It’s best to practice turning at a walk first. Then move onto practicing turns at a trot and a canter when you feel more confident. There is no specific size that the square should be. All that matters is that your horse has plenty of room to move and that you have enough time to practice your cues between each cone.
By simply turning your head, your body starts giving your horse tiny signals that indicate turning soon. This is because your hips, pelvis, seat bones, and legs all shift slightly without you even realizing just by turning your head. Always look in the correct direction, as otherwise, your horse can easily get confused and won’t understand what way you want to turn. [3] X Research source
This allows your horse to look where it’s going so that it can prepare its body to turn. Horses that can look where they are going will turn better and are more balanced.
This encourages your horse to move into the inside rein, as the outside rein is less open and applies slightly more pressure.
It’s okay if your inside leg moves back from the girth very slightly as you do this.
Horses tend to move away from greater pressure and towards where the pressure is less.
Shifting the weight in your seat takes a lot of practice to get right. It’s important that your back remains straight and relaxed so that you can continue to give smooth cues. It’s also important that you don’t slump to one side as you shift your weight.
It can be difficult to know if you are positioned correctly and giving the right cues again after you have finished turning. Getting a friend or a trainer to watch how you change your cues can make a huge difference.
