Lately I've been working with my younger mare on getting more energy from her hind end and more responsiveness to my aids. She tends to be lazy, especially with her hind legs, which is not conducive to dressage where we need our horses to more energetically forward and underneath themselves in order for us to lightly ask them to change direction or gait or tempo at any given moment. It's been going fairly well, though now instead of bracing in the base of her neck, she is tending to overcurl her neck behind the contact. And she tends to fall on her forehand.
There's nothing new about this. Naturally horses have a tendency to have about 60% of their weight in their shoulder/forehand and only 40% in their haunches. They reverse this trend when startled in order to turn or change direction quickly. We ask our horses for this kind of sensitivity and manuerability in dressage, so we ask them to weight their haunches relatively more. It's also easier for a horse to carry a rider when their weight is balanced more toward their hind end as this creates a bridge effect of the horse's back under the rider, preventing strain for the horse.
So yesterday, my equine chiropractor, Kyla Awes, who adjusts both me and my horses (www.drkyla.com) asked me to help my mare rebalance and shift her weight more towards her hind end through using half halts (which aren't really what they sound like but are an aid to help the horse rebalance). I had been so focused on her energy that I'd not neglected her balance! Combining this rebalancing with what I've been doing to activate her hind legs will teach her to bring her hind legs forward and underneath her to enable her to create that bridge with her back, lift her withers & shoulders, and stretch into the connection with her head & neck. Ideally. Of course all of this takes a lot of practice and time to build the right muscles and to become habit. But that's the goal.
And so once again I am reminded how important it is to find balance - in yourself and in your horse, in riding & training dressage, and in life. And seek out people you trust to guide you back into balance in your perspective, your focus, and your riding. Life is a journey, enjoy the ride!
