ANSWER:
Hi,
In order to bend your horse, you have to bend yourself first, in a manner of
speaking. You have to make sure that your inside hip is placed a little
ahead of the outside hip. Put differently, you have to bring your outside
hip and leg back. Your inside calf has to be at the girth so that it can
drive the inside hind leg more underneath you, while the outside leg
prevents the croup from falling out. Then your outside shoulder has to come
forward a little, which results in a slight lengthening of the outside rein
and a slight shortening of the inside rein. This way, the rein length allows
the horse to bend his neck as well as his body.
The old rule is that the rider's shoulders have to be parallel to the
horse's shoulders and the rider's hips have to be parallel to the horse's
shoulders. If a horse does not bend well enough, it is usually because the
rider's seat does not indicate the bend clearly enough. Generally, if you
bring your entire outside leg more back and you bring your outside shoulder
more forward, the horse will start to bend much better. If that is not
enough, increase the driving aid with the inside calf. In the majority of
the cases, this will solve the problem.
- Thomas Ritter
Question & Answer Forum
Last Update: January 13, 2007