
Lateral Movements
- Straight Moving straight ahead. ...
- Shoulder-In Shoulder-in to the right. ...
- Haunches-In Bending to the inside - stretching the outside. ...
- Leg-Yield Leg-yield to the left - front and hindlegs crossing. ...
- Turn on the Forehand Turn on the forehand to the left. ...
What is lateral work in dressage?
Lateral work is an essential part of your daily schooling sessions, as well as being included in the more advanced level dressage tests. If you’re just starting out training a young horse or retraining an older one, you’ll need to know how to introduce lateral movements to your daily training regimen and in what order they should be tackled.
What are lateral movements in horses?
THOMAS RITTER This article contains a general overview over the topic of lateral movements. “Lateral movements” is the term that is used to designate exercises in which the horse moves not only forward, but also more or less sideways.
What are the different types of lateral movements?
Lateral Movements can be categorized along the lines of two main parameters, which combine to yield four distinct lateral movements. Exercises in which the haunches remain on the track, while the shoulders are moved to the inside: shoulder-in and renvers.
What is shoulder-fore in dressage?
Shoulder-fore is a movement that doesn’t appear in dressage tests, although it is generally used as the precursor to teaching shoulder-in. Shoulder-fore is extremely useful as a training exercise as it helps to develop engagement, suppleness, and straightness, and is a great way of preventing the horse’s quarters from coming in when in canter.

What are the different lateral movements?
Common Stages of Lateral Movement. There are three main stages of lateral movement: reconnaissance, credential/privilege gathering, and gaining access to other computers in the network.
How do you ride lateral movements?
0:471:39How to ride lateral movements with Michael Eilberg | Horse&RiderYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipDown the diagonal. And leg leg yielding to the right and and when you when you start this you'reMoreDown the diagonal. And leg leg yielding to the right and and when you when you start this you're basically heading round. The around the turn. And you get yourself pointing where you want to arrive.
What are lateral movements exercise?
Lateral exercises are exercises in which you move side to side or use your muscles in a sideways fashion, says Delgado-Lugo. Examples of lateral exercises include lunging to the side, raising your arms out to the side, and shuffling sideways.
How do you teach a horse lateral movement?
2:565:13How To Make Your Horse Move Sideways (Lateral Movement ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipOnce you have both of your horses ends moving to the point where they're crossing one leg in frontMoreOnce you have both of your horses ends moving to the point where they're crossing one leg in front of the other now you can put two and two together and ask them for a lateral movement.
What are lateral movements in a horse?
Lateral work is the term used to describe movements where your horse moves forwards and sideways. You can ride them in walk, trot and canter and each one involves moving either your horse's shoulders or hips off the track he's travelling on, while bending through his body.
What is lateral control horse?
2:457:14Working on Lateral Movement - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo watch this I'm going to just be riding my horse to the right right here now say I highs arc toMoreSo watch this I'm going to just be riding my horse to the right right here now say I highs arc to the right. Now.
What does lateral motion mean?
Lateral motion was defined as any change in direction from a previous position, and could occur in any plane. From the Cambridge English Corpus. The fluid membrane state is present when the membrane phospholipids are free to flex and rotate and the phospholipids molecules can undergo lateral motion.
What is the opposite of lateral movement?
The opposite of lateral is medial.
How important are lateral movement skills in most sports?
Lateral movement is important in most sports. It is complemented by speed and quickness of both movement and change of direction. The ability to move laterally — side-to-side — in response to the movement of a ball, puck, or opponent, is one that can be practiced and developed.
How do you teach a horse lateral flexion?
1:173:38Teaching Lateral Flexion - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipWorked on bending her head to the side like this before. So let's pick up right there again her noseMoreWorked on bending her head to the side like this before. So let's pick up right there again her nose starts to come I let go. I'm just going to pick up again.
How do you teach a horse to move away from pressure?
0:411:56Teaching a Horse to Yield to Pressure Part 1, provided by eXtensionYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipLearn on the release of pressure that is very very important. So whenever the horse moves just aMoreLearn on the release of pressure that is very very important. So whenever the horse moves just a little bit we want to stop and then we want to praise the horse and take all the pressure away.
Why do horses run sideways?
In horses, the first signs of central nervous system trouble are more likely to be weakness or gait asymmetry. A neurologically impaired horse will drift sideways, with his hindquarters out of alignment, instead of walking straight.
What is lateral movement in basketball?
Beginning on one foot, jump sideways to the opposite side (if on your right foot, jump to the left), and land on the opposite leg. Jump with as much power as you can. Repeat this movement side to side as explosively as possible.
How can I improve my lateral agility?
Four Exercises to Improve Lateral AgilityLateral Bounds. Plyometric exercises, such as the lateral bound, are most effective immediately following your warm-up. ... BOSU Lateral Shuffle. Quick changes of direction on the BOSU ball will improve your lateral agility. ... Crossover Step Up. ... Dumbbell Lateral Lunge.
How do you move a horse sideways?
0:542:25Teaching a Horse to Move Sideways, provided by eXtension - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipGet the horse to face the fence. And then you create energy or excitement on the side of the horseMoreGet the horse to face the fence. And then you create energy or excitement on the side of the horse either towards the head and neck and shoulder or the hindquarters.
How do you strengthen your lateral leg muscles?
The 4 Best Lateral Movements to Include in your Training RegimenSide Planks. Trains the obliques or the “sides” of your core musculature. ... Side leg raises. These can be performed laying down or standing. ... Side Lunges/ cossack squats. This exercise helps with knee and ankle mobility. ... Lateral Box Step ups.
What are the two lateral movements?
The first two lateral movements to teach are leg-yielding and shoulder-fore. Both these exercises don’t require much collection to achieve and are very beneficial to your horse’s education.
Which lateral movement is the most demanding?
Half-pass is the most demanding of all the lateral movements as regards the amount of impulsion, throughness, and degree of collection that are required.
What is the purpose of lateral work?
Lateral work is the gateway to developing higher collection. That collection is shown through greater carrying strength, more longitudinal and lateral suppleness, and better self-carriage.
How are lateral exercises related to general schooling?
Your general schooling work is intrinsically linked to your lateral work by a basic principle. That is that a horse can either be bent or straight.
How to ride a horse shoulder fore?
You ride shoulder-fore on three tracks with a small degree of flexion in line with the horse’s body. The exercise demands some collection, as the horse’s inside hind leg becomes more active to step under his body and carry more weight, therefore, increasing the freedom of the shoulder.
What is leg yield?
In leg-yield, the horse is straight through his body and neck with just a very slight flexion at the poll away from the direction in which he is moving.
Why do horses need to be travers?
Travers helps to develop the horse’s longitudinal and lateral suppleness, as well as bringing his inside hind leg more underneath him to increase the carrying power, throughness, and uphill carriage.
How to ride shoulder in dressage?
In dressage tests, shoulder- in is ridden along the track at an angle of about 30 degrees with the horse slightly flexed to the inside away from his direction of travel. The horse’s inside foreleg should travel on one track while the inside hind and outside forelegs travel on a second track. Meanwhile, the horse’s outside hind leg travels along ...
What are the common positioning faults that the dressage judge sees when judging shoulder-in?
There are a number of common positioning faults that the dressage judge sees when judging shoulder-in. Not enough bend but too much angle. The horse’s quarters swing out, and the exercise becomes a leg-yield. Insufficient angle so that the exercise becomes shoulder-fore, rather than shoulder-in. Varied positioning.
What does it mean when a horse canter half pass?
In a canter half-pass, the correct sequence means that the horse’s legs cannot cross. However, the horse should appear to jump and travel sideways during the canter’s moment of suspension while all four feet are in the air. Related Read: How to Half-Pass.
What is a half pass horse?
Half-pass. Half-pass is ridden in the trot and the canter, either from the track to the centerline or vice versa. In a correctly positioned half-pass, the horse is uniformly bent through his body and neck in the direction of travel.
What are positioning faults?
Common positioning faults. Not enough angle, so the horse remains on one track only. Too much angle, so the horse loses impulsion and cannot maintain the freedom of the trot. Not enough bend. The movement becomes a leg-yield. Too much neck bend, so the angle becomes too great, and the horse loses impulsion.
How to make a horse more parallel to the wall?
As your skills improve, you will be able to bring the horse more parallel to the wall and steepen the angle.
What is the angle of a horse's hindquarters?
In travers, the horse’s forehand stays on the track and his hindquarters are moved in from the track at an angle of around 35 degrees while maintaining a uniform bend throughout his body, neck, and poll to the inside in his direction of travel.
How to get your horse in front of your leg?
Riding transitions is the answer to get your horse in front of your leg and create more expression. This exercise where you combine walk-halt-walk transitions with leg-yield will both create self-car riage and get your horse more attentive. How to ride it Start riding in an active walk on the track and turn up the centre…
Can you ride shoulder in parallel?
This is an advanced exercise, and you should be comfortable riding shoulder-in inside the track on straight lines before you try it. When alternating between shoulder-in parallel to the track and riding straight on the diagonal, you will have to be quick and accurate, and your horse needs to be in proper collection – on…
When a horse lifts a hindleg to move it, the COG shifts away from that corner?
When the horse lifts a hindleg to move it, the COG shifts away from that corner (orange), because otherwise that corner might fall down, because the original COG (Yellow) is outside or colse to the edge or the triangle of the three remaining supporting hooves. The heavy body is still there, but one supporting pillar is gone. COG has to move.
How to move your legs sideways?
To begin to actively move the legs sideways, crossing over the midline of the body (pulling the leg in under the belly/in front of the chest) and then landing and supporting the load in this unusual position, demands practice and gentle strengthening of the unaccustomed muscles. Pushing the legs back and out away from the body to complete the sideways movement also requires strengthening and limbering, so sideways movement, especially with a rider on, should be only a few steps and not so steeply angled at first, to let the body accomodate to the task.
Why do horses not stretch their hind legs?
This is not only so because of the joint, but also because of the muscle mass and their points of insertion and applied force/resistance on the bones. Since the horse never holds his hindleg horizontally out to the side, he cannot stretch the other muscles to let this happen, any more than he can use his muscles to somehow actually hold the leg out. In horses who are thoroughly stretched by professionals, the ability greatly improves compared to a non-stretched horse. This because the resistance in the muscular tonus of the surrounding muscles has been dealt with. The horse still does not actively put the leg there, the physiotherapist does that for him.
When a horse turns on the forehand, what do the hind legs do?
When the horse turns on the forehand, the hindlegs step around the forehand. They step in front of eachother and in that way step a tad closer to the front hooves. In the turn on the quarters, the frontlegs step around the hindquarters, but as they do so they step in front of each other and thus further away from the hindquarters. So in a turn on the hindquarters it is very easy for the horse to actually walk away from his hindquarters, if done badly or imprecisely.
Which part of the hindleg is in front of the inner hindhoof?
The good part about this, is that the outer hindleg also has to step around the inner hindleg, and in doing so it will step in front of the inner hindhoof and make the hindlegs catch up with the drifting front end.
How far can a horse go from a straight position?
It can range from only 1 hof's breadth so that the outside front hoof moves on a track between the hond hooves. That leaves the inside front hoof just inside of the inner hind hoof. That is commonly referred to as the Shoulder-fore , derriving from the German Shulter-vor.
Why are the hind legs more suited to moving away from the midline?
That is so because of the ball and socket joint of the hip, which is reasonably mobile in all directions. I say reasonably, because the range of movement in the forward/backward direction is far greater than that in the lateral directions.
What kind of lateral work is needed for a horse?
Which kind of lateral movement and exercise is needed and included in a training session depends on the horse. This means that a rider has to analyze daily what a horse needs in general and on a particular day. Different exercises that cater to a horse’s individual needs will increasingly straighten and strengthen him, increase suppleness and also improve his balance. For example, a young horse’s lateral work will be dictated by his weaker direction, whereas lateral movements such as a not too steeply ridden half pass serve a Grand Prix horse as gymnastics and animates him to swing through his whole body. But whether working with a novice or Grand Prix horse, correctly done lateral work will always improve the horse’s gaits and most of all, the trot.
What is lateral work?
Lateral work plays an essential role on the way to higher collection, which is expressed in a high degree of suppleness , carrying strength and self-carriage and is an indispensable element of the daily training of all my horses. My father, Georg Theodorescu, had a guiding motto that every rider should be aware of: “A horse doesn’t get collected through hand and spurs, but through exercises.” The correct seat and position of the rider allow lateral movements to initiate the stepping-under, longitudinal flexion, throughness, straightness and suppleness that are all part of the German Training Scale—the ever-valid and ever-present guideline I use when I work my horses.
When is My Horse Ready for Lateral Work?
People often ask at what age a horse is ready to start with the first lateral movements. But because horses, like ourselves, are individuals and develop differently, it is difficult to determine a specific age. It makes more sense to name the preconditions that have to be fulfilled if you want to achieve the positive effects of lateral work that I mentioned at the beginning of this article.
What does correct mean in horse riding?
“Correct” means that the horse remains relaxed and thus keeps his rhythm in both directions with an even contact so that he begins to show some suppleness under the rider.
Why should the outside leg of a horse be unburdened?
To a student who would make this mistake, my father would always explain that in the half pass, for example, the outside hind leg of the horse should be unburdened because it has to travel the farthest and needs to be able to stride freely. So if the rider makes the mistake of sitting to the outside, it also gets harder for the horse to cross his legs.
Why is it important to check your horse's seat and position?
If something goes wrong, the first thing to check is one’s seat and position because they determine the way aids are applied.
How to develop shoulder fore?
You can develop shoulder-fore out of a corner of the arena or a volte to easily prepare the needed longitudinal flexion. Take care that you lead the shoulders into the arena with the outside rein and bend the horse around your inside leg instead of feeling tempted to pull his head in, as this will rob the movement of any benefit . The inside rein is there to yield or correct the horse if he gets tilted in his neck. Incorrect use of the inside rein only results in the horse falling onto the outside shoulder instead of stepping under with his inside hind leg.

“Positioning?”
Leg-Yield
- The first lateral movement that you will be asked to ride in a dressage test is the leg-yield. In dressage tests, leg-yielding is usually ridden from the centerline to the track. In leg-yield, the horse should travel parallel to the track with a very slight flexion away from the direction of travel. There should be a clear crossing of the legs, and...
Shoulder-In
- In dressage tests, shoulder-in is ridden along the track at an angle of about 30 degrees with the horse slightly flexed to the inside away from his direction of travel. The horse’s inside foreleg should travel on one track while the inside hind and outside forelegs travel on a second track. Meanwhile, the horse’s outside hind leg travels along a third track. The whole picture should be r…
Travers
- Travers first appears in British Dressage Medium level dressage tests and is ridden down the long side of the arena. In travers, the horse’s forehand stays on the track and his hindquarters are moved in from the track at an angle of around 35 degrees while maintaining a uniform bend throughout his body, neck, and poll to the inside in his direction of travel. The horse travels on fo…
Half-Pass
- Half-pass is ridden in the trot and the canter, either from the track to the centerline or vice versa. In a correctly positioned half-pass, the horse is uniformly bent through his body and neck in the direction of travel. When it comes to the degree of bend, the half-pass is similar to travers, except that the movement is ridden on the diagonal line and not straight along the track. The horse’s bo…
Finishing Off
- A very common position fault that’s seen with all the lateral movements (except leg-yield) is that the rider does not finish off the movement. To complete the exercise, a few straight strides should always be shown after the lateral movement has been completed. For example, if you are asked to ride shoulder-infrom M to B, you should aim to make the horse straight just as you reach B. That …
in Conclusion
- By paying close attention to the accurate positioning of your horse when riding lateral exercises, you can avoid the dreaded underlined “positioning” on your scoresheet. We hope you found this guide helpful, and if you have any tips or tricks on how to keep your horse correctly positioned in the lateral exercises, please share with us in the comment box below. Related Reads: 1. How to I…