Hi Marsha,
That is a pretty cool place to work. Where is your heavy coat and piles of snow like we have?
When I still lived on my parent's farm, the horses liked to "trail drive" amonst the machinery and grain bins, too. I think they liked the smell of the corn in the bins!
How long has Dusty been put to? He is "falling in" a bit on the corners, but I'm not sure that I would stress out about it too much if he's only been put to a few times. If it has been more than that, then you need to "support" him with your reins to get him to bend properly. See how he is "leaning"? You want his withers to remain upright in the corners. Now that being said, if you are turning hard and fast, he's going to have to lean, just like you would. If you are working on dressage corners, then ask for the bend. They are going to be slower and more controlled.
In order to get a proper bend, you are going to have to hold your reins more in front of you, about the width of his mouth apart, or 6"-8" in. (I know those measurements aren't the same, it just helps to think of the width of the mouth for visualization purposes.) You will need a bit of contact on the reins. Then when you ask for the bend, make sure that you are not "giving" with the outside rein as you ask with the inside rein. This is a common misconception of "steering". You just pull on one rein and leave the other in "neutral". Now, there are techniques that have to do with timing a horse's bend that require the cue to be placed with the movement of either hind leg (I know of different trainers that teach with either leg.), but I find that when you have enough of everything else to think about, trying to place your cue while checking out the horse's legs is cumbersome, especially for the less experienced driver. When everything else comes "naturally", then it is easier to be adjusting timing with the horse's hips. I rather think about that outside rein "holding" up the withers. See, this is where leaving that rein in "neutral" comes in. If you "give" with that outside rein, you are "letting go" of his withers, and they end up leaning into the corner. What this does is help the horse collect himself to place his inside hind leg up underneath himself to support his own weight in the corners. If they don't place that hind leg under their belly, they throw it our sideways instead, so they don't fall over. Dusty looks like he is attempting to place his leg, but it requires practice, balance, and support. When I started working consistently on bending last year with my gelding, it took him about three weeks to get it consistently (and he still fell in a bit at the shows, but that was probably my fault through my nerves). (Caveat, this is really only touching the surface of bending, but it will give you a good start.)
Again, if he is pretty green, I wouldn't push it too much right now. He may still be trying to figure out how to hold up that cart. You can still practice the above lessons, but I wouldn't have huge expectations. How's all that for your simple question of how he is looking in the turn?
It also might take him a year or so to figure out how to use his hind consistently. Long, low hills are good, as long as they aren't so long as to "burn" his muscles.
Myrna
