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Why is this important? Think about range of motion, the
opening and closing of our muscles and joints. Anyone
over fifty knows how valuable that can be. One of our goals
of riding is suppleness. A supple horse can freely open
and close all its muscles and joints of the body for the
largest possible range of motion. Something none of these
three horses can do.
My new horses need a GIANT fix. To get a horse to become
more flexible means they can perform with ease the
movements we enjoy doing with them. A flexible horse
enjoys what it can do, and we can enjoy the ride. To get a
horse to become supple primarily involves turning on
circles, teaching the horse to bend, and moving laterally.
Simply speaking, teaching turn on the forehand and leg
yield will markedly reveal their suppling effects as they
are mirrored through the body; the horse’s frame begins
to respond to the increased flexion. But at the start, I prefer
to let the natural terrain do that job for me.
Here’s the bottom line:
If you don’t have a suppled horse as
a riding goal first, you’ll get
unnatural body positions,
compression, and tension as a result
defects.
So what’s the fix? The greater the range of motion, the greater the degree you will be able to achieve suppleness, then collection and impulsion. A supple horse moves with a forward, open, and arched neck. Its hind legs are open, reaching (flexing) forward, which will reflect in a topline that becomes stretched and lifted as well. Great movement, balance, straightness, collection—all are a result of a chain of events through the horse’s body. Any blockages must be suppled. Congratulations if you achieved this shape in your riding!
So what’s the fix? The greater the range of motion, the greater the degree you will be able to achieve suppleness, then collection and impulsion. A supple horse moves with a forward, open, and arched neck. Its hind legs are open, reaching (flexing) forward, which will reflect in a topline that becomes stretched and lifted as well. Great movement, balance, straightness, collection—all are a result of a chain of events through the horse’s body. Any blockages must be suppled. Congratulations if you achieved this shape in your riding!