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August 2007 • VOLUME 24 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine Article #6 Beginning Lateral WorkBy Manolo MendezCopyright © 2003 Manolo Mendez
Head
Rider from the Royal Spanish School
in Jerez (home
of the 2002 World Equestrian Games) continues his series of articles on
training the horse … from the very first kindergarten days, all the way to Grand
Prix. Here he tells us how to establish
lateral work, beginning with the shoulder-in and working up to half pass. Watch the exclusive video as he takes Dario through the next level of training.
When we teach the higher movements, we only ask the horses for a little here and there, for only a short time, and only a few times. Then we leave the horse alone and go back to the basic things, the fundamental training. The horse will then develop a very relaxed attitude about his work, and he will enjoy it.
To start the shoulder-in, the horse must have reached the stage where he is well balanced under the rider’s weight. He should be finding it very easy to do eight, ten and twenty metre circles, also loops and serpentines. He should clearly understand all leg aids, and by this stage these must be subtle and refined. When we have all that, we know we are ready to start lateral work with a little shoulder-in.
In the beginning there was the shoulder-in …
The shoulder-in is the foundation for all higher movements. It is also the most useful training exercise because it produces suppleness and collection, encouraging the horse to take more weight on his hindquarters, thus freeing up the shoulders. The shoulder-in also helps the rider to develop a feel for fine-tuning the aids to get more refined responses from the horse.
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