Rider’s Aids by Anne-Katrin Hagen

Author:Anne-Katrin Hagen
Language: deu
Format: epub
Publisher: Cadmos Verlag
Published: 2012-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Flexion and bend

So that our horse doesn’t go around corners like a bus, we have to encourage suppleness through the length of the horse. This starts with flexion. Flexion means the sideways bending of the horse through his poll with the neck and back remaining straight. Flexion is clearly required when, for example, cantering, turning on the forehand or leg yielding.

Inwards flexion is achieved by weighting both seat bones and giving with the outside rein as much as the inside one is taken. The contact must not be totally given away. Try this out while stationary – flex the horse slowly to the left and then to the right. Only the head should be moved and then only far enough to see the inside eye and the edge of his nostrils. You should also see the mane tip over at the crest to the side to which the horse’s head is pointed. Once you have done this at a halt try it at walk and trot. The flexion will be incorrect if the inside rein is pulled or the outside rein is not given enough and this will be seen by the horse getting too tight through the neck. Too much bend is also wrong. The horse will then fall out through the outside shoulder and his paces will become irregular. If the rider’s weight is not evenly distributed over both seat bones the horse will find it impossible to stretch the inside hind leg through and under.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.