PK Experiment, week 2

Alright,

So this week started off REALLY WELL.

We did three rides where all we did was flexion right and flexion left at walk, followed by counter-flexed circles with exact sizes (i.e. no loopy, egg-shaped ovals). We also finally completed our first successful counter-bend in high neck position circle at trot. With these figure of 8s (whereby the first half of the figure is counter bent and the second half of the figure is in correct bend with lengthened neck and stride), his trot improved greatly and had much more suspension, rhythm and elasticity. His stride has gotten much longer, clearer, and he is carrying himself in a much lighter frame (demi-arrets on a regular basis at the beginning of work and in counter-bend is still present). He is responding much better to the whip (a short crop used on his shoulder) and this light poking action of the whip at his shoulder seems to be more than enough for corrective purposes.

The end of my week hasn't gone so well. Mr. Horse tripped, fell, and flipped himself over during turn-out and pulled quite a few of his poor back muscles, so it may be a few days before we get under to under saddle work again. (poo). On a positive, the work in-hand presented by PK is relatively non-streneous and I will be continuing with flexions, action-reaction, bend and suppleness of the jaw and poll daily until he is ready to return to work.

Until next time!

-Dressage Person

The 6-month Independent Philippe Karl Experiment

That's right!

I've now decided to write for the next 6 months on a "Philippe Karl Experiment." This means I'm going to follow Mr. Karl's methodology to the book with a horse who has some schooling but was trained using german methodologies. I'm not starting from scratch, but the horse is unaware of all things Philippe :) As I've mentioned before I am an amateur rider so my execution of these methods will be far from perfect. I am not attached to the "ecole de legerite" in any way, and any conclusions that I draw from this experiment are to be taken as my interpretations of the experiment :) 

A little information on the horse, his breeding indicates that he should be an upper-level mount however he is around 1st level dressage  with some beginnings of shoulder-in and haunches-in. He has no jumping training. He is 13 years old and built ever-so-slightly downhill.

 I will be working with this horse 4-6 times a week. His diet will remain similar to what he has had in the past when in intensive work with the same supplements etc.  Also his tack will remain the same (minus the removal of a flash nosepiece and noseband - PK wouldn't approve of these things).


Here is a short summary of our first 5 days together. =) I am hoping to post about our daily happenings with a week-long summary at the end of it. 

I will begin with DAY 1:

He has arrived in his new home and settled in very nicely (day 2 in his new home). 

Flexions on the ground & Under Saddle at Walk and Trot.

Impressions: Boy does this guy learn quickly. He was very unsure of the work at the walk (as are most horses trained in the German pyramid because the walk is supposed to be easily ruined and difficult to improve), but once I did some work at trot I went back down to walk and he REALLY understood the idea of flexing while moving straight, reaching down through a bend on a small volte. In trot we worked a bit on flexions to either direction and then worked on reaching over the back in trot via stretching through the bend. What surprised me here was how light he got! He began to really soften the jaw and even started to give at the poll. I'm very excited to see where this could be going. This is a HUGE improvement from ride one at his old place.

Day 2:


More flexions on the ground than yesterday, some in halt and then I moved on to flexions in walk. I introduced the counter-bend in a high neck position with an open poll. Also did some flexions at walk on the rail that we then moved to a shoulder-in on the rail. He is much better on the left rein and thus will need extra work on the right rein in order to even himself out. At trot, we continued to work on the lengthening of the frame through a bend and asked for a slightly larger trot.

Impressions: Though still keen to learn, the horse seemed a bit concerned about the high neck position in the counter-bend. More work will need to be done on this.  His shoulder-in at walk was lovely but he could slow down his tempo in order to step-under himself more. His difficulties on the right rein at walk need to be evened out.

Day 3: 


Back to flexions at walk/trot, some action-reaction at trot, shoulder-in at walk, short shoulder-in on circle to encourage stretching of the neck. At trot, flexions, work on 20m circle, changes of direction to aid in balance.

Impressions: Still very happy with this one. He is keen to learn, his trot has lengthened itself ten-fold since his first ride and he is accepting the bit much more. His walk is more rhythmical and uphill.

Day 4: First Spook
Well! We got over that hurdle now didn't we =). Good news is, even though it was completely exaggerated and mostly ridiculous, I didn't feel as though I was going to come off. We spooked at the "clunk" of the arena lights turning on and did an odd shuffle/hop/canter/gallop? down the rail.

We worked on flexions at the walk/trot again, lots of bending, lots of action reaction and began to demand more lightness in the bridle especially when in the lengthened neck position by using demi-arrets.

Day 5: Turn-out 

Free-lunging in the sand lunge-pen. Walk/Trot/Canter. Worked on paying attention to body language, moving around the circle on the correct bend (rather than counter-bent) and changing direction with a hand cue.

5-Day Summary

• Very happy with his temperament - he's super willing and very keen
• He's a sensitive little guy and needs quite a lot of reassuring (though he's not by my definition spooky)
• Action-Reaction and stretching through the bend seem to be a simple exercise for him.

Goals for Next Week:

1. Have him flexing down the entire rail with a large bend in either direction
2. Have counter-bend with open poll position introduced and going well.
3. Work on changes of direction through seat aids
4. Introduce more work at trot - especially that which will build up his current 'pencil' neck (open-poll position, bending, counter-bending in high neck position)

Counter-Bend to pick up Correct Canter Leads

After reading a few blogposts today, I felt inspired to talk a bit about the counter-bend and it's usefulness in loading the correct shoulder for canter departs.  I find this exercise to be beneficial for the horse as it learns not to always go where his nose is pointing, it helps him correct his own balance and teaches him to canter off the aids rather than off a marker (like a corner). It also has the distinct advantage of teaching canter departs without anticipation and off the rail.

First, I'd like to review the aids for canter:

1. Inside Leg @ The Girth and ON at the girth (not necessarily hard, but the leg must distinctly come onto the horse's inside.
2. Outside Leg slightly back and gently on -  Swinging your outside leg back by 2 feet and squeezing should not be the aid.

And now the aids for Counter-Bend:

 With an inside bend on the first half of a figure eight followed by the second half of the figure 8 while maintaining the bend (and thus counter-bending through the second half of the figure 8).

- Both hands should move in unison and as if you are moving a book over on the shelf. An opening outside rein to encourag the horse to move in counter-bend around the circle and a light inside neck-rein will assist the horse in maintaining the appropriate bend through the counter half of the figure 8.

- Your seat should be weighted in the direction of movement and not in the direction of the bend. This is to ensure that your horse's weight moves underneath of you in the later half of the fig. 8.

Alright, so now that you have your counter-walk and counter-walk circles, your horse is light in his mouth using demi-arrets as necessary and your horse is off your leg, you can begin teaching the canter departs using the counter bend.

Say you start on the right rein with a left inside bend and trot. Go across the short diagonal and DO NOT change your bend. Simply maintain the same bend so that you are in counter bend. Once around the short side go across the diagonal again, maintaining the same bend and asking your horse ever so slightly for counter shoulder-in here. Between X and the rail, ask your horse to canter using the correct aids. Your horse will always pick up the correct canter-lead in this fashion.

Why?

Because a canter stride functions in the following way: Outside hind, inside hind-outside fore, inside fore. If you weight the outside fore in a counter shoulder-in, you have achieved freedom of the inside shoulder AND because of the counter shoulder in and the trailing of the haunch, you have achieved freedom of the outside hind, you have perfectly set-up your horse to pick up the correct canter lead diagonal. As an added bonus, you've also taught your horse the correct aids for canter.

There are many variations of this exercise and you can ask for the canter just about anywhere out of the counter-bending exercise. This exercise works on young horses as well as older horses and stops bucking in transitions as well as anticipation.

Happy Riding!

Smiles,
K

"First the mouth..." Part 2

Thank you for the e-mails and responses! Keep them coming, I absolutely LOVE hearing from you. =)

So, now that we have the theory behind mobilizing the jaw, how do we actually do this gently and so that our horse understands what we want??

This first set of three flexion is done at halt from the ground. You can then proceed to flexions 2 and 3 at the walk on the ground and then proceed to under-saddle work (more on this under-saddle stuff later).

Flexion 1: Yielding the Jaw

Stand directly in front of your horse. place your thumbs in the rings of the bit. Gently put pressure on the bit towards his ears until he lifts his head quite high up in the air and you do not feel any weight on your hands. Your horse should be softly mouthing the bit and slobering all over (don't wear nice clothes :P). Keep your fingers in the rings with very light pressure in the high neck position until your horse starts to settle and soften. Take your fingers out, walk away, take a deep breath, and flexion 1 is done. Sometimes horses will simply throw their head up in the air and completely avoid the bit. If this happens, don't frett, just do a mini version of the lift and only lift your horse's head a few inches at a time until they settle.

This 2nd flexion is taught at halt, and will eventually be translated to under-saddle work where it becomes an incredibly useful tool for bringing horses necks level with their bodies (instead of 14 feet in the air). It's also an excellent softening tool as it creates a position for the horse that is comfortable.

Flexion 2: Action-Reaction (this one's probably especially important for your horse)

Stand beside your horse (for the purposes of this description let's do it from the left side of the horse). Put your left index finger in the bit ring and put the right rein over the horse's neck and on top of the headstall so the your right hand and left hand can be one on top of the other and you're holding both sides of the bit (one directly, and one indirectly). Gently pull the bit up with your left hand and down with your right hand (a light squeeze if you will) until the horse yields his jaw as in exercise one and offers to lower his head (whereby you release the pressure but still have a very light connection with his mouth). The horse's neck should end up in a horizontal position with the jaw relaxed and the horse softly mouthing the bit. Your horse doesn't need poll flexion at this point and if his nose pokes out a bit it's ok. This is the key to stretching and releasing the back under saddle...

Flexion 3: The Neck Bend in stretch position

So stand next to your horse in the same position as flexion 2. But instead of having one rein on top of the poll, move the rein  to about 3/4 of the way down his neck. Lift the bit with your finger (remember to always move it towards his ear and never back) until  he yields his jaw and then ask him to bend away from you by pushing his head over with your hand (and walking that way) and keeping a contact with the rein on his neck by gently holding downwards. This should be a very gentle movement and at first your horse may not be able to bend very far without moving his feet. That's ok - go as far as you think is comfortable for him wait for his jaw to yield and his mouth to soften in the neck bend position and allow him to stretch downward if he so wishes and then let go and step back. Eventually you can do this exercise so that your horse is bent at almost 90 degrees with a relaxed jaw and neck, softly mouthing the bit and lowering his head to the horizontal position in both directions.

Practice these before you ride for the next few days, and I'll post the action-reaction and neck-bend exercises for under-saddle work to promote stretching. Next 'training' post will be about how to perform the french version of a half-halt to lighten your horse's mouth and get off of the forehand =)

Happy riding everyone! Hope you're enjoying the rain as much as I am (ugh).

K

"First the mouth..." Part 1

Hey everyone!

Thanks for the great response on the last few posts, a special thank-you to those of you from Peru, Germany and Sweden who have been kind enough to send me e-mails (dressage.blog@gmail.com).

I'm writing this post on the concept of 'getting the mouth first' before attempting anything in dressage (or riding for that matter) after an encounter I had with a coach a little while ago that completely revolutionized the way I ride/think about riding. Although I had been riding for quite a few years before this conversation, and understood to a certain extent that the horse's mouth was important, it wasn't until I was told (quite vehemently and with a lot of gusto) by a very cool trainer that if I didn't get my horse's mouth everything I did was basically useless and counter-productive (pretty harsh stuff really, especially if you've been invested in a riding style for many years and then are told something that makes you feel like a horrible rider/human being/coach/trainer/person - I'm a tad sensitive). As if this conversation wasn't mind boggling enough, the horse I was riding that I thought was so wonderful and light was apprently doing nothing more than (and I quote) "avoiding the bit entirely and holding his head in a 'pretty' position like a trained monkey -- you MUST get his mouth! -- He is no better than the horse which takes the bit between his teeth and pulls with all his force to avoid your hand"

The mouth is the single most important and sensitive part of the horse - it is a direct center of communication, it is the source of relaxation and it is the source of pretty much everything you need to get your horse to do just about anything. The mouth is also a very easy thing to hurt, ruin, make oversensitive and/or dull. Let's just put it this way: I don't allow any of my beginner students (or anyone with an unsteady hand or bad balance) to ride in a bit. They all go in bosals (when not on the lunge) or have the reins attached to the noseband or cavesson (when on the lunge) until I (and my horses) can trust their hands not to hurt the horses' mouths.

An anatomical sidenote here, the way the jaw of the horse is shaped is somewhat different to the way in which the human jaw is build (shocker, I know). The horse's lower jaw is rather pointed at the tips and is shaped somewhat like a 'U'. The tips of the jaw (i.e. the upper ends of the U) are narrow and pointed and therefore much more fragile than the rest of the jaw. The gum is thicker as it reaches the tips of the lower jaw and as a result the number of nerve endings and blood vessles increase towards the ends of the U. Alright, so where does the bit rest? Only a few mm away from the most sensitive and fragile point of the entire jaw. * When our hand pulls the bit downward (either through pulling or by riding with our hand in our lap/knee/anywhere lower than the bellybutton) we exert incredible amounts of force on the very fragile points of the jaw and the pressure in pounds/sq. inch becomes rather impressive. * Now, we have to remember here that when the bit is resting kindly in the mouth it is only a few milimeters away from this point, therefore just about any pulling action will case the bit to land on a very uncomfortable spot in the mouth.

Let's back up a second here. I have nothing against bits - even stronger bits (if the rider is skilled enough and the horse is well trained enough). Nor do I have anything against a hackamore, bosal or any other bitless option (albeit I tend to use these options only for beginner riders because I feel that you don't get the level of communication you do with a bit). Lastly, I don't think we should all ride in the circus with our hands above our heads and our eyes blindfolded while hoping (praying?) that our horses will stop out of their own volition.

So, the mouth is important, and avoiding the bit isn't lightness... so how do we fix this problem sans gimmicks?

1. Re-introduction to the bit from the ground using a series of flexion exercises. From what I understand many trainers use this system, but the clearest explanation on how to perform these (in my opinion) comes from a book written by Philippe Karl called Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage.

2. Re-introduction of bit and rein aids under saddle with clear definition between "action-reaction" and "demi-arret" (also adapted from Philippe Karl but present in other works by Descarpentry amongst other french classical masters)

3. Flexions under saddle.

Off to clinic 1!

Hey eveyone!

I'm off to a clinic this weekend to learn about communicating with horses via groundwork and leadership - could be interesting. Will let you all know how it goes at the end of the weekend. I'm a bit skeptical of how this is going to transfer to under saddle work, but I'm always up for a challenge - and who wouldn't enjoy teaching their horses how to bow and do fun tricks?  ;)

Have a great weekend! - Happy Riding

Dressage Person

Update: Back from clinic!

Well that was fun! =) I got a horse to lay down with me in the middle of the arena and have a snooze whereby there were 11 other horses doing bomb-proofing things like tarps and cracking whips everywhere (picture coming soon :P). Very interesting clinic, I learned a lot about bomb-proofing horses and getting them to trust you as their leader. Don't think I've ever been to a clinic where there were so many horses in one arena so chill with so many weird things going on around them. I've always wanted to know how to lie a horse down, so now I know, and it's one more thing crossed off the 'to-do' bucket list.

Two weeks from now I'm headed back up to Phillipe Karl's clinic and am seriously looking forward to it. Yay!

Happy riding everyone.

Great Lesson

Hey there,

This is more of an informal post. I just got back from teaching a good friend of mine who's riding a rather old (20-something) tb. She's riding him as a favor for his owners to get him back into some shape so that he can at least enjoy his retirement and move properly. Anyways, my friend is a lovely rider - very solid seat, quiet leg, super talented - but for some reason the horse she rides gets super hot and he often tosses his head, gets unbalanced and then races off at whatever gait he feels like (throwing in a buck or two). He's been getting much better (more flexible, longer stride, softer mouth), but still this rushing problem. SO, I hopped on and walked/trotted him and discovered an interesting hitch. When he pulls his head up and in the air, the instinct one has is to lift your hands higher and then wait there for him to release - BUT when I did this he began to race off, so I immediately gave him a lot of rein (without losing the contact, but being very kind and giving) - and, suddenly, he slowed down. Interesting - since it appeared to me that my friend was releasing - so I trotted around some more, and every time he resisted with the bit I'd place him and then give. All of a sudden, a round, balanced horse (albeit for only 3 strides at a time, but that's pretty great for an old guy with no muscles - and so we'd repeat with lots of praise).  So, I put my friend back on, and tried to make her give more often. She was obviously resistant to the idea of letting a horse that takes off take more rein, but I finally convinced her to give it a try - only problem was that even though she was giving, it was barely a give. So using some psychology here (and sensing my friend was still a bit tense) I told her that every time he slowed down and balanced himself at trot she had to pretend that she was riding Totilas and he'd just done 15 clean tempi-changes down the diagonal and praise her horse accordingly. Not only did this help her release more clearly, but all the tension left her body and she was much happier with the small improvements her horse was making (small in comparison to tempi changes, I suppose, but I thought self-carriage was a pretty big step!).  So there's my new teaching trick of the day - next time I have a student I feel is 'death gripping (not pulling, just not releasing)' their horse I'm going to make them pretend they've just ridden a super fancy amazing movement and/or just won a grand prix test and to praise their horses like they've done just that. Something tells me both the horse and rider will appreciate it ;)

The Shoulder-In (Part 2; Purpose & Execution)

So, now that we've cleared up some misconceptions about the shoulder-in, I'd like to discuss the many purposes of this exercise, some ways of performing it for schooling purposes and how to perform it on a dressage test. =)

Purpose:


For the horse:

• To make the horse more flexible, supple and light
• To develop collection (including piaffe)
• To improve extensions
• To prevent horses from rearing/spooking

For the rider:

• To develop coordination of the aids
• To develop 'feel'
• To make the rider's aids lighter and thus the horse lighter
• To develop seat

Who should perform the shoulder-in?

• A horse that accepts a very basic contact with the bit by softly mouthing when asked and who has an understanding of stretching into a very light contact until the neck is horizontal (therefore even very green but well started horses who are only in walk work can begin this movement). 
• A rider who is able to ask the horse to lightly mouth the bit and has the ability to use their hands steadily, has a quiet leg, and has an understanding of weight in the saddle (if only in walk).

So how do you perform the shoulder-in on a well schooled horse?

In three easy steps:

1) sit in the direction of the movement (i.e. if you are on the right rein, with a right bend, going left, sit to the left; if you are on the left rein with a left bend, going right, sit to the right)

2) Bend your horse to the inside as if starting a circle and then lighten the inside rein (by pushing forward towards the horse's ears). ** remember, bend does not occur in the rib-cage and therefore to achieve bend what you need is for the neck to bend to the inside without your horse's head tilting and without the horse escaping through the haunch by swinging it to the outside**

3) Use a very light inside leg to maintain the shoulder-in and to encourage the horse to cross over with his forelegs.

Ok, so now that you know how to do it on a horse that understand quite well what it is supposed to do, how do you perform the shoulder-in on a horse that doesn't know how to do it? And more importantly, how do you help the horse develop into an athlete by using the shoulder-in?

1. For horses that are really stuck in the shoulder and have difficulty bending in the neck, it's best to start schooling shoulder in by first having the horse bend it's neck almost 90 degrees and continue to walk on two tracks (i.e. the front feet and the back feet are both facing the same way and the shoulders are directly in front of the hips). In fact, most horses beginning sideways movements should start this way as it allows the horse to understand that simply because his head is facing a certain direction does not mean the body has to follow. Once your horse is able to do this with a very light contact in the rein and with little-to-no difficulty on both sides of the arena (for approximately the entire long side of the arena, and is able to do it in a slow walk and a more active walk) with his neck at or almost at vertical and with no poll flexion, you can start moving the shoulders off the track by following steps 1-3. If your horse does only one step, this is great! Simply make a small volte (8 meter circle) and try again for a few steps. This exercise can be very difficult for horses that are stuck, so be happy with only a few steps at a time and be sure to reward generously and lighten the aids as soon as the horse crosses his front legs.
2. Once your horse is able to bend it's neck at almost 90 degrees, in both directions, and is starting to understand the concept of shoulders off the track and forelegs crossing (if only for a few steps), you can begin counter-bending shoulder-in exercises and shallow loops in trot (with long strides, not rushing strides, but long strides - especially in the correct bend). To begin, start with a small volte and half way through the volte, change your weight to the outside hip bone, open your outside rein and return to the rail (so you do a small circle with a very distinct counter-bend/neck rein).  You can vary the size, shape, distance, angle of these loops and inter-change them with correct bend, add in a few steps of shoulder in when returning to the rail in counter-bend and on the track before beginning a circle. Your horse should start to feel very maneuverable and as though you could place the head and neck in any direction and move his body in any direction regardless of the placement of his head/neck. This is an important exercise because it improves the shoulder-in, the musculature of the horse, and prepares the horse for half-pass, counter-canter, and flying changes. In addition, it will help your extensions, collections and transitions between piaffe and passage. Just remember that when doing this exercise you must first have the horse's mouth, then you can change the horse's neck position and only when the neck position is where you want it and the horse is giving in the jaw can you pick your direction. 

**Remember: this is the gymnasticizing part of the exercise, therefore the very big neck bend isn't what we're aiming for at the show, but is a great way to lengthen the muscles of the horse and thus make him more flexible and more understanding of the fact that his head is not the source of direction. In addition, if you stick to the exercises above at walk and trot over the course of 2-4 weeks (depending on the stiffness/education level of your horse), your horse's neck will develop much 'lifting muscle' right at the whither (thus the whither is 'higher' and the horse's back is 'up') and will also help develop the shoulder (no more muscle wastage behind the shoulder). You may also notice that your horse's 'hunter bump' begins to disappear or get smaller.**

Once you have steps 1 and 2 completely mastered, you can begin schooling the shoulder-in for competition. Because you have completed the above steps, it will be very easy for you and your horse to get a correct angle, bend and action on your test because the requirements on the tests are actually quite a bit easier than the exercises you have just completed =) Simply ask for the neck bend, sit to the direction of movement (the outside of the bend), use a supporting inside leg (not pressure, but just there) and allow your horse to complete the shoulder-in down the rail (really, it's that easy!). Remember that on the test, the movement is generally performed (if not always) in collection. To achieve this in shoulder-in simply sit up taller, into your seatbones, take a deep breath and think 'sloooow'. Also try and imagine how the collection will feel in your body - especially in your abs and upper thigh. You may also use a 'demi-arret' (a french version of a half-halt - very different from the german half-halt and to be discussed in a future post in detail) to put your horse on his haunch (by lifting his neck - thus using it as a lever) and encouraging the collection in the movement. 

There you have it! A somewhat complete version of the history, misconceptions, purpose and execution of the shoulder-in. Good news is that the shoulder-in is the foundation of so many advanced movements that by completing the above exercises you will have a horse that is totally free in the shoulders, has great  musculature, an understanding of correct collection, excellent bend, and a perfect foundation for beginning more fun exercises like the counter-canter, piaffe, extended trot etc. I have not covered the purpose of the shoulder-in for correcting behaviours like rearing in this 2-part post - perhaps in the future.

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, concerns, ideas, comments, anything please post them below or e-mail me at dressage.blog@gmail.com

Happy Riding!

The Shoulder-In (Part 1) History & Misconceptions

wooo! First post! I hope this wasn't too long a first post, but I love this topic. If you have any questions please e-mail me at dressage.blog@gmail.com or post a comment below. If anyone would like more resources (or information on how I came about this information) on this topic please e-mail me.

The Shoulder-In was a movment developed by the Duke of Newcastle and is one of only two real sideways movments in dressage (more on this later). The Shoulder-In was later developed by French master de la Gueriniere (and he developed this movment on four tracks along the wall).

First off, let us clear up a few misconceptions about the shoulder in.

1. The shoulder in is not collection, it is an exercise to develop collection and therefore does not need to occur in collection.
2. The 30 degree angle that is so illusively sought after is a result of our competition system should be the END result of the 'performance shoulder-in'.
3.  The shoulder-in is a gymnasticizing exercise. Because of this, it is important that we first gymnasticize the horse (i.e. supple it by lengthening the muscles, encouraging proper carriage etc) via a schooling shoulder in before we attempt to "correct" the shoulder-in for competition purposes.
4. The shoulder-in can be done on four tracks during the gymnasticizing phase.
5. The shoulder-in will improve all of your training and first level movements and should therefore be done way before the horse is beginning to school second level tests or above. 
6. The shoulder-in at walk will not ruin your walk, it will in fact improve your walk by making your horse more supple in his neck and shoulders in addition to having your horse more 'off the aids'
7. Warning, the next point may blow your mind. The horse cannot bend through the rib cage. *GASP* Ok, well, the horse CAN bend through the rib cage, but not in the way that modern dressage has led us to believe. Horses sway through the ribs to the right and to the left with each step (like when we walk and our body sways forward and back on the step we are taking). They do not have the ability to shorten one side of their ribs and lengthen the other side to create a 'bend around your inside leg' and stay there whilst they move forward (as with each step the horse will sway to one side and then the next). A horse can bend it's body in two areas, the neck/shoulder region and the hip/sacral region. If you accept this point, the exercise of shoulder-in suddenly becomes much easier, and in competition, you will still get a nice comment on your test along with a wonderful score (counter-intuitive, I know, but keep reading). The reason for why the horse cannot bend through the ribs comes from a number of different factors but first off let us discuss the use of the abdominals that run just over the ribs on either side of your horse. With each step, these muscles contract and relax and play a major part in the movement of your horse. These muscles play no part in the bending and/or contracting of the ribs or thoracic cavity (since the muscles lay on top of the ribs, not between them). Secondly let's discuss the horses spine. Spinal joints are semi-movable sinovial joints. This means that they move ever so slightly only because of the tissue and cartilage between the joints. This movement is a result of shock absorption and has much less to do about whether or not our leg can push the ribs (and therefore the back) into an arc (I'd like to see you try and push that much muscle, bone and tissue over with one leg while sitting on top of the thing you are trying to arc... just saying). A supple back (that is required to have big long strides and active relaxed collection) comes from support of the muscles in all of the horse. The proper development and activation of muscles over the horse's back, neck, abdomen and shoulders are what create suppleness - NOT the forcing of bending the spine in ways it was not meant to bend.  Still don't believe me? Try this: Stand up straight with your arms at your side. Activate your abdominals and bend over to the left and try and compress all of your ribs as far as you can. Now run your hand down the left side. You'll notice that from your armpit down to your seventh rib your ribs are completely straight (go ahead, stick a ruler there... it's straight). The only compression occurs in the shoulders/neck (but limited due to the shoulder-girdle... which, by the way, the horse does not have thus allowing for much more shoulder flexibility and movement than we could ever dream of), floating ribs, the lumbar region and the hip. Our thoracic cavity does not bend. This is the same as the horse, except we have to remember that the horse is A LOT bigger than us and his thoracic cavity extends further down the back. Also as a final point to put this myth away... I'd like you to stand behind a horse doing a shoulder in and look at his hind end foot falls. Are the horse's hind toes pointing forward on two-tracks while the front legs point to the inside during shoulder in? This should answer most of your questions about spinal movement (try it!).

PHEW! Now that we got that cleared up, the next blog post will be about the purpose and execution of a shoulder-in and also how to get great scores on your dressage test.