Laterals or
lateral work involve sideways movement or moving your horse “off the track.”
The collection you have been
practicing will now come in very handy, because if you cannot control the
momentum of forward movement you will not be able to move his body away from
your leg. The horse must have some
degree of collection to be able to move sideways easily and with balance. To stay balanced, he must be carrying himself
well and have the ability to shift his weight and move off the track.
For
example, let’s say the speed of the horse is 10 units of a possible 10, meaning
he is rushing. Since he is using all 10
energy units going forward, he would have 0 units of energy that he could move
sideways. But if you collect him down to
5 units, then there will be 5 units of energy remaining to move his laterally.
The more collected the horse,
the more energy available for sideways movement.
Energy is
the key. You do not just slow the
horse’s forward movement; you put the horse in balance by “collection.” Collecting the horse keeps his energy up and
allows you to funnel that energy in any direction you want. When you send him forward with it, you get a
lengthening . . . a lengthening without energy is "strung out".
Lateral
work is "contained forward energy" which you have chosen to direct
into sideways movement.
It does not
take an extreme amount of collection to be able to do these next exercises,
especially at the walk. Do these
exercises at the walk, and then the trot.
As you perfect the exercises you will be able to attain collection,
which will in turn improve the exercises.
To prepare
your horse for lateral work, start with the basic leg yield. It is a good way to get the horse to
understand he is to move laterally away from your leg pressure. Leg yielding will be easy for you since you
have already been doing the exercise.
When I
introduced the square and turn-on-the-forehand, you were using the leg
yield! Leg yield is simply yielding to your
leg.
The leg
yield is not considered a "true" classical dressage exercise, and is
frowned upon by “traditionalists” if used too often. However, I find it very useful for reminding
the horse to move away from the rider's leg.
There is some argument as to
where the horse’s nose should be; some say in the same direction as the turn,
and some say the opposite.
I feel you should start by
keeping the horse’s nose fairly straight ahead or to the inside toward the leg
you are pushing with (as in the double).
Keep the outside rein firmer and the horse’s head straighter. Then try it turning the horse’s nose away
from your pushing leg. Use your common
sense, and choose to give the cues and aids most beneficial to your individual
horse.
SHOULDER-IN
The
shoulder-in is the exercise that is most helpful in making your horse
straight. It is the classic of the
classical . . . the foundation lateral exercise of dressage.
There is
also some argument about how this exercise is to be performed. I want you to perform the shoulder-in as the
Spanish Riding School describes it. I
prefer this method as it creates a better bend in the horse's body. If this exercise is done in an exaggerated
way, as is often seen, it is not necessarily wrong, but it will be more like a
leg yield. Both ways are considered
correct.
This
exercise was created to work all the leg joints in a horse, and to increase the
activity of the inside hind leg. We will perform the exercise as follows,
working all the leg joints and creating good bend.
Walking along the rail to the
right, begin to turn the horse onto a circle to the right. Freeze this moment after two strides and you
will see that the forehand is just coming off the rail, creating a separate
track. The shoulder-in is performed with
the forehand of the horse on that separate track, while the entire horse
continues to move down the rail. The
horse’s forehand (shoulder) is at an angle to the rail and yet the horse is
still traveling along the rail.
Your hips
should be twisted to the inside (right) to create the bend, and you look
between your horse's ears. Your inside (right) hip drops and sends the energy
of the horse to the left hip, which is leading.
If you
remember the clock exercise, your hips are now on 10 and 4 in the twist. Now change your weight distribution to send
the horse laterally. You put weight in
your right hip at 4 and send the energy to the left hip at 10. The shifting weight of your hips acts like a
teeter-totter, the area you weigh down makes the exact opposite area lighten,
sending the horse into the direction that is lightened.
The horse
should be ridden forward along the rail with your seat as you keep your outside
rein firm and your inside leg pressure holding the
bend. Your outside leg should remain
passive just behind the girth to keep the horse’s hindquarters steady and
forward. Your hips must remain in the
correct twist to keep the bend.
The horse's
legs are moving in this sequence--the inside (right) foreleg is crossing over
the outside (left) foreleg. The outside
hind leg should be stretching forward. The inside hind will move more toward
the center of gravity of the horse, NOT stepping into the print of the outside
fore as commonly happens. In this
manner, there should be 4 tracks, not 3.
A three
track occurs when the inside hind foot steps into the print of the outside
fore. There is nothing at all wrong with
this, and it is often seen, but it is not appropriate for this lesson program
in dressage. Other disciplines may not
be concerned about getting deeper bend of the joints, but that is exactly what
we are striving for.
Try not to
rock your body. You may feel like doing
it to a small degree at first, but keep your body as quiet as possible. If your horse stiffens, speeds up, or loses
his bend, then let him continue on the circle and then ask for the shoulder-in
once again when he is relaxed.
Keep the horse calm, moving
forward with energy and collected. If he
is rushing or falling on the forehand, he will not be able to perform the
exercise.
The
shoulder-in is much easier at the trot, but practice at the walk first so you
can feel what you need to do, and so the horse gets the idea you are asking him
for a new response.
If you
remember your rules, you will not lead him with your inside hand and over bend
his neck; your outside rein will keep his neck fairly straight, which will keep
the bend in his body. Do not attempt too
tight a bend: start with a 20-meter
circle size bend and then gradually decrease it to about 10 meters (11 and 5 o'
clock is where your hips should be if going to the right with a 10 meter bend).
Practice
just a few strides at a time. It will
take the horse some time to strengthen and become supple. If he is losing his position, ask him to trot
on a circle and then straighten him and ask again for the shoulder-in. Always end on a good note. Do not labor over this exercise; it needs to
remain light and lively and fun.
Work for
balance, cadence, and tempo. You should
feel like you are dancing with your horse.
You should begin feeling an undulation through his back and some spring
in his stride; when you feel it, you are getting the correct action.
COUNTER-BEND
To help improve the shoulder-in,
and to perform the half-pass, you need to work on bending and counter-bending
while riding a circle. Bending and
counter-bending will help you identify where he horse’s rib cage is. While doing a circle, be sure your horse is
bending in the correct manner. You will
feel his rib cage pushing into your outside leg. When changing direction, be sure the horse’s
rib cage has moved over into your new outside leg.
Where does he put his head on
these circles? Hopefully his nose is
slightly toward the inside. If he is on
the correct bend, he will want to face the inside. Consequently, if he is counter bent, he is
pushing his rib cage towards the inside, making him bend and look to the
outside.
Ride the horse on a circle in
a semi-collected frame, changing his bend for a few strides by asking him to
half-halt and then giving him the cues for the opposite bend. Your hips swivel, and your legs and hands
change outside/inside positions.
You will need to drop your
outside hip a bit and increase your outside leg pressure to keep the horse on
the original circle. Ride the new bend
for a few strides, and then switch back.
Keep you head facing the direction of the circle, and let your body
change for the bend.
If you or the horse has a
difficult time with this at first, try working small circles--10 meters or so
of the opposite direction, off the main 20-meter circle. For example, ride a 20-meter circle, change
direction to the outside for a 10-meter circle, and then go back to the
20-meter circle. Do as many of these
changes as you need to do to get the horse comfortable switching his rib cage
immediately. If he cannot do even these,
then go back to the basic groundwork or under-saddle work that helps you move
his rib cage. The more you return to the
basics to improve a difficult exercise, the more cooperative and understanding
your horse will become!
Suppleness should be
increased through these exercises, and collection will be improved greatly by
the shoulder-in. I feel that only when a certain amount of suppleness and
collection has been achieved should you ever attempt a rein-back.
REIN-BACK
In a rein-back, you are
asking the horse to back up. Diagonal
pairs of legs should move smoothly and evenly backwards. The horse must lift his back and accept the
bit. His haunches will drop and carry
more of his weight. The rider sits
quietly and uses his legs, not his hands!
Basically, the rein-back is a
halt cue from a standstill. If you
perform a correct halt and then immediately ask for a halt again, he should
back up if he is correctly on the aids.
This is how subtle you need to be.
Your legs press the horse
into the bridle with a soft and slightly yielding hand to halt him, then repeat the exact procedure: press him again into a soft
and slightly yielding hand, and he should back.
Your legs give him the energy and keep his rib cage centered. The hands catch the energy and forward
momentum and hold softly so that the horse's body springs like a coil into the
bridle and then reverses direction.
The horse should be calm and
smooth and straight. The horse should
not throw his neck up, drop his back, swing his haunches or take tense hurried
steps. These are major faults, usually
caused by too much hand and not properly applied leg aids. If the basics are tended to, these things
should not happen.
Is he sore or tight? Stiff?
Not understanding? Clue: it is
usually a back problem if it is not rider error.
The rein-back only works if
the horse is using his back well and has elasticity through his body. His hindquarters must stay underneath him,
which means your legs must be active.
NEVER pull on the reins to
back him up. You may need to shorten the
reins a little before you start, but do not pull.
The horse's body must work correctly
and have proper training to perform this well.
It is often an exercise the judges look at to see if the horse is really
on the aids, or just being pulled in and pushed around. There is such a big difference. Never pull in! You can hold and push tactfully, but do not
pull and shove the horse up into the bit!
If the horse cannot
rein-back, you must discover the problem and correct it. Return to the
basics and work on the earlier exercises until you discover a reason for the
problem. At this point, you should be
able to understand where faults are originating and how to use basic exercises
to correct the fault.
Let me know immediately if you feel you are in a battle with your horse, or if he is just being just plain crazy. There are many things that develop unexpectedly. We want to correct them before they become a problem. E-mail me!
HALF-PASS
The half-pass should not be
hard to master if everything else is going along just fine. It can be done at all three collected gaits,
but start at the walk first. As I
mentioned, the degree of lateral movement depends on the collection and degree
of forward movement. In the Half-pass,
the horse is asked to move laterally and forward at the same time.
Let's do half-pass to the
right. (Collection is the key!) As always, look and turn your body in the
direction of travel. Your hips and
shoulders line up with your horse's shoulders.
Your inside hand gives a slightly right bend to the horse’s head as your
inside leg supports the horse's side and keeps him moving forward. Keep your outside leg back to keep his
haunches from swinging to the left, and to push him softly to the right. Your outside hip drops, (don't lean), and sends
the horse to the inside. And as always,
your outside rein remains firm and keeps his neck fairly straight.
The horse will be moving to
the right, his rib cage against your (left) outside leg, as opposed to the
inside. He will be bent in the direction
he his going. (Warm up on the counter
bend prior to this exercise.) Ask your
horse to move over a stride with your outside leg, (while you be sure to keep
your bend), then send him forward a stride with your inside leg. Your hips do the same. The outside hip sends him over, your inside
hip sends him forward by dropping back and pushing him forward. Be careful not to lean. Use your hip tactfully, but efficiently.
The horse moves over,
forward, over, forward while keeping his bend.
Do this for only a few strides, then let the horse rest. Gradually increase the number of strides as
the horse builds muscle and rhythm. It
will be easier at the trot, but learn it at the walk first.
Ride him forward into the
trot if he gets confused or frustrated.
Don't lose your cool either! Practice leg yields and counter bends and
turns on the forehand. Be tactful and
patient. Tell yourself, "I have all
the time I need!" And mean it!
If you start with a young
horse, it should take about 3 years to train him to the upper levels. You must take the horse's physical body and
mental aptitude into account as you teach him.
If you started with an older horse that has muscle and understanding, it
may take only half the time. If you take
the time he needs to do it right, then you won't have to constantly fix the
same problems that occur from taking short cuts, or rushing him.
I am going to review the
clock exercise so there is no chance that you will not understand it.
CLOCK EXERCISE
Set Up: Pretend you are on a clock face on your horse.
12 is in front of you, 6 is
behind you.
3 is your right hip, 9 is
your left hip.
You should have your hips
level -- no leaning to the side, forward
or backward.
You are the center -- ground
0.
Your hips should be deep in
the saddle, your seat bones tucked underneath you.
Your hips
move in relation to each other--if your
left hip moves back to 8, your right hip moves up to 2 -- the exact opposite
point on the clock.
When you rotate your body,
keep your hips level and in the saddle.
When doing a lateral movement,
you drop a hip to help send the horse away form that hip into the direction of
the lightened hip -- the exact opposite direction of the one you dropped.
Yes, you can rotate your hips
and drop one to send him in the opposite direction.
You can then send your horse
in a lateral and a bend at the same time!
Now, here's how to tell if
and where your hips are stiff. If your
hips are stiff, they will inhibit your horse's movement and make it difficult
for you to do these exercises correctly.
You need to understand that if your horse does not perform, it could be
rider error; and it often is.
PELVIC
While keeping contact with
your saddle, roll your hips until you are in the 12 position. Then roll back to 6 behind you. Rock gently back and forth until you find
your center, ground 0.
Tuck your seat bones so they
are not digging into the middle of your horse's back.
Roll your hips right to 3,
then left to 9. Rock gently until you
feel even pressure on both hips.
Now, start with your right
hip, keeping contact with the saddle, and roll your pelvis up to 12, then back
to 3. The secret to this exercise is to
feel your pelvis touch 2 and 1 on its way to 12. Then do the same thing from 3 to 6. Go back up to 3 then to 1 then all the way
back to 6. Get the idea? You are rolling your pelvis in various
degrees of a circle on your right side.
(Yes, your left side lifts to allow you to do this.) Go towards 12, go towards 6, go in any
pattern you want until you feel if and where your pelvis feels stiff, leaves
the saddle, or is hard to roll. What
number would that be? Does your pelvis
like to skip 2 or 1 and jump straight to 12?
Wherever it does that tells you the position of your hip that is
stiff. The rolls actually help loosen
the hips.
Now, the left side. Start at 9 and go
to 12. . . etc. Do this side as you did
the other until you get the feel of where you are stiff. The exercise itself will help loosen you.
Once you can do the half
circles on both sides, then practice 3 to 9 and vice versa across 12 and 6
until you can press your pelvis all around the saddle.
Make circles with your pelvis
all around the saddle from any number to any number, back and forth in both
directions. Wherever your pelvis skips
or jumps, or gets stuck, that is where you need to really slow down and put
extra attention.
Your horse may find all this
a bit silly and confusing, but that is okay as long as he is not upset. If you feel confident, let him wander around
and see what he does.
This is also a good warming
up exercise for you and your horse, as it helps him become more aware of his
body.. Some
horses are so sensitive to this that they will walk circles, change directions,
and move sideways in accordance to your hips.
If they do, that's great! If not,
it's okay. Give your horse the chance to learn this and react to your
body. Gently encourage him, but do not
worry if he does not wander; he may just be waiting for a more specific signal
from you!
BALL EXERCISES
Get an exercise
ball from any toy store. Put enough air
into it so when you sit on the ball, your legs are about where they would be if
you were in the saddle. You sit centered
on the ball with your legs balanced in front of you about as far apart as your
horse is wide. Keep your toes forward
and your thighs on the ball.
Use the ball as a substitute for your
horse. Do the clock exercises with the
ball and you will get immediate feedback.
The ball will react to your weight distribution and roll about, telling
you exactly where your body is sending your horse. The good thing is that you can do this at
home in your leisure time and work on the exercises. Being round, the ball will work better with
your hips and do a great job of loosening them.
You can even practice
posting. Be aware of your observations so can to track your progress.
Do the
exercises in this lesson. Work on them
and intermingle them with the previous exercises. Incorporate them all and create patterns and
exercises of your own.
The next lesson is about the
dressage arena and how all these exercises and patterns will be applied.
I want you to continue doing
all the exercises. Get comfortable with
what you have been learning and work on refining your skills. Be patient.
Approach your training in small, systematic steps and do not be afraid
to go back to the beginning to fill in any gaps.
TERMS:
Contained Forward Energy--when a horse is
collected, balanced, and forward; ready to move off in any direction in any
form; on the aids.
Core--your midsection, diaphragm; doing a tummy crunch to help "hold"
the horse.
Drop--deepening a hip; putting more weight in one hip to
send the horse over or forward.
Half-Halt--asking a horse to almost stop, but not quite;
asking the front of the horse to slow down or halt, while at the same time
asking him to move his hindquarters farther under him; balancing the horse from
the hindquarters to the forehand; using quiet, energetic legs, soft yielding
hands, active seat, and holding your core; balances and energizes your horse.
Hold--doing a tummy crunch to firm up and strengthen your
midsection to hold the front end of the horse still or steady; used in a
half-halt.
Lighten--when a hip is lighter in the saddle, but not
actually off the saddle.