Part 2 to Understanding Your Horse's Road Map

From my previous post, you should now be able to identify which side of your horse is their strong/braced side and which is their weak/supple side.  (Remember, the mane falls away from the strong/braced side. If the mane falls on both sides as you look up their neck,  check the section that is closest to their shoulder.) If you missed this post, click here.

NOW IT'S TIME TO LEARN THE NEXT PIECE - THE SHOULDER AND THE BELLY/HIPS!

THE BASICS
As we've discussed, a horse has a right side and a left side, just like we do. No matter which side is their strong/braced side, a horse will do one thing on their right side and another thing on their left side.

On the horse's right side, he or she will always fall/lead with the right shoulder. Depending on which direction you are going, the right shoulder will either fall in or out.
How to see this when you're riding:

• If you are riding with your horse's right shoulder on the outside, you should feel and be able to see that the right shoulder drifting closer to the wall.
  
• If you are riding with your horse's right shoulder on the inside, you should notice  your horse falling in on your circle.

On the horse's left side, the part that falls/leads is their left belly/hip - the diagonal of the right shoulder.
How to see this when you're riding:

• In the canter, you should see that the left hind is always leading to some degree. This is where your horse is falling/leading with their left belly/hip. It's easiest to see this in the canter, but it happens at the trot and walk as well.

MAKING YOUR HORSE STRAIGHT
Now that we know which part of our horse will fall/lead on each side, we can begin working on making our horses straight. The purpose of making them straight is so that we can start to help them carry more weight evenly through their body. If one side is falling/leading, the horse is not straight.  No matter which direction you are going, your horse is going to want to balance themselves on the inside shoulder. We make a horse straight by shifting the balance off the inside and putting it on the outside. If we're going to the right, the horse will balance on the right inside shoulder. We need to first line the right shoulder up with the right hip and then shift the balance to the opposite outside hip/belly. Then you make sure the outside shoulder is lined up with the outside hip/belly. Always making sure to put the shoulders in front of the hip/belly.

How do we do this?
In order to help our horses, we need to understand what our body is supposed to when we are sitting on our horse.
In the picture below, you will see how we are supposed to sit on our horses.

• Your thighs (the groin muscle down to your knee) controls the horse's shoulders.
• Your lower leg (your knee down to your foot) controls your horse's belly.
• Your hips control the horse's hips (which also connects to your horses shoulders, but we will discuss this more in a later post.)
  

Here's where it can get a little tricky.
Now we need to add in our understanding of  our horse's strong/braced side. Remember, if your horse's mane falls away from their right shoulder, then the right is the stronger side or vise versa. No matter which side is the stronger side, we learned that the right shoulder and the left belly/hip will always fall/lead.

IF THE RIGHT SIDE IS YOUR HORSE'S STRONGER/MORE BRACED SIDE:
"The Basics" sections of this post taught us that this is the shoulder that will always fall/lead bigger or stronger more.
The left belly/hip will still be a problem on the left side, but since the right  side is stronger then the left side in your case,  the right shoulder falling will over take everything. Whichever direction you are going, you will always need to ask the right shoulder to get in front of the hips. We need to remember that we always put the shoulders in front of the hips, never the other way around. This is because the horse's shoulders are not as wide as their hips (in other terms: a shoulder-fore).

• Rider Reminder: Which part of your leg will you use to control the shoulder?

IF THE LEFT SIDE IF YOUR HORSE'S STRONGER/MORE BRACED SIDE:
"The Basics" section of this post taught us that the left belly/hips always falls on the left side. The left belly/hips will be dominant over everything, even though the right shoulder will still fall/lead. Whichever direction you are going, you will need to ask the left belly/hip to line up with the left shoulder, while using your right thigh to help with the straightening of the right shoulder.

• Rider Reminder: Which part of your leg will you use to control the belly?

As the rider, this is why we have to have our legs in the right place and also be able to feel the pressure of the horse's shoulders and belly on our legs. We have to learn to surround our horses with our legs to give them the support where they need it, so that they can get strong enough to carry our weight.

My next post will go into more detail on how to see and feel while you're riding which part of the body is falling/leading. Feeling the hips is often the hardest part since most of us always ride the front end. You can't fix the problem until you can first identify the problem!

Now go out and get on your horse and start to feel where your horse is putting pressure on your legs. Do you feel more pressure on your thighs or on your lower leg? Then, remember which side is their strong/braced side of their body and know this will determine their biggest problem (right shoulder or left belly/hip). But don't forget - you still have to ride both sides in order to get a straight horse!!

I pray that every ride brings you and your horse closer to understanding each other,
Monet