The 3 types of evasions

(This post is based off part of what I learned at the aaaaa-mazing JJ Tate clinic I attended in April. Unfortunately, I will never see the video that was taken that day. It's gone. But I did take notes!)

Horses evade work in 3 different ways. Note that evasion is different than out right disobedience (bucking, rearing, bolting, etc) and resistance. I consider resistance to be things like kicking out at the leg, bracing, etc. Resistance and disobedience tend to be much more obvious to the rider, whereas evasions are sneaky and can often times go un-noticed or brushed off as just a mistake or misunderstanding. It's our job as riders to figure out the difference and make appropriate corrections.

Horse like to speed up during leg yields like this guilty party?
Try leg yielding .. then walk (keep leg yielding) ... then trot again.
(also don't drop your shoulder, like this idiot)

1) SPEED
This can be speeding up, slowing down, or changing/breaking gait. Hampton uses speed evasions pretty frequently. Some examples: We are working on halt - trot - halt transitions. As I ask him to really push out of the halt into the trot, he canters. That is a speed evasion - it's easier to canter than to push off his hind end into the trot. He doesn't really do this anymore since he has gotten stronger. Or, maybe I want super collected canter and he breaks into the trot. Speed evasion. Or, one of Hampton's very favorites: During leg yield or half pass, I apply more leg and half halts because I want more dramatic cross over. He instead speeds up and basically runs to the rail. Total speed evasion. When I feel him start to "run" through lateral work, I will do a transition but keep asking for the movement. When he breaks into the trot from collected canter, I will usually give him the benefit of the doubt the first couple of times because sometimes it is probably just a miscommunication. I will just pick up the canter again. But after the third time, he will get a good pony club boot to the ribs.

Hampton doesn't invert. He would prefer to dive down in the neck. Meh.

2) INVERSION
This is something Hampton doesn't really do. He has a short neck, and is so downhill that inverting would probably take a real effort from him. He prefers to dive down in the neck instead, or just brace his entire neck. But inverting is such a common evasion among many, many horses. My friend's Arabian cross will invert at pretty much any opportunity. My old Morgan, T-Bone, was also excellent at inverting. In fact he would be quite inverted yet still round in the neck. Which is how he developed quite the under neck muscle. I just didn't know any better at the time.

Canter lengthening. Notice how the haunches are to the inside.
Very common problem. A crookedess evasion.
Probably also rider incompetence.

3) CROOKEDNESS
And here is another evasion that Hampton is a master at. He loves to be bent left, and would prefer that right bend was never required. Very typical and very normal. But he will avoid being straight to avoid loading his left hind. In fact he sometimes turns into an "S" through his body just to avoid this. I have become much more aware of this and it isn't as bad as it once was. This is turn affects all sorts of things such as flying changes, lateral work and halts. I would guess this is the most common evasion, because horses are already crooked anyway. And so are people. I use shoulder-in quite a bit to help gain control of the shoulders which is a major key to straightness.

Which evasion is your horse's favorite? :)