How To Train A Horse To Sidepass

Introduction

Have you ever wanted to ride your horse into a narrow trail, or perhaps maneuver him out of the way so that you can open or close a gate without having to dismount? Or have you been practicing with some dressage maneuvers, such as counter-canter, and found it difficult? The sidepass is an essential movement for building trust and communication between horse and rider. In this article we will explore how to begin training your equine partner to move sideways. Sidepassing is great for riding on very narrow trails, moving around obstacles in an arena, performing certain dressage maneuvers (such as half pass), being able to cross streams while mounted, and not having to dismount when opening or closing gates. Be aware that if you are teaching your horse to sidepass in a bitless bridle then he may be more likely to throw his head up in the air while moving sideways if he gets confused about what you want from him.

The basics

As a beginner, you will start out learning the basic commands. When you mount your horse and sit on its back, it is important that you are secure and balanced in the saddle. This can be achieved by keeping your knees slightly bent and not locking them into place. Your feet should be flat on the stirrups with heels down, but not too far down as this will cause strain on your lower back.

Your hands should be held at an angle of about 60 degrees from each other with the reins in one hand (the rein usually sits on top). The reins should be held loosely so that when you pull them lightly, they will give some slack to allow for communication between yourself and your horse without jerking or pulling hard enough to cause discomfort or injury.

In order to communicate effectively with your horse’s body language, it is important that they know what each signal means as well as what is expected of them when they receive it; this includes knowing how long each signal lasts before another one begins so there won’t be any confusion later during training sessions!

Session 2

In this lesson, you will continue to work on sidepassing. You will do this by teaching your horse to bend towards the outside leg.

This is done by placing a line of tape on the ground and moving your horse around it in a circle. As they move around the circle, they must bend their body towards the line of tape in order to stay behind it and not bump into it.

When they are able to do so consistently without bumping into the line of tape and are bending well, you can remove one foot from their path and place it beside them (but still touching). This will allow them to walk along an arc instead of having to walk straight through their path which makes sidepassing easier for them because there isn’t anything blocking their way as they move forward or backward across the arc made with one foot out front instead two feet at all times like when doing turns on flat ground where there would be no need for side-bend at all!

Session 3

Make sure your horse is warmed up and relaxed.
Make sure your horse is focused on you and that you have a steady contact with the reins, so that he will stop when you ask him to.
Make sure that the lunge line is short enough that it doesn’t drag the ground when he moves forward or backward, but long enough so that it doesn’t tangle around his legs when he goes faster than walking speed (don’t worry if he’s not galloping yet!)
If this session goes well, go back to working at home for a few days before moving on to Session 4 in which you’ll want all of those things plus: Your horse should be able to move off and turn away from pressure quickly so you don’t accidentally make him run into anything behind him!

Session 4

Use a lunge line.
Use a whip.
Use a crop.
Use a stick.
Use a rope halter and rope (yes, the same thing).

Using these tools will help you train your horse to sidepass and build their confidence around new objects like ropes that they may not have been exposed to before in their lives.

Session 5+

Practice Sidepassing in the Pen

Practice sidepassing with your horse in a round pen. If you don’t have one, try doing this at home. The idea is to keep the horse on two feet, so you can practice with both hands on the reins or with just one hand on the rein if that’s more comfortable for you. Keep your weight balanced, heels down and toes up (unless you’re riding bareback). As they sidepass, guide them to move their hindquarters over to each side of your body without moving their front end. This will help them understand what it means when they are asked to move away from your body instead of towards it like they did when practicing tracked turns

Training your horse to sidepass will help you with all kinds of groundwork, trail riding and dressage maneuvers.

Sidepassing is a great way to get your horse to move sideways. It’s also a very useful maneuver for trail riding and dressage, allowing you to easily make turns in the field or on the trail with little effort on your part.

It’s also an excellent exercise for teaching your horse how to shift its weight properly, as well as how to move its feet in an alternating fashion. This is important because if your horse can’t do these things, it will be difficult for them when they’re asked to move around obstacles or jump over fences while sidepassing and other movements like them.

Conclusion

This is how to train your horse to sidepass. The key thing to remember is that you will be working on developing a foundation in your horse, so they understand the concepts of yielding their hindquarters and shoulders. This will come from using the halter pressure, which will also help build confidence in them as well. If you’re consistent with this training program, then you should see good results!