Cueing a horse at the walk

If you want to do advanced moves with a horse, it is important to cue him at the right time. Most people cue a movement arbitrarily, with no thought to whether or not the horse will be able to execute the move when they are asked. When you repeatedly cue a horse at the wrong time, a few things start to happen: You will get a movement other than something that you asked for. You will have to give an inordinate amount of rein support (tugging on your horse) and/or the horse will become hardened to the leg, the rein or both.

Let's say you are walking along and your left foot is on the ground and your right foot is in the air. Your friend asks you to move your left foot one step to the side, "NOW." You couldn't do it uness you hopped or put the right foot down first. Either way your movement will be slow, awkward or late. Your friend isn't happy with
your lack of compliance, so the next time he asks, he gives you a shove on the right side to "help" you get your left foot to the left. The shove puts you off balance or worse.
You get the picture. Horse's are no different except that they have 4 feet to deal with instead of 2.
Here is the key:
If your friend asked you for the step to the side just before your left foot leaves the ground, your step to the side would be smooth and immediate.

Thus, in order for a horse to respond to you "asking" for a movement, you must cue the foot just before it leaves the ground. It is the only way he can move smoothly and lightly. In the previous blog entry, I showed you how the horse moves at the walk. Your job is to figure out not only when the horse's foot strikes the ground, but when it leaves. Cue him then.