Make a Connection

Whether your bad posture is the result of a lack of practice or a medical condition, Pilates can help improve your riding. We find out how...

As a rider, you can take the Pilates principles into the saddle and develop a more effective way of riding

In the final part of our series, Pilates instructor and rider Clare Hoddinott emphasises the all-round benefits of her approach to riding. With most forms of exercise – even in your riding lessons sometimes – you may hear the phrase, ‘No pain, no gain’. But this is a rather old-fashioned and outdated approach to exercise, and there are more therapeutic ways to achieve results. 

Pilates follows the mantra ‘No pain, plenty of gain’. It is a non-impact form of exercise that provides a refreshing mind and body workout, develops a strong core, and helps with coordination and flexibility, and much more. 

Having discovered how effective the application of the Pilates principles are for me and my horse, I urge riders to spend more time off their horses to develop their riding skills. 

Practising good posture is self perpetuating – the more you do it, the more automatic it will become. Having pain for any length of time, like Nicola does, changes the neural stimulation and often the joint stabilisers become deactivated, allowing the strong movement muscles to take over. This exacerbates the problem and pain can become worse. At the very least, there may be adaptive posture changes as the person ‘copes’ with their daily activities. 

However, you can have poor posture without being in pain. Many riders will have adapted their bodies in a way that feels comfortable to them, but in reality failing to address the postural issues can lead to pain in the long term. This pain is likely to manifest itself in the horse and lead to resistance in your training

What Went Wrong?

There is too much bend in the neck 

How to put it right Generally, this is caused by the rider trying to pull the horse's forehand to the inside with the inside rein. This bends the horse's neck too much and pushes him through the outside shoulder therefore blocking the horse from moving forwar<± Control the bend with the outside rein and guard the hindquarters with your outside leg, to prevent them from swinging into the fence. 

You collapse through the inside hip

 How to put it right Make a conscious effort to sit centrally in the saddle with your weight evenly distributed over both seat bones. Too much emphasis can be placed on putting more weight onto the inside seat bone, but this ^ often causes riders to collapse through the inside hip. This in turn makes it more difficult for the horse to perform shoulder-in. Think about growing tall from the waist and being long in the leg - in other words, elongate up and down from the waist. 

The horse drifts away from the track

How to put it right This can also happen when the rider collapses the hip and pulls to° much on the inside rein. Sit evenly over the saddle, keeping a steady contact on the outside rein. Press with the inside leg and half-halt with the outside rein every other step, to give your horse his instructions for continuing the shoulder-in. And remember - do not pu11 back on the inside rein! 

The angle of the shoulder-in is too big 

How to put it right This is one of the main problems that riders come across. When riding shoulder-in without the benefit of arena mirrors and looking down on your horse from above, you might feel as if you don't have enough angle. Chances are, therefore, that you'11 over-compensate and make the angle too big, so control the position with your inside leg and outside rein. Looking down is not necessarily a bad thing - in fact, I encouraged Philippa to look down at the angle of the shoulder in relation to the fence (see main photo, left).

In the Saddle - The Benefit

What are the benefits?
Shoulder-in is a great suppling exercise and one that promotes engagement (stepping under) of the inside hindleg. Not only that, but it helps increase the freedom of the shoulder, build power and expression, and improves the rider’s co-ordination of the aids. Shoulder-in is also a good exercise for improving straightness.
How to ride it

Prepare at the apex of the corner at the start of the long side. Half-halt on the outside rein, then move both hands a little to the inside, but do not allow your outside hand to cross over the withers. Press with your inside leg near the girth.

With your inside rein, flex your horse to the inside, so that you can see a little more of his inside eye and nostril. Then as you come out of the corner with the reins in this position, bring the forehand (head, neck, shoulders and front legs) towards an inside track. The first step out of the corner should be a shoulder-in step.

To help with your rein aids, press your inside shoulder blade back a little to encourage a subtle inside rein aid. The inside leg pressing tells your horse to keep moving down the track. Your outside leg being back a little behind the girth prevents him pushing his hindquarters to the outside. Don’t allow the fence to do the job of your outside leg!

The angle should be enough to place the horse on three tracks - both hindlegs on the track, outside foreleg on the same track as the inside hindleg, and inside foreleg on an inside track.

What went wrong?

Shoulder-in is a ‘collecting' movement, so there's more for you and your horse to take on-board. So don't worry if the wheels fall off - some simple solutions will help you correct the obvious mistakes...

Beware of wandering hands.Never cross either hand over the horse’s withers or pull him around to the side (above left) in an effort to achieve a better bend. Your hands must always work together as a team (above right).

 

Set Up to Succeed

Shoulder-in requires understanding and co-ordination from both horse and rider, so take your time and be patient - both with your horse and yourself. As with all the lateral exercises, preparation is the key to success, so make sure that you set your horse up correctly at the start of your schooling session. Therefore, spend 10 or so minutes at the beginning on a loose rein to allow both of you to relax and stretch.

To encourage greater relaxation and stretching, ask your horse to relax his jaw and ‘round’ (stretch) over his top line. Do this by keeping a steady contact on the outside rein and opening the inside rein away and down a longer in this walk work. On some days this can take 5-10 minutes and on others, 20-25 /minutes. Wait to feel your horse relax. Watch out also for floppy ears (left) in your horse. In Germany, trainers look for this and it’s called the ohrenspiel. or ear play’.

As with all the lateral exercises, preparation is the key to success, so make sure you set your horse up correctly at the start of your schooling session

What is shoulder-in?
It is a suppling and collecting exercise, where the horse’s shoulders are placed slightly onto an inside track - hence ‘shoulder-in’. Ideally, his body should be bent laterally, from head to tail, with the head flexed to the inside away from the direction of travel.

The hindlegs should stay on the outside track (see photo left) and move straight down the track, parallel to each other. The front legs should cross over each other slightly.

With this positioning, the inside hindleg steps forward under the horse’s belly and towards his centre of gravity. This encourages him to flex the joints of the inside hindleg, relax and become more supple through the loins. At the same time, you’re also collecting the inside hindleg and strengthening it by asking it to carry more weight behind.

Lateral Thinking Shoulder-in

Continuing dressage trainer Steve Wallace's series on lateral work, this month it's the turn of shoulder-in-and the start of collection. From the pitfalls to perfection ...

Over the last couple of months, we’ve introduced you to the beginning of lateral work - whether it’s in preparation for a performance in front of the judges at a dressage competition or including it in your daily training programme as a matter of routine.

This month, we’re adding shoulder-in to your schooling repertoire. Not only is it good for suppling and creating expression (flair, flamboyance), but starting collection, too, as it requires your horse to flex and step under his body more with the inside hindleg. This in turn encourages better self-carriage, with the horse moving his weight back onto the hindlegs and lightening the forehand (shoulder).

Shoulder-in requires strength and agility - equally, though, it also helps build those requirements. It also demands confidence, which will come with time, so if yours is a young or inexperienced horse, ask for just a few steps of shoulder-in to start with then build up gradually.



Shoulder-in-the aids
- with both rein, bring your horse's forehand toward an inside track.
- control the bend to the inside by keeping a contact on the outside rein.
- Put your inside leg on the girth to keep your horse moving down the track.
- Keep your outside behind the girth to control the hindquarters.
- Sit centrally and look between your horse's ears, keeping your shoulders parallel to your horse's shoulders. This will help you maintain the angle of the shoulder-in.

Tips Guide In The Saddle

•    What do I do if my horse has a bad jump? Should I call it a day?
Above all, with young horses - or any horse - you don’t want to leave your session on a bad note. Don’t stress, just take five minutes to chill out, regroup and start again. Fighting isn’t worth it in the end as your horse is much stronger than you.

•    My youngster is unbalanced and wobbly’ on the way into the jumps. How can I help him?
Work on straightness and balance in the canter during your schooling sessions on the flat. When you start jumping, it’s your job to create a canter that is balanced, rhythmical and energetic, and this starts with your flatwork. In time, this will go a long way to helping your horse tackle whatever jumps you point him at.

•    What happens if I lose my canter rhythm and balance on course?
Don’t be afraid to trot a few strides, pull up and regroup or ride a circle. When your horse is young and learning, you want to make sure that you present your horse to the fences in a way that gives him the best possible chance of jumping each fence easily. That means that you present him to each fence straight and in balance, so don’t be afraid to make little corrections on course if need be.

•    How do I know if my youngster is ready for competitions?
When you can confidently tackle a course of jumps at home, you’re probably ready to go out to your first shows. Continue to practise your courses, with a plan in mind and a balanced, rhythmical canter, then before long you’ll be in the ribbons.

Troubleshooting

At home, things can go wrong and some horses can't do various things. My five - year - old is still quite weak, so shortening is very difficult for him. That just takes time. You won't see results overnight, but stick with it. Some horses take longer than others and some horses are naturally really balanced and level, while others take time to develop their musculature to be that way.

Prepare for Success

The hey to jumping these fences straight is to use your legs as a chute’ and make sure the horse is straight. He can be straight on a curve, for instance, when riding the dog-leg, but his body must be straight in that his hind feet have to follow in the same track as his forelegs. This requires you to work your horse from the leg into the hand and should be established in your flat work before you start jumping. It will also help you when jumping - there’s nothing worse than having a horse leaning on your hands and pulling like a freight train around a course!

Are you putting your horse in balance around the corners and getting straight to the fences? Riding a bad corner will result in a bad approach to the jump and possibly a bad jump, too. With young horses, it’s imperative to get straight with a nice approach and have balanced take-offs. If he’s drifting across the fence, or gets in too deep or long, he will have to try harder to jump and this could knock his confidence, resulting in refusals, especially if you have a particularly careful horse.

Another habit that will benefit you when you get to the show is to teach your horse to land on the correct leg. Look where you’re going and open your inside rein over the fence - this will encourage your horse to land on the correct leg and you’ll be in better balance on landing, ready to take on the next jump. This is especially helpful when jumping the dog-leg. While your horse can jump off the ‘wrong’ canter lead, he’ll be in a much better balance on the right leg. That’s a big part of planning ahead, knowing where you need to ride forward, change leg or turn to be straight on to the fences.