How does everybody ask their horse to execute movements such as sidepassing, arcing, counter-arcing, moving shoulders, and moving hindquarters?

Be as specific as you can please (like rein position, foot position, etc.) I'm trying to train my first horse and I want to make sure I am clear in what I am asking them to do when I start training her to do these more advanced movements.

I don’t know if this helps or not for you but we teach ours to move while on the ground first, using the big rubber end of a buggy whip,  bump and hold some slight pressure, then instantly taking it away, and give the horse a rub or a scratch as the rewards.  After some time they get to where the slightest inward pressure will move them off your leg when you start riding.  It seems to make it more simple and easy.

Also I should mention we use positions you would normally use with your leg.  

A trainer who broke one for us awhile back said that was the smartest horse she had ever ridden.  She said she picked up how to move off your leg the very first time they rode her, she moved the front, rear, and sidepassed the first attempt. 

I always would teach mine to move over with pressure from my fingers while on the ground, like if I'm brushing and I want my horse to move over I would just use my finger and put pressure on a certain spot to ask them to move away from the area I want to be in, like while cleaning a hoof or if the farrier needs them to move over put finger pressure and ask for that space, then when you do start asking to move over while sitting in the saddle with your leg, heel then it should just come natural for your horse to do what is asked of him when you apply the pressure. My horses I just tap and they will move away, its so easy once they know what you are asking, side passing will be a breeze if you teach them while standing on the ground.. trying to say here it all starts from  standing on the ground. 

We like to start everything on the ground, ground driving, rollbacks off the fence,  one rein stops, everything we could think of a way to do it safely and easier on the horse from the ground, we did it.  It just makes it so much easier and safer.

Slightly off topic, but Sean has every one of ours where you can put your finger on their side and they'll step over.  Three of the five you can point and say "step over" and they will.   He's put time into them!!!    (You can even tell them to stay!!!  I love my man and my horses)

I teach mine to two-track first. Move forward and tip the horse’s head in the opposite direction you want the horse to move gently put your foot in their  side to get them to move off your leg. For instance if you want to move to the right, ride forward tip horse’s head to the left and kick with left foot. This may not happen the first time. Your horse has to bend it’s whole body but needs to give it’s head. To be honest with you you do not need to be able to side pass because you are not going to come to a stop running barrels and move over a few steps but you do need to two-track. All of mine side pass because sometimes I get the urge to ride in trail classes and sometimes I need to open gates. By the way, I always ride with spurs. EVERY time I ride I practice two-tracking but I enjoy working on basics more than practicing barrels. Hope that helps. 

Quite honestly, if you are not sure how to ask for these movements, I would strongly suggest you go take some lessons with a trainer (maybe a reining trainer). We can write things down for you step-by-step but READING how to do it, and actually doing it, are completely different. And each horse is different so sometimes you need to deviate a little bit from what you normally do.

For example, when I ask my horses for a spin (slow, LOL, not reining competition fast!), I normally keep my hand on their mane (only move my hand if they need assistance) and bump them slightly forward with my outside leg. And that's it, because that is how they have been trained (which was different cues at the time, but this is where they are now). However, my one horse Dexter will actually not plant his hind when I do it that way for him, so specifically for him I keep my outside leg central and neutral instead once I get him going, but he still needs some rein help.

If you have not trained a horse before and don't already know the steps to ask for those various things, again, you will set yourself up to be the most successful if you also take lessons from a professional.

It all boils down to what part of the horse you want to move. "Split" the horse up into the neck, shoulders, ribcage, and hindquarters. You control the neck with the reins. You control the rest of the body with your seat/legs. Keep your leg neutral (centered) to move the ribcage -- always have the body move AWAY from your leg pressure. Move your leg slightly forward to move the shoulders, and slightly back to move the hindquarters. While the horse is learning, you really want to exagerrate the differences. AS they become more trained, then you barely move your leg forward or backward, as they are more refined.

So instead of thinking about teaching your horse each of the things you listed -- just focus on making them broke to your seat/leg/rein aids. When they understand how to move their body, then you can ask them to do any of those things.

Where you put your weight is also important. For example, if you want your horse to sidepass to the left, you will put your right leg on them (center), and slightly put more weight in your right seatbone to "open the door" to the left. Use supporting rein as needed.

This is where someone watching you in person (taking those lessons!!) will help you tremendously to understand how your body influences what your horse's body is doing.

I realize that many people just cannot afford to go to a clinic. They are quite expensive. After this thread I drove up to Josey’s and told Martha that she needed to make a video on how to teach your horse to two track, pick up leads, work perfect circles.   We have discussed this before and she thought it was a good idea then so maybe in the next couple of months she will make a video. There definitely is a need for this. Will let everyone know when this materializes