Question # 36: Lately, my horse & I are having issues with turning. Whether its to make a serpentine or just a simple 20 meter circle, there are times when he is continuing to move towards the fence instead of turning to the inside. For example,
if we are making a 20 meter circle to the left, he will pop his right shoulder out and his body is still moving to the right. When he starts to really ignore the fact that I want to turn, I do have a tendency of using my inside rein more and my outside leg. I know I should use my outside reinalso, to keep his neck from overbending and his shoulder popping out. But I think I could be doing something wrong with my seat & legs also. Maybe I am leaning too much to the inside or my outside leg isn't back, I haven't quite found out yet. What else can I do to get through this? Are there any specific exercises or something I should try to do with my position? (Karrie)
Hi Karrie!
Falling through the outside shoulder is a common problem. The key to fixing it is to change the way you think about turning your horse. Riders tend to attempt to turn their horse the way they turn a bicycle. When turning a bicycle you turn the handle bars, and your outside hand goes forward as the handle bars turn. But your horse is not bolted together like your bicycle is, so you need a different approach to make turns successful. (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)
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