Start teaching a horse to move off pressure on the ground by using your hand or a crop. The horse needs to move his hip, belly or shoulder independently. To move his hip, pull his head around to one side and use your crop on the same side to push his hip around where your leg would naturally hang. Keep pushing until the horse moves away. As soon as he moves away, stop pushing and pet him. To move his shoulder, push him in the area of the front cinch until he moves. In all cases, you should remove the cue (pushing) as soon as the horse gives you a positive response.
When the horse learns to move away from the pressure on the ground, try it mounted. The cue is the same except you use your leg. To move the shoulder, push around with your leg at the front cinch until he moves his shoulder opposite of your leg pressure. To move the hip, push with the leg where it would normally lay or a little back until he moves his hip. In all cases, quit pushing the horse when he responds. When you can move your horse's shoulder and hip, you should be able to side pass by holding his head straight and push with your leg to get the desired response. Having a horse move away from your legs is the first step in teaching turns, leads, side passing and all the advanced maneuvers.
