Horses start life crooked (more stiff on one side than the other) and carrying the majority of their weight on their forehand. To carry a rider without undue strain, the horse needs to have a strong back, carry more of his weight in his hind, and be equally strong and supple on both sides.
The rider's job is to help the horse develop his muscles properly. To accomplish this, dressage training starts with circles, then introduces more advanced movements such as shoulder-in, travers, renvers. The horse has to bend properly through his body in order to ride these movements well, and has to carry more weight on his hind legs. You can read more about what shoulder-in, travers, and renvers are for here.
The rider's job is to help the horse develop his muscles properly. To accomplish this, dressage training starts with circles, then introduces more advanced movements such as shoulder-in, travers, renvers. The horse has to bend properly through his body in order to ride these movements well, and has to carry more weight on his hind legs. You can read more about what shoulder-in, travers, and renvers are for here.
Before you begin training shoulder-in, your horse should already know how to go forward on the bit with rhythm and balance. You should have a secure seat--perfectly balanced with soft hips that flex with the horse's movement. Your horse should also know how to do shoulder-fore and leg yielding. You should already know how to rebalance and engage your horse's hindquarters using the half-halt. And your contact should be elastic and "alive". (Click on the bolded terms for instructions on how to develop these skills.)
Your should also have a "feeling awareness" of which hind leg is lifting as the horse walks, trots, and canters. The reason for this is that you will need to use your leg aids to assist the horse in bringing his inside hind leg under his belly, and you can only influence a hind leg when it is lifting off the ground. (For more about how to develop this awareness, see my article on leg yielding.)
For shoulder-in, the inside leg needs to come under the belly in the same (or close to the same) track as the outside fore leg. Your inside leg can assist the horse's inside hind leg as the horse learns this movement. Your inside leg presses at the girth just as the inside hind leg begins to lift from ground, your outside leg holds the horse's haunches behind the girth so that they don't swing away, turning the should-in into a leg yield. Your outside rein should hold the outside shoulder as well, and inside rein should be soft.
Your should also have a "feeling awareness" of which hind leg is lifting as the horse walks, trots, and canters. The reason for this is that you will need to use your leg aids to assist the horse in bringing his inside hind leg under his belly, and you can only influence a hind leg when it is lifting off the ground. (For more about how to develop this awareness, see my article on leg yielding.)
For shoulder-in, the inside leg needs to come under the belly in the same (or close to the same) track as the outside fore leg. Your inside leg can assist the horse's inside hind leg as the horse learns this movement. Your inside leg presses at the girth just as the inside hind leg begins to lift from ground, your outside leg holds the horse's haunches behind the girth so that they don't swing away, turning the should-in into a leg yield. Your outside rein should hold the outside shoulder as well, and inside rein should be soft.
This diagram shows the essentials of the shoulder-in movement. (Photo Credit: USDF. org) Imagine you are walking your horse on the rail, forming two tracks. Her left legs are on the left track (near the rail) and her right legs are on the right track (the middle track in this diagram).
Shoulder-in is called shoulder-in because you shift the horses shoulders toward the inside by asking her to bend through her body. In the diagram, the horse's forelegs have shifted over to right. The inside foreleg is now on a brand new track--the far right one. The outside foreleg and inside hind leg are now on the middle track. And the outside hind leg is still in the same track it was before, right next to the rail.
Notice that the horse's neck is not cranked toward the inside. Instead, her neck is straight out of the shoulders. It is the shoulders and the bend in the body that create the movement, not pulling the horse's nose and neck to the inside.
The top photo shows a snapshot of what it looks like when ridden. And this video from DressageHub.com shows shows what it looks like when ridden dynamically. The video also shows commons errors and snafus that can occur when training this movement.
Shoulder-in is called shoulder-in because you shift the horses shoulders toward the inside by asking her to bend through her body. In the diagram, the horse's forelegs have shifted over to right. The inside foreleg is now on a brand new track--the far right one. The outside foreleg and inside hind leg are now on the middle track. And the outside hind leg is still in the same track it was before, right next to the rail.
Notice that the horse's neck is not cranked toward the inside. Instead, her neck is straight out of the shoulders. It is the shoulders and the bend in the body that create the movement, not pulling the horse's nose and neck to the inside.
The top photo shows a snapshot of what it looks like when ridden. And this video from DressageHub.com shows shows what it looks like when ridden dynamically. The video also shows commons errors and snafus that can occur when training this movement.
The aids in a nutshell
As in shoulder-fore, it is sometimes easier for both rider and horse to learn this movement by riding it out of a circle.
Start by walking or trotting your horse down the rail, asking for collection through the use of half-halts. As you ride through the second corner (on the short side), ride small circle--the smallest your horse can comfortably manage without losing balance or rhythm. Ten meters is ideal.
As you approach rail in your circle, half halt to collect your horse a bit more, then ride down the long side of the arena. As you ride, you will try to maintain the bend from the circle you just rode. Gently squeeze your inside rein, apply your inside leg as your horse's inside hind begins to rise, and guide your horse's forehand off the rail toward the inside of the arena. Your outside rein allows your horse's outside shoulder to move a bit forward. your outside leg (behind the girth) holds the outside hind on the track, preventing the haunches from swinging out. Your horse's gait will feel like her legs are freely swinging sideways under her belly as her body moves forward along the rail.
Here is another video from MyHorse.tv that shows a horse with brilliant gaits performing shoulder-in.
Happy riding!
Copyright Denise Cummins February 18, 2016
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