Turn On The Forehand VS Turn On The Haunches 🐴

Recently I had one of my students ask me, what is the difference between turn on the forehand and turn on the haunches? If you're like her and you're having trouble identifying these movements and how to perform them with your horse, today's video is for you. I'm going to be talking about each one of these movements and the difference between the two of them. Both of these movements help to develop strength and flexibility in your horse. They help you to have better communication through your aids and therefore a stronger relationship. The first movement is turn on the forehand. Turn on the forehand is when the hind end is pivoting around the front end. This movement is one of the first movements you learn as a beginner rider. And the reason you want to learn it very early on in your riding is because it gives you control of the hind end of the horse. And the hind end of your horse is your horse's engine and getting control over that engine allows you to stay safer and also to have a clearer communication with your horse and a more balanced horse when you ride. Turn on the haunches is when the front end is turning around the hind end. Turn on the haunches allows us to gain control over the shoulders, helps us to have more strength and flexibility in our horse, and allows us to have a more balanced horse who can perform better overall. Now that we understand both of these movements a little bit, let's look at them side by side and talk about the difference. The key difference between these two is in the word turn on. So as you can see in turn on the forehand, we can see that the hind quarters is turning around the forehand. So whatever the on is is the pivoting point. Turn on the haunches means that the hind quarters are still and the front end is turning around. So turn on the forehand, we have the front end still, haunches turning around. Turn on the haunches, the hind end is still, the shoulders are turning around. So next time that you go to a clinic or you're going to take a lesson or you're reading a pattern for a potential show, just bear this in mind and hopefully this video has helped you to recognize the difference between turn on the haunches and turn on the forehand so that you can go home and execute these movements with more confidence and with more clarity for both you and your horse. Keep enjoying your riding, keep growing and learning, and I'll see you in the next video.