Lateral exercises enter United States Dressage Federation competitive tests in First Level, but savvy dressage riders will introduce them as soon as the horse understands basic under-saddle work. By using lateral movements in your training regimen, you teach the horse to reach under himself with his hind legs, improving his balance and building muscle for later collection.
Leg Yield
Leg yield is the simplest of the lateral movements. Because most dressage horses are used to being ridden on the rail, start by riding on the inside track, parallel to one of the long sides of the arena but a few feet away. Keep the horse's body straight but use your inside leg and seat bone to push him diagonally toward the rail. The rail has a somewhat magnetic effect on most horses, so it helps during the training process. Don't become overly reliant on it, though; start leg yielding away from the rail once your horse understands the aids.
Shoulder-In
Shoulder-in builds on the foundation of the leg yield. In this exercise, your horse's hind feet stay on the rail and continue walking straight ahead, while his forehand bends smoothly to the inside. When viewed from the front, his inside hind foot is obscured by his outside front foot, so the movement is said to be done on three tracks. To cue shoulder-in, your hips stay square and facing forward while your upper body pivots about 30 degrees toward the inside of the arena. Your inside leg, applied at the girth, pushes the horse's shoulders into the outside rein.
Renvers and Travers
Travers, also called haunches-in, and renvers are mirror image movements. In travers, the horse's forehand walks straight ahead on the rail while his hindquarters swing slightly to the inside. In renvers, the horse's forehand walks straight ahead on a line parallel to and a few feet away from the rail, while his hindquarters swing slightly to the outside. Classical dressage trainers largely eschew travers on the grounds that it encourages crooked travel, preferring to teach renvers instead. In either case, cue by keeping your upper body straight and facing forward while twisting your hips to the inside for travers and the outside for renvers. Apply the leg on the outside of the bend, well behind the girth.
Half-Pass
The half-pass flows naturally from renvers and travers and is essentially haunches-in performed on a diagonal line. It differs from a leg yield in that the horse is bent slightly in the direction of travel. To cue the half-pass, position the horse in haunches-in and push the horse diagonally with your outside leg and seat bone. If necessary, block the horse from collapsing his inside shoulder by applying inside leg at the girth. Never rely on rein aids for lateral work; doing so destroys impulsion and twists the horse's neck into an undesirable position.
References
- "Centered Riding"; Sally Swift; 1985
- "Encyclopedia of the Horse"; Elwyn Hartley Edwards; 1977
- Straightness Training & Academic Art of Riding; Renvers; Marijke de Jong; February 2010
Member Comments