in and shoulder-out exercise in the arena.

I would also teach a standing sidepass before this, so you can much better control the horse's fore and aft quarter with your aids.

How to do this is explained in any book on elementary dressage. I'm a little too tired to write it out now, but hopefully someone will, or hopefully, you can find a book to read that has a more thorough explanation.

[Arrow]

A friend of mine started on the ground--pushing on his side with her fingers until he moved over a bit, simulating a heel, praising him for even one foot moving. Then she moved on from there, though I'm not sure how...that's how she started though. I supposed you'd teach that with a vocal command like "pass" (we use "over" for other things!).

[Dakota Sunrise]

I don't think I'll be able to find a book that explains it without buying one unfortunately. My library has a complete lack of horse books.:(:doh::mad:

I did google it though, and came up with this: http://horses.about.com/od/horsetraining/ht/sidepass.htm

and this:
http://www.helium.com/items/727190-how-to-teach-your-horse-to-side-pass?page=2

[Annasmom]

sorry I can't really explain it.. but you have to start on the ground first for sure.

[WashingtonBay]

Do those make sense you you? The second one seems to have a few different explanations.

[Dakota Sunrise]

Do those make sense you you? The second one seems to have a few different explanations.

Mostly. I think I get the idea. I usually have to read things more than once to completely absorb them (except when I'm just reading fiction books for pleasure)-- no wonder I'm a terrible student.:rolleyes: So I will be re-reading the second article before attempting anything.
But yes, I think I understand it pretty well.:)

[cowpuncher]

1. Have a horse with impulsion. This doesn't sound like its too much of a problem for you, since she wants to run off.

2. Have a horse that has flexion through the jaw, poll, and withers, and soft flexion at that.

3. Have a horse that will combine these two in true collection.

4. Be able to move the forehand and hindquarters of the horse independently.

5. Have a horse that will walk, trot, and preferably lope circles properly, flexing their spine along the edge of the circle, and will pick up their ribcage in doing so.

6. If you can get your horse that far, the side pass is pretty easy to manage, and comes naturally.

As WB said, the shoulders-in is critical. The half-halt is just as critical. These will build the suppleness and flexion throughout the body that you need.

If you don't have all of these attributes built into your horse, you'll never be able to sidepass correctly at a walk, let alone at the canter.