Teaching your horse how to do a rollback is a non-negotiable skill for any performance horse competitor. Ride TV coach Ryan Rushing breaks down how he schools the maneuver.
Watch the full step-by-step video lesson on Ride TV.
1. Start with the fence
“I’ll use a fence as a tool to help teach the rollback because you want your horse to come over their hocks and come out at a lope. I’m going to back my horse up along the fence, ask them to turn through toward the fence, then lope off.”
2. Establish the sequence: Back, look, hand, leg
“When I’m going to roll back, I back up, look over my shoulder, move my hand, then add leg. So you’re going to find that spot with your eyes when you’re looking up, your hand’s going to give the direction. And when you’re a little over, halfway through, that leg is going to bring them around, push ’em out and finish it out.”
3. Troubleshoot issues
If your horse is stiff…
“If my horse is stiff and they try to come out of it early, I’m going to pull ’em around with both hands like this to move their shoulders and soften them up.”
If your horse is picking up the wrong lead…
“Bring your horse down, push them over to the fence off your leg, and then lope off.”
4. Remove anticipation
“First I want to make sure the horse backs up without anticipating that rollback. So if I’m backing them up and they’re thinking left or right, I might just keep backing them up, trot up, back ’em up again until they’re thinking about it.”
5. Move away from the fence
“Once your horse comes through softly off your hand and leg, see how the rollback feels away from the fence.”
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