Rein back – Is it bad or good for your horse?
Over the years, I’ve seen the back up or rein back used in many ways and for many different things, both positive and negative.
Backing up is not a very natural movement for most horses and horses that have never been taught to reverse will often run forwards when asked to back up instead of yielding to the backwards pressure.
When horses move naturally in a herd environment, it is less common to see any horse backing up.
Horses will move forward or sideways to move away from more dominant herd members, but it’s rare that they will back up. If they do reverse, you will see them do one, maybe two steps just to get out of the way and this is only if they are limited for space.
Backing up can sometimes be a submissive behavior, but more often I’ve observed backing up as an aggressive behavior, where horses back up to threaten another member of the herd to move out of their space “or else”!
Several natural horsemanship methods apply the backup as a way of teaching the horse to “respect” the human. The horse is asked to back out of our space and accept being the submissive one, leaving the human theoretically as more dominant. But is this the case?
Unfortunately, it has been applied to such an extent as to turning the backup into a reprimand or punishment for bad behavior where horses are reversed around the whole arena, sometimes at speeds if they behave unwanted in other ways.
Do we really want our horses to see us as threats “or else”?
I don’t think it’s a good idea. Over the years, I have come to dislike this rein back practice quite a bit as it seems very alienating, ultimately creating a bigger space between humans and horses.
I think our goal should always be to bridge the gap as much as possible, not make it bigger.
Reining back should never be used as a reprimand or a punishment. Many horses where this method is used as punishment will learn to resist this movement and offer rearing instead or overreacting instead.
This doesn’t mean that we can’t back the horse out of our space or that the horse shouldn’t be taught to reverse, I just don’t believe in doing it for more than 3-5 steps for safety and respect. I think it creates fear if over exaggerated.
I would rather teach the horse to “lock on” and move forward and backward like a dance with their human in a team and partnership; a more elastic and flowing energy of mimicking each other, creating rapport, bonding and building connection.
I find the backup much more useful when it comes to riding and increasing the balance toward the rear, bending the hind limb joints and tucking the pelvis.
Many horses leave their pelvis unengaged when they move. This causes them to push hard against the ground, pushing dirt out behind them and putting weight on the forequarters in the process.
Changing this dynamic by making the hindquarters carry more weight instead of just pushing it around is a perfect time to introduce the rein back, and it can be an excellent tool that I use a lot during a training session for horses on all levels.
Here are some examples of when I use the back up:
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When a halt isn’t light and balanced, I back up to lift the withers and lower the rear.
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When a down transition feels downhill, I will continue to down transition until I’m going backwards uphill.
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Rein back for increased collection into an up transition, for example from rein back to trot or Piaffe.
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Rein back to canter for more jump.
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Turn on the forehand or haunches and then redirect into back up if the horse has a tendency to get stuck.
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Backing up in shapes (for the advanced horse) to increase the bend of the hind limb joints.
Backing up/Rein back can be an excellent way to improve the willingness, softness, strength and collection of your horse, so long as you never ask for more than your horse can physically deliver.
From a mental standpoint, make rein back a positive experience for your horse to create a more willing and agile equine partner. Don’t overdo it as you may be creating resentment or resistance from your horse if you’re using rein back as a way of forcing good behavior.
Nobody wants to be forced.
It’s always better to do things together.