When a horse is on the forehand and has not yet learned to shift its weight onto the hindquarters, it results in a range of negative consequences.
In this article, I will explore some exercises that can help you teach your horse to shift its weight onto the hindquarters, improve its posture, and build strength.
When a horse is on the forehand and has not yet learned to shift its weight onto the hindquarters, it significantly impacts how it uses its back.
When a horse is on the forehand, the ribcage drops, and the topline shortens. As the ribcage is pressed downward, it prevents the horse from tilting the pelvis. Specifically, when the horse pushes off with its hind legs during the propulsion phase, the hind legs push the horse forward over the forehand, bringing the front legs further underneath the body. This causes the horse to lose balance, resulting in the need to lift its head and neck while using tension in the neck muscles to maintain balance.
When teaching a horse to engage its hindquarters, one of the biggest challenges is that we, as riders, sit closer to the forehand and only have our legs and whip to aid the horse.
One of the goals of training is to teach the horse to step under with the hind legs from a light leg cue. Additionally, the horse must learn to tilt its pelvis and follow our movements when we tilt our pelvis.
However, if we attempt to drive the hind legs forward and tilt our pelvis too early in the learning process, it will have the opposite effect because the horse does not yet understand these signals. So, what can we do to reach our goal of having the horse shift its weight onto the hindquarters and lift its back? Let’s explore this further below.
The horse’s neck is a mirror of its pelvis. This means that when a horse is tense and maintains balance through its neck, it is also tense in the hindquarters. Conversely, when a horse is relaxed in the neck, reaching forward and downward—able to round and flex at the poll while tucking its nose in—it will maintain balance by engaging its abdominal muscles and tilting its pelvis.
The key to working with the horse’s hindquarters lies in shaping the neck correctly!
Fortunately, shaping the neck is much easier because we have direct contact through the bit, and we can move the forehand by applying rein pressure against the neck.
When I teach my horse to hold its neck in a relaxed posture, I primarily use three exercises: Bending the neck in halt, rein-back and an exercise alternating between long reins and collected reins
These exercises help the horse learn to yield to light contact.
Bending the Neck in Halt:
This exercise focuses on teaching the horse to yield to the rein in halt. It reveals the horse’s understanding of the signal and its ability to remain balanced while bending its neck. By gradually shortening one rein while maintaining a steady but soft contact, we teach the horse to round its neck and eventually lower its head and neck.
The goal is to achieve a rounded posture where the horse engages its underneck muscles instead of tensing the neck to maintain balance.
Rein-Back: This exercise teaches the horse to respond to light rein contact and think backward. It helps the horse understand how to shift weight onto the hindquarters and engage the muscles along the underneck.
Through small incremental steps, we teach the horse to step back in a controlled and balanced manner. Rein-back is a key exercise for strengthening the hindquarters and helping the horse learn to shift weight backward.
In the beginning, when we take up the reins, the horse will often tense its neck and lift its head and neck. A tense, high neck causes the ribcage to drop, leading to a hollow back. Initially, the horse lifts its neck and tenses because this is more intuitive than engaging the underneck muscles, tilting the pelvis, and lifting the forehand up and forward.
When a horse tenses its neck, it is crucial not to try forcing it to yield by increasing rein pressure or using alternating rein aids. This will not help the horse relax and stretch forward through the entire neck. Instead, it will reinforce the incorrect posture.
We teach the horse to yield and relax its entire neck by working with an extremely light contact on the reins.
It is essential to remember that these exercises require patience and a deep understanding of how your horse responds to your signals. Every horse is unique, and achieving the desired results takes time. The key to success lies in consistent training, positive reinforcement, and a solid understanding of equine body language.
A training method for the rider who wants to train their horse to move in balance with light aids, tailored to both you and your horse’s level, no matter what your training goals may be.
