This moves the horse’s body sideways to the right, away from the left-leg pressure. That’s why we also do not use the exercise leg-yield. Another student won in many events in AQHA and NRHA and is a successful trainer, teacher breeder and judge in South Dakota. */. If the essence is gone the hind legs cannot do their job properly because they cannot step under the center of balance: The hind legs will step behind the center of balance or push against it and you will notice that immediately in the front; The horse will start to lean on the reins or fall on the shoulders. Although considered the beginning of the spin, this maneuver, according to Roy, also is a preliminary step to teaching a horse to move his entire body to the side. Roy was a firm believer in the use of video and audio as training aids and developed his own series of videos and audios that show in great detail his system of horse training. Lateral exercises supple a horse and strengthen him so he can be ridden in balance in any maneuver at any gait. Roy refers to this as working in an “ordinary” way. Williamson and Yates are passed on, but I would like to keep this remarkable lineage visible. Equine superstar emoji quiz — how many can you get right? Ride your horse alongside the poles for an odd number of steps before asking him to step sideways over the pole. His students varied from the very beginners to the very advanced professional trainers. When the horse is moving easily away from leg pressure, he is now performing lateral work in an ordinary way. She shares her tips on how to get started. At this point a horse is flexible enough to begin working with diagonal effects, and to perform a side-pass in the correct sense of the term. The ability to move laterally and arc his body from head to tail is critical to a horse in any performance event. It’s somewhat like a motorcyclist leaning into a turn. Heels Down Mag collected four lateral exercises from professional riders who love to use these tools to advance their horse’s training. When trying to ride a shoulder-in correctly, a common problem is that it turns into some kind of leg yield. This will help keep you on the right track. A horse that does the lateral movements with essence: 1. That is why I would like to talk to you today about the advantages of lateral movements – and how you can work them out with your horse. Roy then excused himself for a 10-minute break, and to our amazement re-entered the arena on a proudly prancing Tidy’s Chirp tacked up in a dressage saddle, double bridle and dressage whip, and together they treated us to a demonstration of classical dressage, although I didn’t know what that was at the time. Stacey Hastings is a USDF Certified Instructor from Training Level through FEI-B as well as a USDF bronze, silver and gold medalist. When the horse is easily performing lateral flexions on the ground, he is ready for the same work with the trainer mounted. It also will help the horse change his focus. When a horse is soft and supple in his jaw, poll, and the middle of his body, the rider can readily position him for virtually any maneuver. Place five poles end to end on the ground in a long line. ], “This is why,” Roy explains, “when a lot of people pull a horse’s head abruptly to one direction, he’ll bend at the base of his neck, and leave the rest of his body, from his withers to his tail, stiff. Functional anatomist and biomechanist, Gillian Higgins from Horses Inside Out, shared some of the best exercises to help strengthen these all important muscles when she was a speaker at the BHS National Convention at Hartpury College last year. This is referred to as a direct flexion. This exercise is also good for developing thoracic sling and hindquarter strength, back flexibility and lumbosacral mobility.”. This is the most elementary form of lateral work, but I want to advance the horse beyond this stage as soon as possible. A: Lateral work can help refocus a nervous horse. All Rights Reserved. Points to remember: Maintain the rhythm, sit quietly, look towards the next fence and stay on your line. Roy explains that the terms “side-pass, “full-pass,” and “side-steps” are all synonymous. Pale mid-afternoon light filters through the ancient windows of Fief de la Panetière, the venerable 16th century house that he shares with his wife, Olympic and international Grand Prix champion Catherine Durand. The trainer first teaches a young horse to move his hind end and front end independently and in response to pressure. Very often knowing where to begin will become evident when you pay close attention to how your horse performs the same movement or exercise on both reins. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep a horse from being tight while trying to keep him straight between both legs and both hands. Don’t ride just a ‘shoulder-in’, but make sure the inside hind leg takes weight, so that the outside shoulder is lifted and gets more freedom. Ever Wonder Why Breeches Don’t All Fit The Same? To accomplish this more advanced work, the horse progresses through what Roy refers to as the lateral, straight, and diagonal effects. He repeats the procedure as many as 35 times each side, until the horse completely understands the movement. When this happens, your horse will not come better on the aids but will lose the engagement of his inside hind leg. What Gillian says: “Halt a few strides out from the poles to let the horse see what he has to do and then slowly walk over them. You can’t blame a horse for being anxious when you gather your reins in the walk because that usually means you’re going to do something (walk, trot, canter, piaffe, etc.). He frequently uses the term in deference to such historical horse trainers as the great French riding master James Fillis, whom Roy has studied in depth. He believed the art of horse training is an ongoing learning process. Lateral Exercises For Horses Of All Disciplines Ride For Suppleness. It ensures the horse brings his hindleg underneath him and is another good one for increasing thoracic sling strength.”. Big Circle/ Little Circle. Many horses will jig or lose the regularity of the walk. When Roy refers to moving the body weight, he means a slight shifting or weighting of the stirrup in the direction the rider wishes to move–not a leaning of the whole body. Think of the fluid grace of a fine reining horse, effortlessly bent to the inside of a small, slow circle, or the slow and easy flying lead changes of a western riding horse. Don’t Do These Things, Saying My Thoroughbred Looks Like A Warmblood Is Not A Compliment. When performing lateral movements the essence must be well observed: Examples in which the essence gets lost are a shoulder-in or haunches-in which are performed too much sideways or a half-pass which is performed with a straight body and/or the hind-quarters leading. #mc_embed_signup{ clear:left; font:9px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:100%; } It can also make the horse short in his neck and tight in his striding. We continue to publish Horse & Hound magazine weekly during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as keeping horseandhound.co.uk up to date with all the breaking news, features and more. Roy in turn became a mentor for Tye MacDonald (see Tye’s article in the Training and Riding category). Your email address will not be published. Roy mounts up to demonstrate a leg yield. Roy has also had articles featured in widely recognized national horse publications such as “Western Horseman”, “The Quarter Horse Journal”, “The Reiner” as well as numerous others. Points to remember: Make sure the leg closest to the pole goes over first and keep an even rhythm. Learn how your comment data is processed. ), (Roy introduced the clinic attendees to the work of his mentor, Charles Owen Williamson, and offered for sale Williamson’s book Breaking and Training the Stock Horse (and teaching basic principles of dressage). The correct use of the rider's weight and hands play a central role in the shoulder exercises. ), (© Christine Knight, author and photographer of interior article images. Sign up and know everything that matters. This is the easiest lateral movement for the horse to perform for several reasons: the horse only has to move one pair of legs sideways; he is moving the less-weighted (hind) pair of legs; and he is being asked to move sideways away from the direction of the bend, which is much easier than moving toward the direction of the bend. I’ve achieved great results by riding horses haunches-in and half pass when their canter is tight. Later, the trainer will squeeze his leg against the same area to cue the horse to move his hindquarters away from pressure. With the four-year-old stallion, "For Spirit", Kathrin practices a prompt halt, backward and a fluid change of rein. Dressage and Sport Horse Magazine Online, « FROM THIS POINT OF VIEW: THE SHRINKING WARM UP AREA, TRAINING OUR HORSES IN SYNCHRONY WITH NATURE », THE MANEIGE ROYAL’ BY ANTOINE DE PLUVINEL, FAVEROT DE KERBRECH’S ‘METHODICAL DRESSAGE OF THE RIDING HORSE’, FROM THIS POINT OF VIEW: THE SHRINKING WARM UP AREA. Equestrian Culture and Classical Traditions to Inspire the Modern Rider. On his way to becoming a horse trainer, he worked on several cow outfits in Montana and Oregon. When we think of lateral exercises like the leg-yield or shoulder-in, naturally most people think of dressage. He also had students from Australia, Austria, Mexico, Germany and France. The most advanced movements have humble beginnings on the ground and at the walk, long before they are ever performed at the lope. It can also help a horse who is anxious or anticipating. The advantages of lateral work are numerous. 12 movement exercises to move sideways. “A horse that can do a good shoulder-in, he can do anything.” It means the horse is technically very correct on the aids. What Gillian says: “Having three fences in a row is more tiring than just one on its own and makes the horse work. Roy had students in British Columbia, Canada that have taken the shows by storm in that area. [Note: As did his mentor Charles O. Williamson. Q: I’ve heard that lateral movements are a great way to calm nervous horses. This encourages him to step sideways and away from the trainer–at first with the front end and then the hind end. One of the best known is probably the thigh movement, here the horse is bent against the direction of movement and ridden forwards and sideways. Sometimes we think all is going well while we are riding and the horse seems to be on the aids. ], “We should teach a maneuver enough,” Roy says, “to impress the horse’s great memory, because that’s all we really have when we train a horse–his great memory bank. “Eventually, when I apply left leg pressure back, I want the horse to bend and look to the right.