In the last email, I introduced you to the Feldenkrais-inspired lateral flexions and how you can teach it with a your \u201clistening\u201d hands. Using your hands, you get a better FEEL<\/strong> for this very subtle movement. It will make it easier for you to request it with a similar softness through the lead rope or later through the reins.
I have mentioned that through these micro flexions, you get soft transitions from one exercise to the next.
There is another important reason, why we want to teach and frequently use these flexions and that is BALANCE<\/strong>.
Horses are not symmetrical. They typically put more weight on their front legs and one of them carries more weight than the other. As long as there is no additional weight on them, they don\u2019t get into trouble with this imbalance. But as soon as a rider is on their back, this imbalance is amplified and potentially harmful.
As a responsible rider, you want to teach your horse to carry the same weight on each leg in oder to prevent overloading and lameness.<\/strong>
Flexions are your key instrument to redistribute weight from the overloaded shoulder to the other so both carry equal weight.
Asfaloth shows you how flexions affect shoulder balance.<\/p>\n\n\n