Starting a Young Horse Part 2

We have our horse moving around the round pen in the direction we asked for, now we want to change direction. How? I am going to tell you how I would do this by using the stick. Say we are moving clockwise. We have our right arm out (like we are directing traffic) pointing to the right..we have the stick in the left hand and have it toward the back end of the horse....keep your eye on the shoulder of the horse. If we get too far in front of the horse, it will make him stop and turn...if we focus too far toward the rear of the horse, it will get too far ahead of us and not be able to focus on us. The horse is moving and we are moving along with the horse....now bring your hands in toward your body...bow your head slightly and step back about three steps. This will have the look of you drawing the horse into you. As the horse turns toward you (because he will also feel the draw) switch hands...point toward the left with your left hand and with the stick in the right send the horse back out on the rail. This all needs to be done with very fluid motion. Practice the movement when you are not working with the horse. It will almost make you feel as if you are dancing a ballet :o) well sort of...