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to your cue by bulging his barrel to the left but no feet move, bring your left leg slightly back to his side (closing the door) and apply your cue again.

Note: If you are encountering the same resistance repeatedly, go toward the center of your paddock and work on the problem area. Ask for forehand moves from a standing position to both left and right until he responds easily. Do the same for the hindquarters. Then try the sidepass again.

To Perfect The Sidepass:

Although the horse may not move both ends of his body at the same, if he ultimately moved his whole body to the left in stages, that's acceptable. If you end up pointed straight at the fence, start the sequence again for another lateral whole body movement in the same direction.

If you are badly out of position for a second lateral step, walk away from the fence and circle back to the starting place. Repeat steps 1 through 4.

Repeat the sequence to the left until you can get at least two lateral steps of the whole body. Then move away from the fence, walk, trot, and return to your starting place, but reverse the cues to get lateral moves to the right. Stop when you get two steps. You should not work on the Sidepass for more than 20 minutes in your early sessions.

As his response improves, ask for an increasing number of lateral steps until you get at least 5 steps smoothly with a straight body. Now move away from the fence (at least 4 feet of space in front of the horse), and try again. You may get some forward movement which you can prevent by shortening the reins a bit. Then try the sidepass in the center of your arena without any fences nearby to guide the horse. Eventually, you should be able to sidepass anywhere in your arena at least 10 steps to each side, and, to make it interesting you can try the sidepass over a pole on the ground, out through the open gate, up to the fence to hang your jacket, and then out on the trail.

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