One of the most common exercises that are taught by teachers of horsemanship (from whatever ilk they come) is the hindquarter disengagement (although I prefer to call it a hindquarter yield). Most people practice it as either an important component of a one-rein stop or as a means in itself to connect the inside rein to the hindquarters of a horse.
Hindquarter yields are a very powerful tool for both influencing the mind of a horse and directing the hindquarters. I feel much safer about getting on a horse where the hindquarter yields are well established, than getting on one that hasn’t got a clue. It can help calm a worried mind, build softness to the reins, improve straightness, teach engagement of the hindquarters (I know this sounds like the opposite of disengagement, but trust me they are strongly related), influence focus, and give clarity to the function of the reins. Life is just a whole lot easier for my horse and me when the hindquarters yields are in good shape.
Like all things when working with a horse, the value of a hindquarter yield is directly proportional to the quality with which it is performed. Poor quality gives poor value and good quality gives excellent value. So it is important to know what a good quality hindquarter yield looks and feels like before embarking on the exercise.
My take on a good hindquarter yield starts with asking for a horse to follow the inside rein with its thought. This sets up the horse to softly flex its neck to the inside in direct response to the feel of the inside rein – no more and no less than the feel of the rein asks. When the horse thinks to the inside there should be no resistance or tension and the head should remain perpendicular to the ground. When this happens, the horse shifts more weight to the outside shoulder as it lifts the inside hind leg to step forward and cross in front of the outside hind leg. The front legs remain relatively still as the hind end steps around. The movement should be smooth and fluid, with no rush and no drag of the feet. As the inside hind lands on the ground in front of the outside hind leg, the horse shifts more weight to the hindquarters and lightens the front end. This readies the horse for the next thing a rider might ask.
In short, a hindquarter yield is nothing more than a very tight turn.
Now that I have described the why and mechanics of what happens on the outside of the horse when asked to perform a hindquarter yield, I want to briefly talk about why I decided to write this article.
In my opinion, the single biggest mistake people make when teaching a horse to perform a hindquarter yield is to concern themselves with what the back end of a horse is doing.
When they think of a hindquarter yield they immediately focus on the inside hind leg crossing over the outside hind leg. In most people's minds that is the uppermost important aspect of doing a hindquarter yield correctly. But it is just not true and it leads to big problems.
Stepping a horse’s inside hind leg across the outside hind leg is the second last thing that happens before completing a hindquarter yield (the last thing being the shift of weight to the hind end). There is a cascade of steps that have to happen before that, for the hindquarter yield to be correct. If those steps do not fall into place correctly, anything that the hindquarters do will be inconsequential and irrelevant. But if all the events that come before the feet move line up perfectly, the hindquarters will be taken care of without the need for the rider to hand-hold the horse through the steps. In other words, what happens in the front end is more important than what happens at the hind end.
Why do I say that?
It’s because like everything we do in life, success or otherwise depends on the preparation.
When the inside rein inspires a horse to have a strong thought to the inside, the hindquarters are automatically taken care of. A horse will move its feet to align its body in the direction of its strongest thought. So when a horse yields its thought to the feel of the inside rein, a rider should get out of the way and let the horse take care of the hindquarters. It will be the softest, prettiest hindquarter yield you ever saw. That’s why I prefer to call them hindquarter yields rather than hindquarter disengagements. I want people to focus on the horse yielding its thought instead of disengaging its feet.
Very Very Very Important*
It is for these reasons that the exercise of yielding the hindquarters is achieved by giving to the inside rein )or lead rope) and NOT from driving the hindquarters away. Driving the hindquarters defeats the purpose of a hindquarter yield for a young horse.
Once a horse has yielded its thought, I am almost unconcerned if it disengages its hindquarters or not because I now have a horse with a mind that is engaged. Asking a horse to disengage its hindquarters is asking it to engage its mind. This is the real power and magic behind hindquarter yields.
People who are preoccupied with the hindquarters stepping sideways as the important component of a hindquarter disengagement are missing the point of the exercise. All the important stuff happens at the front end before the feet even move.
I believe if you give this idea a little time to soak in, you’ll start to realize how much it relates to so many other aspects of training and building a connection with a horse. In fact, it’s hard to think of too many situations where it is not relevant.
Angi and Booki working on connecting the inside rein (or lead rope) to the mind and then to the inside hind leg.