Side Passing.

I want to teach my two horses to side pass.
Where should I start?
I have watched videos on youtube, but I didn't find anything good. So what better place to ask?

What should I start with doing?

Start on the ground. Put her in halter with leadline . Bring her to a fence and stand her so she is facing the fence. You stand facing her barrel. You aske her with your hand or with a whip to step her shoulder over, then to step her hip over, then shoulder, then hip , etc. stop and reward with a tiny rest every few steps and dont' make it a really long try at first.

After a bit, start to ask her to step over with pressure right at the middle of her barrel and see if she will stay perpendicular to the fence.

This is hard for a hrose, so don't overdo it the first time you try. Keep it short and fun.

Thanks for the Response TinyLiny. I can I get her to step her shoulder over? I can get her with her back end, but not her shoulder, she will just swing her back end around and face me again.

Hmm. I guess I have never considered it hard for the horse.

It's natural to teach if your horse already knows "over" if you use the word while tacking or grooming.

That's ok, If the horse is broke to ride, you should already be able to move the shoulder over from the saddle

Thanks guys. Any more suggestions are welcome :)
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If she is swinging her hind end around, then you are pressing too close to it. Move the target of your pressure further forward, even as far as her nose. When asking a horse to move its' sholder over, if pressure on the shoulder doesn't work, pressure on the face will! Horses will always move their face away from pressure. YOu can use a tapping motion with your fingertips, or the head of the whip and if she doesn't move by tapping the air near her head, then move in and actually tap briskly on her jaw or nosebone. She will move, and when she swinges her head over, you put pressure on ther shoulder, becasue it will notwbe more available to you. When the shoulder steps over, stop all pressure and give praise.

It's always harder for a hrose to step sideways or backwards than forwards. It's hard for the horse to step sideways without any forward motion at all , and if she is learning, then it can be mentally challenging, too. It gets easier, though, doesn't it?

It's more difficult mentally than it is physically. You're asking your horse to think and move its feet in a way that isn't typical or really all the natural. Also, it does require different muscles and concentration than the horse is probably used to using. So yes, it is hard for the horse, and can be frustrating for them at first.

It just so happens I was working sidepassing today with Spot. So I'll let you know what we worked on! :)

First, you want to be sure you can actually control the horse's shoulders and hips. It's so much easier to teach the side-pass when the horse can turn over its haunches and over its forehand when asked. Practice a few circles on the forehand (moving the haunches around so that the back legs are crossing over each other and the front end stays stationary) and on the haunches (rear stays stationary and front legs cross over). Once you've got those down pat, move to a wall or fence and do as tinyliny described. By the end of mine and Spot's workout, I could stand facing him and tap the butt of my whip against his barrel and he'd step over.

Keep in mind it's harder for a horse to bend in the direction it's sidepassing.

Tapping a horse from the ground is pretty,but its not worth a darn when you climb up there.straddle your horse,walk forward,as your walking pull his nose slightly to the right and turn your toe out about 4 inches behind the girth.a horse has to learn where to put his feet in a sidepass,so start with some diagonals and adjust him from there

Very incorrect.