How to Get Your Horse to Pivot

Western events such as cutting and reining require horses to be able to pivot on command.

If you intended to use your horse to compete in certain equestrian events, including trail classes, western horsemanship, dressage, cutting or reining, you will have to teach it to pivot on the hindquarters. A horse that will not or can not pivot will not be able to perform certain maneuvers such as a spin and will not receive good scores in events that involve pivoting. You can teach almost any horse to pivot with a little bit of time and patience.

Things You'll Need

• Fence or wall (large, straight, immovable surface)
• Horse tack and basic riding equipment

Instructions

1. Ride your horse up to your wall and arrange the horse so that its hind end is within a couple of feet of the wall. This will prevent backing during the pivot, which is a common mistake of young or inexperienced horses. Decide which direction you are going to pivot.

2. Cross your rein over the horse's neck in the direction you want your horse to pivot, bringing the opposite rein against your horse's neck and applying pressure. At the same time you move your rein hand, you should gently use your leg to apply pressure to the horse's girth. Use the leg opposite the direction you are trying to pivot. For example, if you are pivoting to the right, you will hold your rein hand on the right, applying pressure on the left side of the horse with the rein and leg. This is your pivot cue.

3. Allow your horse to respond to your cue. Ideally, the horse will respond by crossing one leg over the other in a pivot step and move its front end in the direction you are trying to pivot while the hind end stays in place. If the horse succeeds in making even a single successful pivot step, praise it. If it does not perform correctly, continue cuing until horse makes progress in the correct direction - even if the horse does this by accident.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure your horse has mastered the basic skills required to pivot (and understand the pivot commands) correctly. Your horse should be able to competently understand cues given by neck reining and it should yield to your leg. If your horse is not relaxed and responsive to your cues when you are riding it, you stand very little chance of being able to teach it to pivot correctly until you have mastered your basics. If your horse does not move away from rein and leg pressure automatically, you need to go back and work on its responsiveness until it is ready to proceed ahead with training.

• Use caution when working with horses. Riding horses can be dangerous.

References

• Horse Channel: Riding the Pivot; Julie West
• Horsemanship 101: How to Teach a Horse to Pivot; Keith Hosman
• America's Horse Daily: Execute the Pivot; 2009