Several years ago, I spent a week at Bob and Betty King's Cowboy School in Chochise, AZ. It was a great experience and I learned much, but one particular Cowboy School tip helped me recently. Bob taught me to make sure that my horse would willingly yield his hindquarters in both directions before stepping aboard. My gelding normally has no trouble with the exercise, but last week he was obviously bothered when I asked him to yield to the left. He threw his head up and he tried to back away from the pressure. When I asked him to try again, he backed away and started to buck at the end of the lead rope. After three or four jumps, he stopped and I moved in to check his saddle fit, girth fit, etc.
Everything appeared normal so I just walked him around a bit more and then started with some easy backing exercises before moving again to yielding the hindquarters. This time he was much more relaxed and performed the exercises correctly. I climbed aboard and enjoyed a great 1 1/2 hour trail ride.
I know that if I hadn't performed the hindquarters exercise, my horse probably would have bucked with me early in our ride. There was no other indication of his troubled state of mind when I caught, groomed, and saddled my horse. Thanks Bob and Betty!
A good description of the exercise is contained in the groundwork section of Marty Marten's book, Problem Solving.
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