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.