Aids
Communication
Correcting Falling In
Palm Partnership Training™
Building a Partnership with Your Horse
It is back to the circle pattern we used in the last article
about “Falling Out” to learn how to identify, anticipate, and
correct the second of two common problems that can occur
when turning --- when I explained how to properly use the
bending and turning aids to correct the problem know as
falling out. This week I will explain the problem caused by
loss of balance in the horse’s body position called falling in.
When a horse is not bending through a turn, he could easily
fall in. It may be more of an issue when turning in one
direction than the other.
Falling in is like a tripping effect, much like if you were to
stumble and almost fall. The horse quickens his steps to
catch his balance as you would too if you tripped. Falling
in may show up as the horse dropping the inside shoulder in
a turn, cutting the corner or squaring the corner, or making
a turn smaller as a result of not bending while turning. It is
the rider’s responsibility to recognize when the horse is falling
and know how to correct it using the bending aids and
make a wider turn.
The goal for both the bending and turning aids is to control
the horse’s body position and his balance. We will use a
circle pattern to demonstrate how to correct falling in while
bending and turning through a turn.
Start at the walk and bring the horse on a large circle once
again to the right. Remember to turn correctly the rider
must get the horse bending correctly first. Let’s review
those aids. Before the turn bend the horse using the bending
aids, the inside leg and open inside rein. At the same,
time support the bend with the outside leg applied slightly
farther back on the horse’s barrel than the inside leg, and
outside indirect rein against the neck to support the flexion
of the head and curve of the neck and shoulders. Use the
turning aids, the outside leg and outside indirect rein, to
direct him through the turn and follow the circle.
If he is straight, the bend in his body from poll to tail (the
horse’s spine) will conform to the same arc as that of the
circle. The horse being straight while bending means the
hind legs track directly into the same track as his front legs.
His body alignment stays straight even while bending and
turning, His head and neck stay in the middle of the shoulders
while curving and his shoulders stay in line with the
hips. The hind legs are directly under the hips and the front
legs are directly under the shoulders. The hind legs track
directly in the same track where the front legs take off. This
is called straight while bending.
If a horse, while turning along the arc of a circle, travels too
far off the curve and drifts to the inside we say he is falling
in. He has lost the proper bend in his body. His head and
neck are positioned too far to the outside while his shoulders
and hindquarters have left the arc of the circle to the
inside. The rider will notice quickness or increase of speed
TRAINING & Showing
because of the tripping effect. Think about what happens
when we lose our balance. Our legs don’t slow, but
quicken to regain it. The same thing happens to the horse.
A horse tends to fall in when heading back to the gate or
barn.
To correct falling in when on a circle to the right, use the
inside leg slightly behind the girth to move the horse out
toward to the left to make the circle bigger and bring his
barrel (body) and hips back on the circle. Use the inside
(right) rein, now an indirect against the neck, to bring his
shoulders back to the left and on the circle. Note: the rein
cannot be a stronger aid than the leg because it will bend
the neck and bring the head flexed inward too much. This
will cause more of the horse’s weight to be placed his right
front leg, which will swing the hips out—leading to another
balance problem!
The inside leg, in this example the right leg, is the most
prominent correction aid. Move the horse out with the
inside leg and inside rein. Support the horse bending right
with the inside leg and indirect inside rein to move the
shoulders to the left and also not allowing the neck to bend
too much. Move the horse out with inside rein and leg. The
rider may also have to use an open left rein to encourage
the horse to go wide to the left while not allowing the neck
to bend too much. The outside (left) leg reminds the horse
to stay forward at the walk, trot, or canter.
The turning aids, the outside rein and outside leg, are not as
prominent when the horse is falling in. This is because he is
already turning too fast. Use the inside aids more and keep
the horse wider on a curve so he does not turn so fast.
When the rider can get the horse going wider while curving,
the turning aids can be very minimal to get him to turn.
Make sure you perfect the walk, then go to the trot work
and last to the canter. If you have troubles with your aids
coordination or your hands continue to take charge, go
back to the slower gait and continue to perfect this. Here’s
a tip for improving both the horse and rider. Always repeat
the exercise on horse’s stiffer side at least one more time
that direction than his better side. Repeat the direction
and double the number of repetitions on the rider’s weaker
side, too. By “doubling up” practice in the weaker direction
of the horse and rider, both will have greater opportunity
to improve.
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