Going on 3 tracks, inside hind leg stepping into the track of the outside front leg.
Shoulder in means placing the shoulders in front of the inside hind leg so that the inside hind leg steps under the body of the horse. We want the hind legs to get stronger, but we can not ask our horse to go to the gym and lift weights. We can, however, use the bodyweight of our horse.
By placing the shoulders in front of the inside hind leg, we are using the body weight of the horse for strength training of the inside hind leg. The inside hind leg steps under the belly of the horse, under the centre of weight. If the leg really takes the weight, all angles of the joints in the hind legs are closing and the outside shoulder will become more free. It will also increase the ‘spring function’ of the hind legs.
The muscles on the inside of the horse will contract, the muscles on the outside will lengthen so they will become more flexible in their body. Because we will do shoulder in on both sides, the muscles in the whole body will become more flexible, and the horse will be able to bend equally to the left and to the right.
Shoulder in is challenging because horses like to follow their head and neck. If we place the shoulders (and head/neck) off the track, the horse wants to walk into the arena. If you try to solve this with the inside rein, the head will come in even more and they will overbend at the base of the neck.
So we have to explain to them that their head and neck can go in a different direction than their body. A tip is to start with shoulder out. The wall or fence will prevent the horse from following the head/neck, so your horse will experience that the head and neck can be to the outside while the direction of movement is straight.
Also my new horse Jajão now understands how to do shoulder in. It has helped him to become more balanced!
Shoulder in is an important exercise to help your horse get better balanced in his or her body. It helps to:
Because there are a lot of benefits to the shoulder in, it is often referred to as ‘the aspirin for dressage’.
What to watch out for when asking for shoulder in
One of the main things to watch out for is to not overbend the neck! When walking next to the horse on shoulder position, I often see that the head and neck of the horse are coming in, but all four legs still go straight. This means that the shoulder is not coming off the track. You might be walking too close to the shoulder, so there is no space for the shoulder to come in.
A tip is to ask someone to take pictures (or video) from the front, like I did in the pictures below. Then you can clearly see if there is a nice bending from poll to tail and the inside hind leg is stepping in the track of the outside front leg, or if only the head and neck are coming in and the horse is ‘breaking’ at the base of the neck.
Hope this helps you to recognize if your horse is doing a nice shoulder in!
If you want to learn more, then read further below this picture😊
If you would like to learn more and see if my way of teaching is a good fit for you and your horse, you can get the Lateral Movements mini-course. It has 4 videos that will prepare you for lateral work.
You can get these 4 videos for only € 27 and get started today!
The biggest course I have created is the Lateral Movements Simplified course. It's a 6-month journey where you will learn how to explain all lateral movements to your horse on the ground. The course starts only twice a year, on January 1st and on July 1st.
I know from running this course a couple of times that it is completely possible for every horse and every rider to learn all lateral movements on the ground (shoulder in, haunches in, renvers, half pass and pirouette) to help your horse build strength and flexibility to prepare for shifting weight and collection so that your horse can carry you in a healthy way. If you would like to learn ALL the steps to teach your horse shoulder in, then this course is for you!
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Vorden, the Netherlands
info@lucieklaassen.com
(31) 641 206 107
My dream/mission
I want to make a soulful and inspirational contribution to the horse world where welfare, connection and communication between human and horse are the basis of everything we do with our horse.
My Philosophy
I believe everyone can learn how to connect to your authentic self to become the human your horse WANTS to be with. Understand and feel the depth of the breath, listen to the wisdom of your body and connect from the heart. From that place help your horse become stronger, more balanced, flexible and collected so that you can enjoy a happy and healthy life together!
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